Star Fox Adventures: The Resurrection of Star Wolf
by Victor Turdleman
Summary: Lylat's war is over, but its struggle has begun. A mastermind beyond even Star Fox's reach keeps the galaxy in depression, with every bounty hunter and mercenary to oppose him dead. After years of solitude, Star Wolf is but a faded legend, and Wolf remains unrecognized and powerless. But on a planet with new foes, new allies, and a new name, all of that will change. (Feat. OC's)
1. Chapter 1

Hey all you people! I AM BACK! (*Terminator Theme plays*) For all you fans who've kept up for this far…welcome back! I promised to have a comeback, and I have. I'm glad to be back in my good old chair, munching on chocolate and writing stories again!

For all you newbies, I am the great Victor Turdleman, and as a fan of Star Wolf, I decided to write a series based on his perspective. So I'd recommend looking elsewhere if you have problems with any of the following:

**1. CAUTION:** you have to have read the first two stories before this one, in this order: _Star Fox: The Rise of Star Wolf, _and the sequel, _Star Fox 64: The Sins of Star Wolf, _otherwise the plot will make no sense to new readers.

2. Sound effects (you'll see a bunch of _Clang!_s, _Boom_s, and etc. Just like your favorite manga!)

3. The initial pairing for this story: **Wolf X Krystal. **So any stuck-up fanboys who wanna jeer at me for putting them together instead of Wolf X Fox or Fox Krystal can take a hike!

4. Blood, special abilities, numerous weapons, basically everything that makes a story appealing (For those who leave, **what's the matter with you?**)

No objections? Goodie.

Oh, yeah, quick shout-out: Congratz, Nintendo, on successfully creating another Zelda! *applause*.

Alrighty then (I promise, the stuff in the beginning is never this long), the story begins!

_Star Fox Adventures: Resurrection of Star Wolf_

_They say that the story of Lylat's glory was told from the cockpit of a ship….and in a way, they were wrong._

_The Lylat System is in a state of chaos. Just because the valiant Star Fox Team has vanquished the Venomian Army, that only means the worse for the rest of the galaxy._

_The economy of the Cornerian Government has crashed. The countless amounts of Lylat Currency spent on the funding of the Lylat Wars means desperation and deception amongst the citizens of the Lylat System._

_Many say that the end of the war was like a judgment day, where the innocent were left in poverty to defend themselves, and the guilty were taken away…._

_Refugees, war veterans, shipless pilots, and forgotten warriors are scattered amongst the galaxy, struggling to survive in these desperate times. These days are known as the Hollow Mercenary Days, due to the 75% drop of crime rate. Nearly a third of Lylat's most notorious criminals have been captured and prosecuted, save a few side-running organizations._

_It is a time of fear and deception. Trust is no longer the currency of the system. Men kill each other for pennies, and big-time kingpins make a living off of the weak. Unbalance wreaks the streets of every city, a nightmare of crime and confusion. It's a violent society, full of murders and despair._

_And even in this world of injustice, the harsh law prevails. All criminals fear the new Lylat Government, and what awaits the penalty for being caught. And with families being forced to take no heed of the law, loved ones are dragged off to prison, without a word of defense._

_And even the proud Star Fox Team wanders the galaxy in their battered Great Fox, low on income, desperate for a call for help that will ignite Lylat's hope again. Things haven't been the same since daring pilot Falco Lombardi left the team to fly solo once again._

_Lylat is in its time of woe. The small glimpse of hope is on the horizon…..that freedom will take shape…..once again…._

_But before we reach out to the present, to truly understand how things changed….._

_We must gaze at the past…..where different paths were taken….._

_Star Fox Adventures: The Resurrection of Star Wolf_

_Chapter 1: Loss of Hope, Birth of Innocence_

_Corneria City, 12 BLW (17 years ago)_

_EERRRRAAAHHHH!_

The sirens shrieked like some kind of wounded animal.

All the lights had gone out in the city. Several cries were heard in the darkness.

Then everything fell silent as there was a low roar of distant machines.

_WHIZZZ!_

The searchlights ignited at the foggy sky, scanning for any signs of life.

Then, the horrible sound of droning metal echoed in the sky.

Small black shapes tore through the sky like hideous metallic insects.

A number of screams went about as the symbol on the ships became clear: A green orb symbolizing a planet, and the atmosphere in the shape of a skull. The insignia of the Venomian Army.

Suddenly there was a _whoosh _as the largest ship hooked downwards. Dual-compartments opened on either side, there was a flash.

_Ka-TRUUUUSHH!_

Streaming beams of orange light lit up the sky as the missiles clashed into the Cornerian United Nations Building, crumbling the base and sending it forward on the screaming citizens.

CRAAAASH!The building severed the ground, sending smoke and rubble in all directions, crushing hundreds under its massive weight.

Two other ships zoomed between giant skyscrapers, and let out missiles in harmony exactly like the first one.

It was chaos. Hundreds took off in random directions, some running away from the flames, others avoiding the giant craters created by the bombs that were dropped. Families were lost in the giant crowds, and panic was wreaking havoc in the city.

Then, the first ship let something else a lot more deadly than missiles. The compartment opened, and a large metal tube around the size of an elevator.

The civilians watched, horror-struck, as the metal slabs on each object moved vertically, smoke wafting off of the doors.

An intense light stung the eyes of all observers. The only shadows were black figures strung inside sitting down.

The light faded and the doors fell over.

The tall figures emerged. As the light from the flames dotting the city-turned-battlefield lit up the figures, their form became clear. Slacked shoulder-pads, strapped bullet-belts, and tightly-fitted gray-black uniform was equipped on each figure. Their faces were brutal-looking and scarred, those of round-snouted apes.

Everyone's heart stopped as they slowly realized who they were: Venomian Soldiers.

The Lead Soldier spoke in a rasped voice that clearly spelled 'tobacco.' "Troops…..prepare for no-quarter. Show this Cornerian scum who truly rule the Lylat System."

The troops raised their weapons and sent out a savage battle-yell. The terrified civilians backed away, arms on their children in a sad attempt to act unafraid for their sake.

The Lead Venomian raised his fist. "Time to kill for the Emperor of Venom….Open fire!"

The Venomians raised their weapons.

The civilians screamed and took off in the opposite direction, but it was no use. The shower of shots banged into the bodies of the slower civilians.

They ran for the gate outside the main Cornerian Square, but the soldiers there were already waiting for them.

A brutal-looking gorilla Captain was waiting. He nodded to the other soldiers. "Close the gate. Let these traitors know that there is no escape from the wrath of Venom."

Hundreds of restrained civilians banged and clashed their fists against the gate, tears drowning their cheeks, begging for mercy. The crowds stacked against the gate like trapped animals, until the shots came from behind.

SHWOOOM!

Green shots rained from the sky.

The Venomian Captain scowled upwards. "What?"

Green bird-like ships swooped down, taking out Venomian soldiers with expert precision, carefully avoiding any civilians in the crossfire.

The gigantic screens that surrounded the city, usually blaring advertisements or news announcements, attached to the larger buildings, flickered on.

The light blared on screen, and the face of an elderly Labrador, whose blonde fur was so old and battered, it was bleached white. He had dangerous-looking green eyes, and he had a deep and gruesome scar on the side of his face, that had blackened with decay. He was wearing red Cornerian Military Uniform, his chest covered with gleaming military medals. A red military cap was perched above his ears.

"Civilians of Corneria City!" His deep voice echoed on the loud-speakers. "This is General Lysander of the Cornerian Army. Our troops have just landed to deal with these invaders. We're unlocking the gate with our auto-security systematic. While our troops are putting up with these Venomian Forces, I'm ordering you all to get out of the Square in order to avoid the crossfire. The remaining troops will escort you. Move in discreet single-file formation. Now!"

The screens flickered off. As they did, the gates rammed open with a _CLANG! _

Hundreds of soldiers in blue and white Cornerian Assault uniform barged in, holding long blaster rifles.

The Venomians scowled at the sight of them, and held up their weapons to fire.

A Cornerian Seargent yelled to the crowd of civilians. "Get down!"

Everyone fell to their knees and faces.

_SPER-ZAM!_

_KA-TANG!_

_BAM-BANG!_

The green and red shots flared and whizzed above their heads, as soldiers fell on both sides.

Then the Cornerians began pushing their way over the crowd, pushing the Venomians back.

The crowd cheered feebly as their saviors marched in, and then the Seargent yelled. "Alright! While the rest are pushed off, I want all civilians to make a single-file line behind squad three. We need to make it out of the square before more Venomians arrive. Now, let's move!"

The civilians, or at least the ones who didn't get shot down followed the soldiers out of the ring, while the others continued to push back the Venomian Troops.

The Lead Venomian snarled. "Damn…..they brought reinforcements, did they? Well, the rest of Corneria City will pay for this outrage. Aerial Squad!" He barked into his comm.

"Yes, sir?"

"Enclose your fleet around the Eastern District, and take send all the bombers. Wipe out everything that stands above the ground, civilians and buildings alike."

_Eastern District of Corneria City (Underground)_

Away from the bombs, but not far from the conflict, a small group huddled for warmth, their hiding place miles underground the district of homes above. No one could see anything, but they were standing in

The smallest one, a collie, spoke first, her bright blue eyes wide. "Mommy, I can hear the bombs. Will they reach us down here?" She was barely five years old, but the tremble in her voice was clear.

The tallest figure, also a collie, only with brown eyes. "No, Fay. We'll be safe down here, as long as we're quiet. We just have to wait a little more…"

The second smallest one clasped her mother's hand. "But, Mommy, I can hear them getting closer! What if…"

Then there was a distant rumble. Some of the rocks began to crumble off of the stony ceiling.

The mother put her arm around her two children. "Shh…..be as quiet as you can…."

She bit her lip. Someone else was inside the hide-out.

Suddenly, a figure on the far end of the area came into vision. The children held their breaths, terrified.

The figure ran over to the mother. "Lisa! It's me Jacob." He was a male adult collie, well-built with assuring green eyes.

The mother, Lisa, ran over to her husband and flung her arms around him. "Jacob….thank God….are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He bent down to the children. "May, Fay…..are you two okay?"

May, the older one, looked up to her father's face. "Daddy….what's going on up there?"

Jacob feinted assurance for his daughter's sake. "Nothing to worry about….this area's safe, everyone's left. We can go. But we need to stay out of sight, and we need to extremely quiet. Stay close to Mom, and don't side-track. Fay," he turned to his younger daughter. "Do what your sister does, okay? You need to be a big girl out there, okay?"

Fay nodded. "Okay, Daddy!"

Jacob smiled. _Poor Fay…..she so small….she doesn't know what's going on out there…._

"May," he turned to Fay's older sister. "Keep hold of Fay's hand. Keep her in sight at all times, alright? I'm counting on you."

May nodded. She was three older than Fay, and smarter. She knew what was going on, and she was definitely scared.

Jacob stood up and faced his wife. "The fleet's moved to the northern district. We're lucky we found this cavern. It's all that could have saved us."

"Where's everybody gone?"

"They're….." Jacob glanced at the children and lowered his voice. "….they're all dead. The neighbors…the landlord…..all their homes went under the fire."

Lisa clapped a hand to her mouth. "…what? All of them? But…."

"Lisa…..I got to the neighborhood five minutes after the fires died…..I saw them…."

"…saw? As in…" Her eyes widened.

Jacob nodded grimly.

Lisa looked up. "What do we do?"

Jacob's brow furrowed, concentrated. "The Cornerian Army arrived about an hour ago…..that means they've evacuated the western part of the city….otherwise these Venomians wouldn't be here….the Army's outpost must be in the northwest."

"But that's on the opposite end of the city!"

"I know. But they must have stopped for supplies sometime around…we need to check the south area to see if that's their route….but we can't attract too much attention, otherwise the route's gonna be revealed…"

"But who's going to be able to help us?"

Jacob smiled thoughtfully. "I think I know."

_Eastern District, (Surface)_

The family moved swiftly around the ruined city. It looked bleak and hazardous, with shattered windows and flames peaking amongst each building.

Jacob moved his family down deserted alley-ways and streets, some filled with small craters, others scarred with scorch marks from Venomian weapons.

As they backed down a narrow alley, Jacob wiped his brow. _Phew…..we made it pretty far…..those troops must've avoided this spot after a while after all…._

BOOOM!

The building five yards away that they had just ran past exploded. Glass flew from the nearest window.

The children screamed as flames arose from the building's roof.

"It's alright, kids," Jacob reassured. "Everything's gonna be fine."

Lisa leaned over to Jacob. "Do you think he'll help us?"

"Of course he'll help us. He has to. He's your brother isn't he?"

"Yes…..but he's a Lieutenant….he'll be hard to find…."

Then they heard a scream.

Jacob's head spun around. The scream had come from the top of the building.

"Who was-?"

Then he froze.

A group of figures were observing the area below the building. They had large square bundles strapped to their back. As they turned to face the family, Jacob's blood ran cold from the sight of them. They had grim-looking masks, with snout-like breathers attached, with giant green glowing eyes.

_Gas masks…_

One raised a pole in his hand. But it had a tube running down his waist, connecting to the bundle on his back. Flames shot out of it.

_Not poles…flame throwers. Those are Venomian Waste Extinguishers….._

One of them signaled his group in the family's direction.

Jacob roared to his family. _"Run! _Now!"

Lisa grabbed her daughters' hands and took off for a near alley-way.

Jacob followed behind, darting his head back to see if they were being followed.

Apparently, the Venomians had second thoughts about going after them. That or they had gotten lost. But Jacob wasn't taking that chance just because they had disappeared.

_Dammit…..this area was supposed to be empty…._

He hid with his family behind a silver Trash Carrier.

"Everyone alright?"

Lisa grabbed Jacob's arm. "I thought you said this place was empty!"

"I thought it was…..I didn't see anything when I was…."

He cut his conversation short as footsteps echoed down the alley.

Now that they had time to examine the area, it had stone floors, wet puddles, and unattractive stench that had nothing to do with the arrival of the Venomian Army.

Jacob peered over the dumpster. He caught a glimpse of some Venomian Soldiers, leading a family of frogs away. Jacob recognized a fellow co-worker: Beltino Toad, holding on to his little son…Slippy.

When the Venomians were out of view, Jacob stood and faced his crouched wife and daughters.

"Lisa, stay here with the kids."

Lisa looked up, shocked. "What? Where the hell are you going?"

"Beltino and his son have been captured. I have to help them."

"Jacob, no! You'll be captured too! What if they kill you?"

"Lise, he's my friend. I'm not gonna let him die!"

"Beltino's not family, Jacob! You've got your own to worry about!"

Jacob put his hand on her shoulder. "You can take care of Fay and May, Lise. But I'm not gonna desert a friend. Yeah, he's not family, but he's got a son too. And letting innocents get killed isn't human."

"Jacob-"

He knelt down to her. "Lisa…..I'll be fine. If I'm not back soon, then…."

Lisa's eyes became huge with terror. "Then what?"

Jacob closed his eyes. "…..look, I'll be back in five minutes. I'm not a soldier, but I'm smarter than these apes. Wait here. I'm coming back." He leaned forward and kissed her.

Then he ran down the alleyway in the direction where the Venomians had gone with the Toads.

Lisa and her children waited there. They waited…..without a sound, without a word…..in the silence of the alley.

It was ominous stillness, and anxiety stained the grim atmosphere. Lisa didn't know how many minutes or even if an hour had passed, but she knew something was wrong.

It had to have been at least an hour when she began pondering where Jacob was now.

Captured? Or dead….

Lisa stood.

May looked up. "M-Mommy? Where are you going?"

"I think something's wrong. I can feel it. Your father would've been back by now….." She looked down at her eldest daughter. "I need you to get you and your sister to your Uncle Pepper at the base on your own."

May looked up. "What? But….I…."

"May, you're a big girl. I know you can do it. Your Daddy's taken you past the Cornerian Base several times. You know where it is."

May whimpered. "Yeah, but….." Her eyes shimmered with tears. "I'm….afraid…"

Lisa blinked back her tears. "May…..my little May….you need to be brave for your little sister. You're all Fay has, alright? You were born first…..you're older and smarter…..I know you can do it…."

May buried her face in her mother's chest. "Mommy…."

"May….please…."

"I'll…..I'll do it…..but….."

Lisa looked down at May. "…I know you're scared. But you'll be safe as long as you keep control over you sister and stick together….you'll both be fine. Your father and I will relocate once we get back."

May nodded. "Yes, Mommy."

Lisa turned to her younger daughter, Fay. Her blue eyes were shimmering. This time, she knew what was going on.

Lisa hugged her daughter. "Fay…..be a good girl….do what your sister tells you…."

Fay nodded obediently.

Lisa's eyes teared up. "You….you were always a good girl. I know you'll be fine."

Fay looked up. "Mommy….are you okay? Will you be fine?"

Lisa smiled despite herself. _Fay….always thinking about everyone else but herself…_

"I'm fine, sweetie. I'll be just fine. Anything you need?"

Fay looked down bashfully. "Well…what….what day is it?"

"The 24th of August….why?"

"Well…."

Lisa put a hand over her mouth. _Goodness….I forgot…..her birthday…._

May put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Hey, Fay…..I know what day it is…"

Lisa laughed. "So do I….." She kissed her daughter's forehead. "Happy birthday, Fay."

Little Fay smiled. "You remembered…"

"I actually did….before all this happened…..I planned a party…."

Fay hugged her mother. "It's okay. I don't like fancy parties that much anyway…"

Lisa smiled. _She's so young….acting mature ahead of her time…._

"Here, Fay. I planned on giving this to you."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a velvet bow. It had small flowers, lined dots, of simple design. It was bright red, like a freshly-picked strawberry….Fay's favorite color….. and it was just her size.

Fay's eyes lit up. "Mommy…..it's so pretty…."

"It's yours, Fay." She tied it in her hair. "You look beautiful." She kissed both of them. "I love you both…..we'll be together soon….I promise."

Then she got up, walked around the corner. She turned, taking another look of her daughters.

Then she heard footsteps. She turned and whispered to them. "Go, now!"

May nodded, took her sister's hand, and fled.

Lisa's tears dripped on to the alley pavement.

_Take care…..be safe….._

She blinked and then thought. _I'm going to find Jacob…_

…_I'll see them again…_

_They're going to be safe…._

_I know they will….._

_North Western Corneria City_

Fay trudged after her sister feebly. It had been a long walk from the spot where they had fled.

The second corner opened up to a large road, between buildings. The screens that used to blaze with advertisements were cracked and shattered. Some of them lay scattered on the ground.

Fay looked around. _My school's somewhere around here…..I hope that isn't burnt too…._

_My feet are so tired…_

"…May….are we almost there?"

"Almost….we just gotta keep…."

_!_

The immensely loud creaking noise echoed so loudly it made the ground tremble slightly.

May turned around.

A huge crowd of people were running to their direction.

But it wasn't the fact that a crowd was heading straight for May and Fay-they would probably run over them…..discard them…..

…it was what they were running from. That was what made both sisters' hearts stop.

The machine was about 120 feet long, and towered up to 160 feet high. It was rusted, and moved like a giant garbage compactor. It was shaped like a pentagon, only it had massive wheels, like those on a Landmaster. Except these wheels were huge….each was the _size _of a Landmaster.

It was a Venomian Terrain Crusher. It loomed over the sky like a massive predator. Buildings shattered and crumbled down under the metal monster's weight…one after the other…..

….and the crowd of people were next…

May looked pale…..and not just because of her white fur. "F-Fay….Fay we need to leave. Now."

Fay nodded and they both ran. Fay tripped and stumbled but May kept pulling her back up.

The crowd screamed and writhed behind them. They were edging closer.

May bit her lip. _We can't get close to that crowd…..we'll get separated…._

They heard a petrified scream from the crowd. "It's too close!"

There was a sickening CRUNCH! as an unfortunate man was pulled under the Terrain Crusher. With a blood-curdling scream the man disappeared under the giant wheels of the machine….

That just pushed the crowd to run faster. But as people pushed and bumped over each other to get away, only more people got crushed under the massive Crusher.

Then, the Crusher pushed its weight over the next building-a skyscraper with the Cornerian Embassy Flag drifting on the pole at the top.

CRAAAAASSSSHHHHH!

The building was ripped of its roots, leaving bricks and rubble behind. It crashed into the next building…..and the next…..and the next…..it just traveled on like a group of dominoes…

…until it reached the front tower. May watched in horror, as it tumbled down….not front to back like the last row…..but on its side…..

….right for where they were standing.

May grabbed Fay's hand. "RUN! NOW!"

They ran around and saw a large black shadow drench the ground at their feet as the building came in for a dive.

May looked up the building only feet above her head.

Fay screamed.

They both huddled on the ground eyes shut, as the building came down.

**CRAAAAAAAAASSSSHHHHHHHH!**

Dust from the giant rubble heap.

May squeezed her eyes shut. _It's the end…..it's over…._

"May! May!"

May's eyes opened at her sister shaking her arm. "Wha-What? But….we aren't…?"

Fay pointed around them. "We were caught in the giant hole."

Sure enough, the area around them was cut off in a circular shape, as if the building had already been blown through when it came down.

May looked at her sister. "But when….?"

Fay shrugged. Then her blue eyes grew huge. "The crowd!"

They stood and looked around the building wreckage for an opening outside. There was the opening from the road they had come from….the Crusher was getting closer…..and the crowd was pouring in.

May looked around and spotted a huge crack forged into the building's outside…..a way out. A narrow one, but still, a way out.

She shook her sister's arm. "C'mon, Fay! We've got to get through there! Together!"

She gripped Fay's hand and moved through the crack.

Unfortunately, the rest of the crowd noticed also.

The pool of people rushed inside, in a never-ending mass to get away from the machine.

The people rushed past the two sisters. The crowd broke through the crack like a leak, flowing out. It was chaotic…..not a drop of sanity.

Fay tried to keep hold of May's hand…but the people kept coming…..and the lurch of the machine grew nearer.

Finally, a group of people rushed in, breaking the grip between the two sisters.

Fay reached through the crowd blindly. "May….May!"

May reached around too, also separated. "Fay!"

The screaming crowd grew bigger….and soon, there wasn't enough room in the giant hole in the fallen building.

May looked around, scanning unfamiliar faces for signs of her sister. "Fay! Fay, where are you? Fay!"

No answer….and how could there be? The mumbled screams and cries of the crowd could easily drown out Fay's small voice.

_No…..no…_

_I've lost her…..I've lost Fay…._

_Mom…..told me to watch over her…..and I failed…._

_Wait…..Fay's smart….._

_She would've made it through the crack by now….._

_On her own…._

_I just need to catch up to her!_

May rose to her feet and looked around. All the air seemed to have been lost in the atmosphere from her feeling of being lost.

She squeezed through the crowd, arms swishing left and right to make her way.

The "corridor" grew more and more packed, and soon, May found it extremely hard.

_I can't get by…..too many people…._

No one showed any pity. People in large groups pushed past her small body without mercy.

"Outta the way!"

"Move!"

Some came without warning. One large man jabbed his elbow into her ribs, casting her aside.

May coughed, her eyes watering. She fell back, clutching her stomach.

But she just bumped into people.

Confused and scared, she looked around for her sister….

_I can't find her…_

May tried to crawl back on her feet, but a group of people slammed into her again. This time, the consequence was much more devastating.

SNAP!

May was shoved against the narrow rubble wall, her leg winded in an absurd and unnatural angle. All she heard was the snap.

She cried aloud with pain, her leg in a state of butchered numbness.

"May!"

May looked up and saw her sister running towards her, trying to make her way through the crowd.

"May! May! What's wrong? Are you alright?"

May clenched her teeth, trying to ignore her broken leg for her sister's sake. "I…..I'm fine, Fay."

Fay's cute blue eyes shone with fear. "Are you hurt? Why are you on the ground?"

"…I, I tripped, that's all. You know me, Fay, I'm a klutz." She smiled faintly.

Fay stiffened. "This isn't the time to joke, May. We've got to go! That…." She glanced at the Terrain Crusher rumbling towards them. "…that thing is coming!"

May put her hands on the ground and tried to haul herself up.

Fay took her sister's arm. "Here, let me help you up-"

May winced as her leg began to writhe at her body changing position.

_No…_

_I can't move fast enough with this leg…._

_Fay can't carry me, she's too small…._

_I can't be a burden…..we won't get away fast enough…_

_We'll get crushed….._

Fay looked at her older sister. "May?"

Inside May's mind, she could hear her mother's voice.

"_You're all Fay has, alright? You were born first…..you're older and smarter…..I know you can do it…."_

_She told me to protect Fay….._

_No matter what…_

"May, what's wrong?"

May shook her head. "N-Nothing…"

Fay didn't hear the anguished crack in her voice. Neither could she sense what her sister was about to do…

"Fay."

"Yes?"

May pulled herself up enough, trying not to expose her pain. "Fay….out of us two, who's the faster runner?"

"…You are. You always won the running races at our school. You won that medal, remember?"

May smiled. "Yeah…so, since I'm faster, I'm gonna need to bide my time so I can get a head start before the machine."

Fay nodded, her small head figuring the grown-up logic.

"So…." May put a hand on our shoulder. "I want you to run before me. Get out of this crowd."

"But what about you?"

"..I…I'm fast…that's why I'm getting a head start…but I need you to run before me so that you don't have to keep up with me when I'm running. That way we won't get lost, see?"

And of course, poor Fay bought the lie. "Oh, I see!"

"Yes." May gave an assuring nod. "Just run as you can out of the crowd, and run to the Army base. You know the way to it, right?"

"Yeah."

"You remember what Uncle Pepper looks like?"

Fay's brow furrowed. "He….he wears a blue uniform….he's really tall…and, he looks like he doesn't smile a lot."

May laughed. "That's right."

"But will you get away fast enough?"

"Don't worry. Just run as fast as you can towards the base. I'll be right behind you in no time."

As soon as that idea was in Fay's head, she nodded brightly. "Okay, May!"

"Go!"

Fay smiled and ran her way out of the crowd.

Once she was out of sight, May burst into tears.

She was too young for this….it was too early for her to go….

But she had to sacrifice herself for her sister's safety…

_That's why I was born first…_

_Just like Mommy said…_

She gazed into the direction wher Fay had ran.

_Take care, Fay…_

_You have a long wonderful life ahead of you…_

_Make the most of it…_

_For me…_

CRUMMMMPPP!The horrid noise made May's head turn.

The Terrain Crusher was less that eighty feet away from her, moving swiftly nearer, turning rock and granite into rubble under its mighty weight.

May shut her eyes.

She knew that she was next.

She was afraid….alone….crippled…

But as long as her little sister was okay….

Then nothing else mattered.

And after a few minutes…..with a sickening _crunch, _after an uproar of screams of shock and terror from the desperate civilians…

…and May's broken body was buried under the machine's towering shape...

...sealing her body and fate forever.

_Cornerian Military Outpost, City Limits (13-15 minutes later)_

"Corporal, our Anti-vehicle Cannons aren't proving their worth against all these Venomian Aircraft!"

Corporal Marcus, a tall brown Tom-cat with green uniform grinded his teeth. "Dammit…..they must've meddled with our targeting computers."

The Control Deck had already suffered a lot of damage. The enormous window that overlooked the back of the city had several white cracks splitting its center.

An orange Venomian _Invader I _zoomed by the window sending green shots at the window, causing it to shatter.

_Ka-petatattt!_

The shards flew all over the controls, a large flame erupting from one of them.

Everyone in the room began to yell in shock, but then a green Cornerian Fighter swooped down and finished the _Invader I _off.

Corporal Marcus got back on his feet, brushing the rubble off his uniform. "Shit! Where's the Star Fox Team when I need'em?"

A cardinal seated at one of the computer terminals adjusted his head-piece and microphone. "James McCloud reported five minutes ago. He's holding off the reinforcements over the sea."

Marcus scowled. "That was a retorable question. Now where's the-"

FWOOOOM!

The roof of the Outpost was ripped off its cemented holdings as explosions dotted the walls and more flames poured in.

A Dalmatian at the main Targeting Console barked. "Everyone down! They've breached our defense grid!"

Through the flames bordering the scorching hole in the roof, Marcus made out the shape of a large Venomian Gunship, hovering about ninety feet in the air, its guns fixed on their position.

Marcus yelled to the cardinal at Computer 5. "Signal the Anti-Vehicle Cannon Group and open fire, now!"

The cardinal ducked under his desk. "The blast shook the Defense Comm. offline!"

The Gunship edged closer, opening its bomb compartment…

Everyone cowered under their desks.

_Whoooshhh!_

A small yellow shape swiftly sped towards the gunship. Right before it sank itself into the ship's silver hull, Marcus caught a glimpse of its spiked wings and red wasp symbol on it.

**FE-ROOOOOOKKKKSSSHHHHH!**

The missile exploded into the gunship, causing the metal to crumble like wet cardboard under the pressing purple flames from the deadly projectile. It gave a whirring sound, shivered and fell backwards with a _BOOOOOOMMMM!_

As the remains began to smolder, the amazed soldiers came out from their cover.

Marcus turned his head to where the missile had come from.

Standing on a heap of rubble and smashed computer screens was a tall Labrador retriever, with bleached-white fur and broad shoulders. His uniform was red, the status symbol of the highest ranking in the Cornerian Army. Among the dozens of military medals and badges that dotted his chest, his bright blue General's Medal shone out above the rest. His small, fierce eyes scanned the wreckage. On the side of his face was a deep, black, decaying scar.

General Lysander had entered the battle. He blew out the smoke that was emitting from the huge missile-launcher in his hand, and dropped it at his feet.

"G-General Lysander!" Marcus spluttered, raising his gloved hand in a clumsy salute. "We…we weren't expecting you to leave your flagship!"

Lysander scowled in a very military-like way. "Marcus, you've left this heap of an outpost into a mess. Do I have to save your ass in order to restore discipline around here?"

"N-No….General," he added hastily. "Our…..cannons broke."

"Your cannons broke." The General Repeated. "Then why the bloody hell didn't anyone use any explosive weapons?"

"We…figured that they wouldn't be able to penetrate any of the aircrafts shields, sir."

Lysander rolled his eyes. "And yet I managed to strike a critical hit with just a missile launcher. Ehh.." He gave an irritated sigh and shoved the empty but hot launcher in the Corporal's arms. "...stupid recruits."

He eyed the rest of the room. "What are the rest of you gawping at? Attention on Deck!"

Everyone leapt to their feet and saluted.

Lysander glanced at the city in the distance. "Everyone move equipment to the Resource Shelter at the base of the beach. We need to aid any refugees that come to us. Now!"

Everyone scrambled in opposite directions.

Lysander grumbled to himself. _Pathetic whelps….someone needs to whip'em into shape when I'm not around…_

_I can't constantly babysit them…._

A Husky Lieutenant trotted towards him. "General, glad to see you. We could use your formidable experience out in the field-"

"Stop kissing my ass and tell me the situation, Lieutenant," Lysander growled.

"The Aerial Squadron's pushing back their ships, but we've got several civilian casualties under those Terrain Crushers."

"Damn Venomians. Where the hell do they get this crap?"

"Well, sir, I-"

"Shut up, I wasn't asking you!" the General barked. "What's the death count?"

"Almost 200 dead sir."

"And the injured?"

"Roughly a thousand."

Lysander bit his lip. "Damn those apes…..have any of our ground troops been able to penetrate the TC's?"

"Yes, sir. The armor withstands all explosive and laser weapons. They're extremely well-protected, which explains why they're moving slow."

Lysander said nothing as he watched the field of soldiers march in the direction of the city limits.

"Sir? Orders?"

The General walked towards the Refuge Camp. "Send more troops to round the civilians, and call up the Meds to attend to the wounded. And tell all groups to take chain cable devices with them to grind those Crusher's wheels to a halt. If we can't destroy'em, then we gotta stop'em."

"Yes, sir."

"Damn….I wish that McCloud boy was with us now….damn good fighter, James McCloud, was in my regiment too…..then he ran off to start up a team of pilots, cocky bastard…"

The Lieutenant, obviously used to his General's abrupt change of mood, nodded.

Lysander turned on him suddenly. "Has Dr. Andross sent any messages?"

"Not recently. He reported the ships' activity earlier, but he noticed them a bit late due to his experiment…"

"Tch…..crazy asshole…..always booming up with those experiments…..of course that's why I banished him in the first place…..with that Inner Power incident…" He rubbed his scar grumpily.

The Lieutenant shuddered at the memory.

Then the General turned, as if out of the trance. "But he's still an ally of Corneria's Army and Milirtary Research…for that, despite his crimes, he stays in contact from Venom…."

"Sir!" A Bluejay Scout approached him.

Lysander whirled around. "What? I'm the middle of something!" His eyes darted to the Husky Lieutenant. "Why are you still here? Get going!"

The Lieutenant blinked. "Oh, right." He marched away.

The General rolled his eyes. "What?"

The Scout nodded. "Junior Officer Pepper has arrived."

Lysander's expression changed. "Pepper? Oh, yes, send him in."

Officer Pepper was middle-aged. He was thin, had lagging brown ears, and blue uniform. But he had a distinguished reputation as a commanding officer, and was a close student to General Lysander. Pepper continuously worked hard to follow in Lysander's footsteps, since he idolized him as a role-model more than anyone. His dream was to become a General like Lysander….but deep down he was sure that it was impossible.

Lysander smiled at the sight of his quiet subordinate. "Pepper! Thank goodness you arrived! I've been surrounded by all these useless bozos, it's good to see at least one good fighter around here!"

Pepper, trying hard not to smile at his General, replied. "General, for the last time…they aren't useless they're good fighters."

Lysander raised his eyebrows. "Meh, I wish I could see the world the way you do-in an optimistic and goody-goody way-then I'd probably have lower blood pressure."

Pepper smiled. "Probably, sir. Now was there something you needed?"

"Yes, did the aid-and-rescue go well?"

"Affirmative, General. Our squad managed recover groups of wounded civilians. We've got the Venomian Ground Troops on the run."

Lysander clapped him on the shoulder. "Best news I've heard all day. This invasion's been hell for us…they've never caught us off guard until now. How many did you bring back?"

"Civilians? About eighty, sir. We're scouring the Undercity. Any smart civilians would've started hiding down there."

The General nodded approvingly. "You're a flawless soldier, Pepper. You're well on your way to becoming second-in-command."

Trying to hide his pride, Pepper kept a straight face. "I….I still have room for improvement, sir. The battlefield is a distant place….I'll need years of experience."

"All of which you'll gain…hey, lard-ass!" Lysander suddenly barked at a newt Assistant nearby. "Where's that coffee? Get going!"

As the terrified newt scurried away, Pepper heard his superior go "Sheesh.", and head towards his desk.

"Pepper, you mind assisting me with commands down here? It's already hectic with only one commanding officer, I'm gonna need help."

"Of course, sir." Pepper glanced worriedly at the scarred city in the distance.

"Pepper." Lysander looked hard at him. "Everything alright?"

Pepper fingered his gloves uneasily. "Well, sir…..I, uh…..my sister and her family live in the main city….I haven't heard from them yet….I hope they're alright…."

"If they're related to you, then they're well off," Lysander said kindly. "Survival runs in your family. Apple never falls from the tree, eh?"

Pepper smiled hopefully at the General's attempt to comfort him.

Corporal Marcus walked in. "Junior Officer Pepper?"

Pepper looked around. "Yes?"

"Um, there's a _girl _here to see you…."

"A girl?" Pepper inquired.

"Yes, a child. She appears to know you."

Another soldier walked in, hand-in-hand with a small white collie with a red bow. At the sight of Pepper, her blue eyes lit up.

"Uncle Pepper!"

"Fay!"

Fay ran over and hugged him.

Pepper, instead of embracing her back, rummaged through her clothes.

"Uncle?"

Pepper scanned her. "Are you injured anywhere?"

"N…No….I'm fine…"

Pepper smiled. "Thank goodness…." He gave her a quick hug and glanced at Lysander. "General, this is my niece. May I escort her to the refugee area."

The General nodded. Despite his military-hardened nature, he had a soft-spot for children.

Pepper took Fay's hand and walked her to another tent.

"Uncle, how's May doing?"

"May? You mean your sister?"

Fay nodded brightly. "Yeah, she must be tired….but she got here before I did, so that's all that matters."

Pepper looked worried.

"Uncle, what's wrong?"

"….Fay…..May hasn't arrived here. Someone would've told me….."

Fay looked confused. "But….no…she…she must be lost or something….is she with the other kids…"

"We've noted all surviving children…..May isn't there."

Pepper looked down at her little niece painfully. "Fay…..I…I don't think your sister made it…"

Fay's smile dropped. Her face was replaced by instant shock. "But…..no…_no….."_

She closed her eyes.

Pepper tried to hug her. "Fay-I'm-_I'm sorry-_"

Fay tore from his hold and began to cry. "_No! _May said….she'd be right behind me….she can't be gone…_she can't be gone!"_

Pepper's stomach felt hollow, watching his small niece sob like this.

_Poor Fay…..she's so young….._

_She didn't need this…or deserve it…_

"Officer!"

Pepper stood and saw that Marcus had returned. "Yeah?"

"Can I have a word?"

Pepper glanced at Fay, who was wiping her tears on her red bow. "Has….has the Star Fox Team landed yet?"

"Ten minutes ago, sir."

"Could you take my niece to Peppy Hare? He….he's good with kids, he can calm her down…."

"Yes sir."

Once Fay was out of the room, Pepper began to worry.

_Where is Lisa…_

_She would never have left her daughters alone…_

_Not unless it was really urgent…_

_Even then…they were inseparable…_

Pepper walked to the command desk and sat down, rubbing his forehead stressfully.

_Damn…..why did this have to happen to her…._

_She'll be scarred….for life…._

_No girl her age would be like her….or lost as much as she has…._

"Um….Officer?"

Pepper turned. "What is it, now, Marcus?"

"General Lysander wants to see you. Says it's urgent."

Pepper's brow furrowed as he followed Marcus to the General's tent. He requested to stand outside the tent, claiming that it was as far as he could go. Confused, Pepper stepped inside.

"General, you wanted to see me?"

Lysander, his back to Pepper, said nothing.

"General?"

Lysander stood. His face was filled with sorrow and pity.

"What is it?" He was somewhat scared, because his superior was either always grumpy-looking or thoughtful. He was never sad-looking.

"Pepper…..something's happened….I didn't want to notify you so soon, but…."

Pepper's blood ran cold. "What happened?"

Lysander remained silent. He walked past Pepper without a word and stepped outside the tent.

_What the hell is this? _Pepper thought. _Everyone's giving me the silent treatment…._

_What the devil happened?_

He walked over to where the General had been standing. As he walked forward, he began to smell something. Being a hound, smells were somewhat informant.

He looked down to see blankets covering up what seemed to be lumpy bundles.

_Equipment bundles? _

Pepper frowned and bent over to remove the cloth. The smell grew stronger…

_Flump!_

The blankets slid off. Pepper's heart stopped at what he saw, and he staggered back.

It was Jacob and Lisa Weldon. Pepper's sister and her husband….

Fay's parents.

…or at least, what was left of them.

Pepper's breathing became heavy. He felt dizzy, like the world was rushing to fast for him to keep up.

"They were found in a landfill on the outskirts of the city limits. We only managed to recover what was recognizable. I'm sorry." Lysander kept his voice calm over Pepper's shoulder.

For a long time, Pepper said nothing.

"I'm sorry, Pepper. They died protecting their children….they'll rest calmly for that. If there's anything I can do to lift your sorrow, let me know."

Pepper stood. "It's not me, General. It's my niece. How is she going to take this?"

"She's still in care for recovering for her sister. But we can hope she doesn't get inflicted by her losses permanently."

"She's too young…..she won't be able to handle it. Hell, she'll walk around bathing in her own pain. And she's only got me to care for her…"

Lysander cocked his head. "Will she be a burden on you?"

"It's not that….I'm a soldier, General….I…I can't care for her like a parent. I've got no experience with children, and I'm on commission. I won't be able to raise her like my own…..because frankly, I don't have 'my own' to compare with! I'm not even married!"

Lysander stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm….you could transfer her to an orphanage, to take a load off your soldiers…"

"No!" Pepper said. "I mean…no. I wish for Fay to live happily. To live like any other girl of her age. Putting her in an orphanage, that would torment her existence…."

Pepper paced the tent. This was a tough decision for him. He wanted Fay to be happy, but he knew that could never happen if _he _was raising her…

"What about the Flight Academy?"

Pepper turned. "What?"

"It's a comfortable place. Dozens of girls her age are beginning to train there….besides, there she'll learn to take care of herself…she'll be surrounded by people her age, to socialize, to befriend….plus, she'll learn to fly a ship!"

Pepper frowned. "I don't want her to become a militant. I want her to live peacefully."

"Everyone has a choice on their Graduation Day. To join the military, to start up a Team….or to just pursue a new life in the galaxy."

Pepper nodded. "I see."

Lysander sat down. "Pepper, it's the only reasonable choice. This raid on Corneria is not gonna be the last…..raising a child on your own in these times is a dangerous choice….for you both."

Pepper sighed. "It's settled then. I will send a broadcast to James McCloud. He's raising his own child right now, a little pup that's Fay's age….he should be some help."

Lysander nodded approvingly. "It's the most sensible choice right now."

Pepper walked out of the tent.

_I hope Fay takes to her new life well…._

_I don't want to disappoint her even more…._

_She'll have a good life there…_

_She'll be just fine…_

_Cornerian Flight Academy, 2 ALW (14 years later, But still in the past)_

The bubbles rose and fell.

There was nothing but wet pain, suffocation…

The water rippled and writhed….

It stung her eyes, drove up her nostrils, down her windpipe.

But that's all Fay could feel. All this, plus she couldn't breathe.

Finally, a hand pulled her face out of the sink, and she coughed and spat out the scummy water.

The Academy bathrooms were never a decent place, but now they were a thousand times worse because of the ones inhabiting it.

Fay rubbed water out of her eyes, as she gazed up fearfully at her tormentors.

The Leader was a tall and graceful tortoise-shell cat, with valiant green eyes. She might have been pretty, but her face was buried under superficial cosmetics and lipstick. She didn't spare her Academy Uniform any decency, since she had fastened the buttons to show off her bra-straps and cleavage. In short, she was the Devil.

Her two companions were equally fake-looking, but in reality, weren't half as intelligent. One was a kind of exotic bird, with pink feathers and brown curls. She had the strongest grip, so she was the one forcing Fay's face into the sink now and then. The other was a stupid and sniggering cat as the first, and she was keeping the doors closed, to avoid being caught by the other teachers.

These vultures were but a sample of the "Popular Crowd." But in reality, no one admired them, all the girls feared them, and none of the boys gave a tribute of attention to them (much to the Leader's irritation).

The Leader, whose name was Brooke, bent down to Fay's level. "Enjoying your drink, you slut?"

Fay looked up pleadingly. "Please….leave me alone…I've done nothing to you…"

Her face twisting with rage, Brooke grabbed Fay's collar and struck her across the face.

"How dare you deny it, you ugly little freak!"

Fay buried her face in her hands and cowered pitifully.

"That's right," Brooke snarled. "Whimper like a dog that you are! Maybe you'll think twice before making eyes at _my _boyfriend!"

Fay looked up. "That's….that's not what happened….I'm too….afraid to talk to anyone around here…much less….Bryant…"

"SHUT UP! Never use his name in my presence, you hear me?" She was about to rake Fay's face with her fingernails, but on of her friends stopped her.

"Brooke, don't. We don't wanna get blood all over the bathroom floor, or we'll get caught…"

Brooke narrowed her eyes towards the doorway of the bathroom. "Drag her to the stall."

The other two girls pushed Fay into one of the shower stalls.

"Such a dirty slut," Brooke said. "We should clean her up, huh, girls?"

The other two smiled evilly.

Fay's eyes widened. She wrenched out of the two girls' grasp and made a dash for the door.

"Grab her! Don't let her get away!" Brooke yelled.

Fay grabbed the door handle and turned it…but it was locked.

Fay's blood ran cold.

She felt the two hands grab her from behind and a second pair by her hair.

Fay tried to wriggle free, but the second girl had a firm grip on her waist.

Brooke was waiting for her. She walked up to her. "You tried to escape? You can't run away without paying for what you've done! For going near Bryant!"

There was a long and dull story behind this, but the truth of it was that Bryant, Brooke's boyfriend (the two weren't officially together, but once Brooke would set her eyes on a particular boy, all competition was to stay away or die), had grown restless. He was the best-looking guy in the Academy (well, at least the best since the Star Fox Team had graduated) and was tired of all the cheap and superficial girls trying to flirt with him. So he had now noticed Fay's natural gentleness and attractiveness, and had set his sights on her. So in Beltino's Science Repair Class, he asked Fay for help with his project. Fay, oblivious to his charm, innocently helped him in a kind manner, as a friend helps another. A manner that infuriated Brooke.

So now, for helping a fellow student in Science, Fay was receiving blows from Brookes fist.

_SLAP!_

_WHUMP!_

_KER-CHACK!_

Fay's nose and jaw exploded with blood, but her soul and heart was exploding with shame. She was being beaten like an animal.

Brooke bent down. "So….are you going to shed some tears yet? Are you finally going to beg for forgiveness?"

Fay looked up weakly. "I….I've done nothing wrong…"

Brooke wrenched her up by her collar. "What did you say?"

Fay looked up in her face, a small attempt for polite bravery. "Leave me alone….just let me go…"

Brooke's face was filled with anger. Her temple was bursting out of her head.

"You know something, bitch? That's a good idea."

She dragged Fay to the door.

"You want out? Allow me!"

Brooke grabbed Fay's face and pressed it against the doorway. Then she grabbed the door and slammed against Fay's face.

SLAM!

Fay screamed in agony as the savage blow hit her straight in the skull.

SLAM!

Fay felt her eye burn, feeling numb and swollen.

"NO!" she screamed. "_Please….NO!"_

Brooke spat at her companions. "Keep her quiet!"

One ran over and kept her grip on Fay's mouth.

Fay screamed into the girl's hand. "Hmmm-mnmph!"

Her eyes implored painfully into Brooke's direction.

Brooke smiled cruelly. "Aww…what's wrong? All beat up?" She made a tsk-tsk noise. "We gotta fix that. We gotta make you all pretty for Bryant, don't we?"

Fay's eyes widened.

Brooke reached forward and ripped Fay's sleeve.

Then she, tore off her skirt….her bead necklace that clattered apart on the floor…

And finished with her Academy shirt.

Finally, the other two girls let Fay loose. Fay scrambled to grab the rags of her uniform and ran into one of the stalls.

This time, Brooke let her go.

Fay cowered in the stall, only a few strands of torn underwear covering her up. She gathered the rags and pressed them to her body, in an attempt to cover herself.

She sat there whimpering….half-naked….her clothes in tatters….

She wanted to be dead….she would rather die than have anyone see her like this…

Brooke walked into the stall. "Having fun, you bitch? Maybe now you'll think twice before running after my man. Just stay away you got it."

Then her eyes fell on the red bow in Fay's hair.

"What's that?" Her eyes narrowed.

Fay backed up against the wall fearfully. She placed a hand on the bow.

Brooke smiled cruelly. "Let's have a look at it."

She made a grab for the bow and wrenched out of Fay's hair. But Fay kept her grip on the other end of the bow.

Brooke's eyes narrowed. "Let go of it. I want to see it."

She tore it out of Fay's grasp. She examined it.

"What's this piece of crap?"

Fay murmured. "It's mine….."

Brooke noticed that Fay winced as she ran her fingers down the bow. "So it's special to you, huh?"

Fay paled. "Give it back."

"Or what?"

"_Give it back!" _Fay cried. "My mother gave me that….it's…."

Brooke raised her eyebrows. "And where's your filthy mother now?"

Fay said nothing.

Brooke's attention returned to the bow. "I'll tell you what this is. It's a cheap piece of shit! Probably two cents in the garbage dump! Special? My ass."

She walked over to the toilet with it.

Fay got up. "Please stop!"

Brooke smiled. "Make me!"

Fay shivered. She stood rooted in the spot. For a moment….she might have done something…

Brooke frowned. "Exactly. You're a weak, ugly, cowardly little bitch! You can't even take this bow back! Well here's what I think of it!"

Brooke spat on the bow, and threw it into the toilet. She kicked at the flush pedal.

Fay cried. _"No!"_

Brooke walked over to Fay and raked her face with her finger-nails.

Fay felt the droplets of blood trickle down her face, the lines stinging her cheeks.

"You're pathetic. You can't stand up for yourself, you're unattractive, and no one wants you around. You're only good for flashing your body around like a bimbo. How are you gonna show your face around school now? No one wants you around."

Fay's lip quivered. Tears dripped down her cheek.

Brooke smiled triumphantly. "I knew it'd just be a matter of time before you cry. So just sit in the bathroom….never show your ugly face to anyone ever again. Just sit here, and die."

Brooke walked off out the door, followed by her friends.

Fay sat there. Alone, ragged, miserable…..she wished she were dead.

Then she looked into the toilet.

Fortunately, the bow didn't flush all the way. She reached into the toilet water, and fished out her dripping bow.

She watched it drip. Tears fell into the water as she wept.

Her face was wet, and her body ached from the abuse. She curled up against the wall and cried.

Her life was horrible….she had no family….no friends…..

She just existed….

She wished she were dead. She had no purpose in life.

_Clatter-clatter…._

The noise of footsteps echoed down the hall outside the open bathroom door.

Fay cowered, fearing there were more to torment her. She backed up against the wall, her heart racing, trying to make as less noise as possible…

She heard voices:

"You were so great at volley-ball, today! You jumped so high to spike the ball…it was so cool!"

"I just did it to see the opposite team's faces. They never saw it coming!"

They laughed. They were girl's voices….one was high-pitched and giggly, the other was warm and kind.

"Phew, I probably smell like a gym sock wrapped in blue-cheese."

"You kinda do. Wanna borrow some of my perfume?"

"What, that death-scent of flowers? It makes me gag! Blegh! I'm good. I'll just wash my hands and take a shower later."

"Okay, see ya!"

"Later."

Fay heard the door creak open and footsteps squeak against the bathroom floor.

She saw a figure walk over to the sink. A figure with spiky cheek fur….pointed flat ears….and a feline tail….

Fay closed her eyes. _Not another cat…_

The figure appeared female, but well-built. Slender shoulders, muscled arms…

The girl washed her hands in the sink, humming a tune on her lips.

Fay couldn't see her face, her back was to the stall…

There was a squeak as she closed the faucet and dried her hands.

Then she stopped. Her head whirled around.

"Who's there?"

Fay cringed back against the wall, her eyes shut.

She heard the footsteps draw nearer….there was a _creak _as the door opened…

"Hello?"

She opened her eyes.

This girl wasn't anything like Brooke. She wasn't a cat, though. She was a lynx. She was taller than Fay. Her fur was a light brown, almost orange. Her forehead was covered with streaking black tattoo-like markings. Her uniform sleeves were rolled up to expose her spotted broad arms. Her cheetah-like tail stuck from the back of her trousers. She had a small gold pierced hoop-earring around one ear, and a silver cross necklace under her red pilot's scarf. Her dress reminded Fay of a combination of a sports athlete and a street punk. She had blue eyes like Fay, but they were a dark shade of indigo warm, but tough, all at the same time.

"Oh my….God…" She looked at Fay's ragged appearance. "What the hell…"

Fay cringed.

"No, no, no…" the Lynx cooed. "I won't hurt you….well, I hope I don't _look _scary." She managed a small smile.

Fay looked up. "What do you want?"

"I should ask you, sis. You look terrible! What happened?" Her face looked concerned.

"I….I…don't know what I did.." Fay sobbed. "They didn't listen to me…"

The Lynx frowned. "It's gonna be fine, okay? No ones gonna hurt you….just tell me who 'they' are…"

Fay stammered. "It…it was that one girl…the mean one…Brooke…"

The Lynx kind expression turned to angry realization. "Brooke McIntire?"

Fay nodded. "You…know who she is?"

"How can I _not _know who that witch is?" the Lynx spat contemptuously. "She did this to you?"

"Yeah…" Fay whimpered. "Something…..because of Bryant…"

The Lynx stood, obviously aware of what was going on. "Great….another jealousy beating." She looked down at Fay. "Kiddo, that girl's been having competitive issues since the first grade. I thought someone had taught her a lesson by now…" She rolled up her sleeves, teeth clenched. "…apparently that's my job now."

Fay tugged on the Lynx's sleeve. "No, don't! If she finds out…" she said fearfully.

"Don't worry. She's not coming near you again."

"I….I don't want you to get hurt…not on _my _account…"

The Lynx smiled. "You're worrying about _me? _God….do you even think about yourself from time to time?" She laughed. "Thanks, honey, but I got this." Her smile drooped a little bit. "You look cold."

Fay shivered. She was in rags, and was barely covered.

"Here."

The Lynx unzipped her Academy jacket and put it on Fay. She wore a camo muscle-shirt underneath. "Comfy now?"

Fay nodded.

"Come on. I want you to be present."

Fay's eyes widened. "What? But-no, I-"

"Don't worry. No one's gonna hurt you while I'm around."

The Lynx took Fay's hand and they walked into the hall.

There was no one there, just the chrome lockers on the walls.

Then, a group of laughing girls walked in. It was Brooke and her possy.

Fay cowered behind the Lynx. "Maybe we should go…"

The Lynx shook her head. "No way. Today, I put my foot down."

She marched down the hall in Brooke's direction.

Brooke's malicious smile faded when she saw the Lynx. Her face wreaked of disgust and distaste.

"Jalessa." She sneered.

"McIntire." The Lynx spat.

Fay backed away slowly. Apparently, judging by the staring contest between the Lynx and Brooke, a lot of bad blood had been spilt between the two.

The Lynx glanced at Fay. "Please, stay here, okay?"

"Oh!" Brooke scoffed at the sight of Fay. "So the slut needed protection? How nice."

The Lynx folded her arms. "You owe my friend here an apology."

Brooke smiled. "Yeah? And what if I don't?"

The Lynx glared at her. "On your knees. Don't test me, Brick."

Brooke scowled. "I don't take orders from transvestites."

"Yeah?" The Lynx's voice grew louder. "Well I don't take shit from busted-out Playfrog sluts. Now apologize, otherwise-"

"Look, Jelissa. You should go, now. It's not like any guy is gonna stick up for you."

"I don't need a guy to stick up for me. I fight my own battles. You should try it sometimes, Miss-I-punch-while-you-hold-'em."

Fay smiled at the Lynx's spunk.

"You call _me _the Playfrog slut? That bitch cowering behind you was going after my boyfriend."

"Bryant?" The Lynx laughed. "He doesn't even know you exist. Besides he could use some one like this girl in his life. He doesn't need a showy big-breasted idiot like you?"

Brooke sneered. "What, gonna mock me on what I have that you lack, Miss Flat-chest?" The girls behind Brooke laughed and went "Ohhhh.."

The Lynx smiled. "Well, you've invested more in your boobs than your brains. Congratulations, dumbass!"

Brooke's smile disappeared. "If you don't hand over that bitch behind you, than I'm going to-"

"No, McIntire." The Lynx cracked her knuckles. "If you don't apologize, I'm going to rearrange your face like how I broke your nose in the second grade. Funny how that new nose made it just in time for your sixteenth birthday, huh?"

Brooke's face turned red. "Oh, you don't wanna go there with me, Jelissa. Girls, get her!"

Her possy made a quick dash for the Lynx, but she was quicker. She slapped the first one aside, and then forced the second to her knees by her hair. The Lynx aimed a kick for her face, and smacked the first one (who'd been rising to get a blow from behind) right in the ribs.

She slammed her elbow down on the first, and gave her a swift but heavy head-butt. The second girl ran forward and punched the Lynx in the face. But she soon screamed in pain as she tried to wrench her hand out of the Lynx's sharp teeth.

The Lynx got up, and the two girls ran out of the hall.

She faced Brooke. "Alright, McIntire. It's just you. No one to do your dirty work for you now."

Brooke's face twisted with fury. She ran forward her fist swinging through the air.

But the Lynx caught her fist in mid-air. She pressed her thumb down on Brooke's knuckle with impressive strength, forcing the Brooke's fingernails to dig into her own palm. A line of red dripped down her wrist.

The Lynx gave a winning smile. "That manicure's doing you a lot of good now, ain't it?"

Brooke never looked angrier than anyone had seen her throughout the school-year. "You bitch-"

The Lynx leaned forward. "Listen, McIntire. You're ugly, fat, pus-filled, heartless, brutal, cruel-Andross's equivalent. No boy in this entire galaxy could have a healthy appetite staring at your ugly face…..much less Bryant! You wanna know why I call you Brick instead of Brooke? Because your head is shaped like one!"

Brooke spat. "You wait…..you're gonna pay for this…"

The Lynx rolled her eyes. "Good one."

"You think you're gonna get away with this? You'll see….I'll deal with that little slut behind you…..she won't escape me!"

Fay cowered behind the Lynx.

Glancing at the Lynx's scared expression, she grabbed a handful of Brooke's hair and wrenched it back.

Brooke screamed in pain, her eyes watering.

The Lynx leveled her head so that it was an inch away from Brooke's. "Pay attention, you whore. You can mess with your nose, chin, hair, ass, face….whatever you pretend makes you look attractive. But no one messes with my friends….and when you do, _I'm gonna fucking mess with your internal organ system!" _The Lynx howled in Brooke's face.

Brooke looked terrified. Her eyes were huge, her mouth was quivering, and she was trembling all over.

"So…." The Lynx finished. "If you come within fifty yards of my friend…" She glanced at Fay. "What did you say your name was?"

"F-Fay.." Fay squeaked, her eyes just as big as Brooke's.

"Fay…." The Lynx echoed. Her expression turned soft for a moment. "That's a pretty name." Then she turned back to Brooke, resuming her angry expression. "If you ever come within fifty yards of my friend Fay, I'm gonna rip your head off your shoulders, stuff it up your ass, and then take a shit on you! Now get out of my sight if you know what's good for you! Go on! Get!"

Brooke scrambled out of the room, whimpering and sobbing. Then she screamed and ran down the hall out of sight.

The Lynx spat in the spot where Brooke had been standing. "Useless bitch."

She turned to where Fay was. Her rough expression returned to her normal kind face.

"Oh…whoops…" She smiled sheepishly. "I must've scared you to death….with….what I did to-"

"No, no!" Fay insisted. "It was amazing! I've never seen a girl in the Academy fight like that! Where did you learn those moves?" Her eyes were big with admiration.

The Lynx smiled. "One word, sweetheart. Jujitsu. The classes are open after school period. You should come….you could use some defense tricks."

Fay looked to the ground. "No….I'm, I'm not that into fighting."

The Lynx laughed. "Well, you're in the wrong place. Just because the war's over, doesn't mean that you need to stop defending yourself. You're such a delicate thing, Fay. What the hell are you doing out here?"

Fay rubbed her neck. "Well, I…um, my Uncle sent me here. He's General Pepper. Perhaps you've heard of him."

The Lynx's eyes widened. "General Pepper? Yeah, I know him. You're his niece?"

Fay nodded. "Yes. Why?"

"I dunno. I don't see much of your uncle in you."

Fay laughed.

The Lynx approached her kindly. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Fay shook her head. "Just a scratch or two. No trouble…" But her face had three parallel red lines from when Brooke had raked her face.

The Lynx fished a band-aid out of her pocket. "Here. This should stop the sting."

Fay cocked her head. "You carry bandages with you everywhere?"

"Hey, I get in fights all the time. Even I get scratched up."

Fay smiled warmly. "Look….thank you…for standing up for me. I really mean it. I'm grateful, I wish there was a way to repay you."

The Lynx shook her head. "No problem. Friends gotta stick up for each other, you know?"

Fay closed her eyes as she savored the word. _Friends…_

"Oh, that's right….you dropped this."

Fay opened her eyes to see her red bow dangling from the Lynx's hand.

"Oh…it's my bow….."

"Kinda special, huh? Otherwise, the Brick wouldn't have wanted to flush it so badly. It's really pretty…..I just love the flower designs…"

Fay raised her eyebrows.

The Lynx hesitated. "What?"

"I dunno. It's kinda weird hearing that…from you. You seem like a tomboy on first impression….it's kinda funny hearing you talking about clothes…"

The Lynx laughed. "Hey, despite my manly attitude, I'm still a girl. I like clothes….shoes…..if their nice and not tacky."

Fay raised her eyebrows. "Boys, too?"

The Lynx scowled. "What? No way….men are stuck-up and arrogant. No….I'll leave the luring boys in with good looks to you….."

Fay blushed. "Thanks…..you really nice. I wish all the girls in this school were like you."

The Lynx smiled. She handed the bow to Fay. "So where'd you get the bow?"

Fay's eyes faltered. "Oh…well….my mother gave it to me…"

The Lynx noticed the look in Fay's eyes. "Oh. Fay….I'm sorry."

Fay smiled cheerfully. "It's alright. She's watching over me…..I mean…she's not gone, right?"

The Lynx nodded. "Right."

Fay put her bow in her hair. She struggled to tie it up. "Wow….I forgot how difficult it was to tie this. I usually left it to my mom."

The Lynx reached over. "Let me."

She fastened the bow neatly above Fay's ears, and fluffed the sides up to stick above her head. She neatened it, so that it looked decent and pretty at the same time.

"Come on."

The Lynx led her to one of the glossy lockers, so that she could see her reflection.

"How's it look?"

Fay touched it. She smiled warmly. "Perfect."

The Lynx turned to her. "What's you're full name?"

Fay looked appalled. "You wanna know _my _full name? Oh, it's Weldon. Fay Weldon."

The Lynx smiled. "Aww….that's such a cute name! My name's Miyu. Miyu Jelissa."

Fay looked delighted. "Wow, it's beautiful! It sounds so fluent and exotic!"

Miyu laughed. "Oh, please. It sounds like something they'd name a secretary."

Fay laughed. Then she looked down.

"Fay, what's wrong?"

"I….I don't know how I'm gonna show my face around the school now….Brooke's probably spread that rumor about me now."

Miyu sneered. "Let her try. If she tries, then I'm gonna squeeze her into a pulp. Besides, everyone's gonna know you're not like that."

Fay shook her head. "No, Miyu…..the problem is….people won't I'm not like that….because they don't know me to start with….my first reputation…" She looked sad.

Miyu clapped a hand on Fay's shoulder. "Look, Fay….if you make some friends, people will know how beautiful of a personality you've got. Then it'll be Brooke with the bad reputation….listen…I'll introduce you to all my friends, and they'll introduce you to theirs….it'll work!"

Fay smiled hopefully. "If I've got you for a friend, Miyu, then that's all I need."

Miyu smiled. "You know what? Why don't you come with me to lunch? It's strawberry shortcake in the cafeteria, so it's gonna be flocked. All my friends will be there. You need a day for yourself….to introduce yourself properly. Wanna come?"

Fay nodded, smiling.

"Good. Come on. If we don't get there fast enough, all the school gluttons will hog up all the cake."

Miyu took Fay down the hall, and the two girls chatted the peaceful spring afternoon away.

"Hey, Miyu."

"Hmm?"

"You go to this academy….are you a good pilot?"

"Meh, I'm just here for the melee combat. I mean, dropping smart bombs, blasting people out of the sky, that's no problem. I just can't maneuver these clunky Arwing Prototypes. I've tried flying those Interceptors, you know, the ones that transfer to Walker Mode? But they're so clumsy I end up barrel-rolling off a cliff all the time!"

The two girls laughed.

For Fay, it felt good to talk, to act free. For the first time in her sorrowful life of loss and misery and discomfort, a small ray of hope shone in her heart.

For once, things were going for the better. She had a bright future ahead of her.

Or at least….she thought.

_End of Chapter_

**PLEASE READ:**

Right about now, you're all probably thinking: "Hey, what the hell? This is a Star Wolf story! Where do these people come in?"

Well, I read over _Sins of Star Wolf, _and I realized that I was shoving Wolf into the spotlight too often. What made the first story so good was the Academy, since Wolf was surrounded by protagonists and antagonists, with personalities and relationships.

I'm bringing that back in the story, so you can count on seeing tons of new faces in this story. All of which have individual personalities, and have different relationships with Wolf.

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**

This whole chapter, unfortunately is a flash back, not in Wolf's memory, but in Fay's. But how do these characters play in Wolf's story? Read on, young grasshoppers!


	2. Chapter 2

HOLY CRAP I can't tell you how sorry I am for making you guys wait so long for an update! I hope I haven't lost any of me devoted readers!

But don't worry; I've worked hard to make this chapter worth the wait. So to repay you guys, I've made this chapter as long as possible, so do everything in your to-do list BEFORE YOU READ THIS 'cause it's really long.

You guys _were _waiting for Wolf's fate, after all….

_Chapter 2: Fallen and Restored_

_1500 feet above Corneria Sea, 5 ALW (Present Day)_

Denique Fatum Penitentiary. The name haunted the minds of every bounty hunter, thief, kingpin, crime boss, and mercenary in the Lylat System.

It was built in 45 BLW, and was the worst nightmare for any outlaw. The ultimate punishment….waiting for judgment day.

Some said that it was impenetrable on the outside. Others claimed that no one had ever escaped.

But one fact remained. The only thing that traveled in and out of the prison accept for the occasional guard inspection….were bodies.

In these harsh times, the supermax prison was now heaped with desperate men. Some were locked up just for attempting to bring food for their family's table….the wrong way. The desperate way.

The fate of Lylat's people had been split in two directions: starve, or steal….. after the jail was built, many preferred starving.

At least, this was all that Thomas Gingerbeck had heard about the place.

The young speckled tomcat fidgeted in his seat aboard the guard's shuttle at the rumors he'd been hearing.

But he needed this job. All of his siblings had gotten jobs and left their parent's house. But Thomas had nothing to back himself up. He couldn't lift a shovel or drive a speeder. He didn't even know how to read (and he was almost 17). But even though his family doubted it, he was alright when handling a gun. Sort of.

So here he was, being driven to the most secure prison in the Lylat System, because he chose working for the law instead of working for a spaceship fuel station like 7-Eleven.

A mistake he would remember for good.

Thomas looked out the window into the foggy night. He saw nothing of interest….just the brightly lit Corneria City behind him, the starry sky, and the rippling water of the sea illuminated by the white headlights of the shuttle.

Then he spotted it: a large hovering dot in the center of the inky black sea, an Alcatraz in its own glory. As the shuttle drew closer to it, Thomas peered closer.

The huge landmass resembled a mountainous island suspended in mid-air over the sea. Several lights gleamed from the massive fortress that sat upon the surface. A tall pillar rose from the edge of the fortress, roughly the size of a Cornerian City Skyscraper.

"Welcome to Denique Fatum," the driver said. "The long spelling for 'hell.'"

Thomas gulped. "Is it as bad as they say?"

"Hell no. It's ten times worse. Transportation to the jail is granted only once a year."

"Then how do I get back?"

The driver didn't answer.

Thomas glanced fearfully at the massive floating prison.

_Why is it out here in the middle of nowhere?_

_It's probably suspended so high so no one escapes…._

A shudder ran down the tomcat's spine.

_It's such a lonely place…._

_But at least the pay is good…._

_God knows I need the money...and my family…._

They edged closer to the fortress's edge and Thomas spotted an opening in the middle of the immense stone wall.

_Swoosh!_

The driver pulled the shuttle around and faced the opposite direction.

The driver glanced at Thomas. "This is as far as I go. You can walk from here."

Thomas cocked his head. "Walk? But we're in the air! The door to the place is still at least a yard away!"

"They'll send a pick-up speeder. I'm not going any nearer to that hell-hole. Only the guards go in and out of that place, and I don't wanna peek what's inside."

Thomas nervously opened the exit hatch and peeked outside. With all his might he kept his gaze forward so he wouldn't look down.

_Don't look down…whatever happens….I'm already hundreds of feet up and I don't wanna see how high that is…._

The speeder pulled up in front of the shuttle.

WHA-ZHOOM!

Thomas had only time to sweep his tail back out of the shuttle door's way before it slammed shut and the shuttle dashed away.

Thomas shivered as he looked up at the ominous prison.

_Now I know why that driver was in a hurry to leave…._

_But what kind of people do they have locked up in there?_

_They must've been murderers….psychos….rapists…..REALLY bad people…._

The doors opened, and the two dog guards with massive bodies, long guns and tiny eyes turned their gaze to the direction of the seemingly out-of-place tomcat that had just entered.

"A kid?" One said in a gruff voice. "The warden sends out a guard request, and the only one hired is this little kitty? Ha!"

The two dogs sniggered stupidly.

Thomas gulped and pulled out his holographic message disc. "Um….I'm here to see Warden Slayter….he, uh, sent my par-I mean, _me, _this, um, letter…"

"'_I'm here to see Warden Slayter!'" _The other dog mimicked in a off-note high-pitched squeal. "Well aren't you a Momma's boy. Guess what? He ain't here, so you'll have to wait."

"Yeah," the other added. "Our waiting room's nice and comfy."

"Wh-?"

Thomas was shoved backwards…..very close to the edge. He glanced down to see the murky watery end at the bottom.

The guard grabbed Thomas's shoulder. "Have a nice trip, newbie."

Thomas yelled aloud. "No, _wait, _DON'T!"

"Hey, what the hell is this?"

The guards glanced around to see a pudgy figure approach.

In the moonlight, Thomas managed to see that it was a boxer Dog (and not an attractive one too). He was somewhat fat, and from what Thomas could tell, his face didn't look friendly either. His puffy cheeks curled into a smug and pompous frown. But the reason Thomas was cupping his nose was because of the green smoke crawling grossly from the black slobbery cigarette emerging from the corner of the Boxer's mouth.

The Boxer spoke around the cigarette. "Wahtff's the situation, boysh?"

The bigger of the two guards spoke, the jeering and uneducated immaturity disappeared from his voice. "Nothing, sir. Just some, uh, local trouble."

The Boxer moved the cigarette away with his tongue to the side of his mouth so he could speak clearly. "Local, huh? Ehh, just throw him out into the sea. No one'll care."

The other guard grinned. "Yeah, our thoughts originally. C'mon, wuss, time for your swim."

The Boxer turned his back to them and walked off.

Thomas wrestled his mouth from the bullies' grip. "I'm Thomas Gingerbeck! You sent that letter to my parents! I have it here-"

"Wait!"

The guards hesitated.

The Boxer turned and eyed the small cat. "You're the Gingerbeck kid? The one who applied for the job?"

Thomas nodded desperately.

The Boxer took out his cigarette and peered at the helpless kitten. "And on what authority should I believe you?"

Thomas rummaged his message disc out of his pocket.

The Boxer wrenched the disc from the young cat's hands and switched on its side panel. Little holographic words hovered over the disc's chrome surface.

"Hmm….needs…..job…..further information….authorized…" he mumbled, his small black eyes scanning the message without a shred of interest.

He switched it off.

"Hmph. Well, everything seems to be in order. You two, back on your shifts."

"Yes, sir." The dog Guards nodded and returned to their positions, their meaty hands releasing Thomas, who massaged his arms gingerly.

"God! You throw people over the edge of the prison into the ocean before you ask them questions? What kind of a Warden runs a jail like that?" Thomas yelled.

The Boxer's eyes glinted cruelly. "You have a problem with the way I run things around here, jackass?"

Thomas's heart skipped.

_Aw crap….._he's _the Warden?_

Warden Slayter put his cigarette back into his mouth. "I see you came in your uniform. Normally, security would have it that I'd have to strip-search you before entering the premises, but you look like such a wuss that the only thing you've got are the bones in your body, all of which are so weak that even a Venomian could snap them like a twig!"

Thomas said nothing. He'd been made fun of before because of his size. But he had learned how to respond to it: Not to at all.

Disappointed at the tomcat's lack of expression, Slayter scowled down at him. "Is there anything else besides the letter that that worthless mother of yours gave?"

Thomas' ears pricked at the spite the Warden was goading him with, but sullenly handed him a plastic envelope. "My mom sent this. In case I need-"

_Crunch!_

The Warden snatched the envelope with fast greedy hands. He tore it open, crumpled the note inside and took out the Lylat Currency Bills out of it. His eyes glowed greedily.

"What were you plannin' to do? Sneak this by me? What else do you have?"

"That's it."

Slayter stuffed the money into his grubby pocket. "Follow me, I gotta to show you around. You aren't much good to me if you keep gettin' lost."

He yelled at into his comm. "Open the gate!"

After a few seconds there was a slow riveting sound echoing from behind the huge black-iron slab-gate that loomed over the entrance. As it gave a huge metallic _CREAK, _Thomas caught a glimpse of the laser-slided barriers that hinged out of the way as the massive doors opened.

The inside of the Prison was massive space, stoned with cobble-iron. It had the look of a courtyard to it. The walls were lined with battlements. Interestingly, in addition to the occasional search-light, there were barely any guards up there. Mainly stationed machinery that looked suspiciously like- _missile turrets._

"This is the Main Yard. That small longhouse in the center is the guard's quarters. The big tower in the back is the largest individual structure on the floating island."

"Uh, quick question," Thomas asked. "How does the island, uh, _float_?"

Slayter swung around and scowled. "And how the hell do you expect me to know that? I dunno. Something Andross dabbled years ago, with boosters and gravity and stuff. And here's my office."

They opened a rotted-wooden door to a dingy and un-furbished room.

Thomas's nose wrinkled as he caught more stench of whatever smoke that was emitting from the Warden's cigar (which he recognized it as Katine Canabis.)

"Um, it's okay. I'll, um, wait outside."

Slayter's lip curled. "Yeah, like I'm gonna let you in my room, to take _my _valuables? Not a chance."

_If your valuables are anything like what's in your mouth, you can keep'em. _Thomas thought.

"By the way, what will I be doing as a job here?"

"_You?" _The idea seemed to amuse the Warden. "I can't have you guard nothin' on this island. Not with a gun. Nah, you're too much of a pussy to do anything worthwhile around here. No, I'll give you a job of your speed. But it'll be a replacement."

"Replacement? What happened to the last-?"

"AND now it's time to show you the prisoners. Just so you can see Corneria's scum."

They walked back to the main yard and stepped onto a roofless elevator in the corner-stone area.

But instead of moving down, the platform moved forward like a trolley.

_HMMM! _The trolley whizzed out of the moonlit yard down a dimly-lit stone caverns

As they zoomed down the tunnel, the first room came by.

Thomas's hand flew to his nose. _OH MY-_

The room was filled with…_ornaments. _Dozens of gibbet*-posts lined the walls, each branching human-shaped cages. Inside every cage was a decaying body.

The smell was bad enough to make Thomas's eyes water. Clearly, nobody had been in this room in a while, and all the rotten smells and bodily stenches had built up and wreaked the room.

But the sickest part was that they were still….._rotting. _Bugs were oozing out of places….cockroaches draped the mouths, millipedes showered their spleen…it was sick. Too sick for Thomas.

"This is our gallery," Slayter said proudly. "All the most famous psycho-paths, murderers, and criminally insane master-minds and serial killers in the Lylat System are hanging in front of you. Our most famous inmates. Shame they had go and die on us. But we just couldn't part with them." He gave a sinister laugh.

Thomas coughed. "Wha-do you do this with _all _your dead prisoners?" He wasn't about to ask why Slayter did this to anyone at all, because he could tell he was going to get a horrible answer.

"Pff. No. We save this honor for our famous prisoners. Ones that people talk about outside the prison's walls. Just a reminder of what happens to those who break the law. Anyone else gets hung. Then we dispose of 'em over the edge of the island. Into a watery grave."

"So where are your _live _inmates?" Thomas asked.

"This way."

The "elevator" moved forward towards the exit (Thomas gulped in the fresh air). Finally doing its first elevator-type function, the platform they stood on moved downwards.

Thomas could tell that they were now moving deeper into the jail.

_This is an evil place…if they hang famous criminals like rotisserie food in a Fichinese Restaurant window, I'd hate to see what they do to living prisoners….._

"Um…." Thomas cleared his throat carefully. "No disrespect, but uh…..who _owns _this jail?"

Slayter glanced at him. "General Pepper, of course. He asked Andross to build it 45 years ago, back when he was still sane."

Thomas couldn't believe it.

_General Pepper owns this place? I've seen pictures of him, commercials….he's done so much for the Cornerian Army…._

_How could he have built this horrible place…._

The elevator moved onward into a silent corridor area, and then to a balcony. Thomas looked over the edge.

He gaped. Not in disgust this time, but in awe.

_Oh my…..God….._

The massive sight before him was laid out like an aisle. The rest of the room was pitch black in the dark, but the wall was dotted by blue lights. But there were so many… hundreds of thousands, they ran across the wall towards an endless distance…. Spanning up and descending into the bottomless pit below, it was there was no end to these things. They all lined like honey-combs in a beehive.

But when Thomas leaned forward to see what these things were, it just shocked him even more….

Each blue light was the bright lamp at the top of an egg-shaped glass pod, built into the wall. And every pod contained a bed, sink, toilet…..and a prisoner.

_Cells…. _Thomas thought. _Hundreds of them….. So many….. in a jail like this…what did they do?_

"Amazing, isn't it?" Slayter nodded towards the blue dots. "We have here 700,000 prisoners. Each livin' hell."

"_All _of these are criminals?"

"Yep. Every stinkin' last one of them. So many, in fact, that we had to weld in another couple hundred thousand cells."

The elevator moved down the aisle, which sickly reminded Thomas of the ladders librarians to retrieve holo-books in the Archive Library.

But these prisoners didn't look criminal at all. They were just….. people. Cats, Dogs, Rabbits, Birds, Lizards…. Not one ape among them.

"These are all Cornerians!" Thomas cried in disbelief.

Slayter casually dropped his cigarette into the endless abyss below. "Funny, how many people break the law."

"But….But these are just people! Women, men…. Some of them are _my _age! And _younger_! What kind of a jail is this?"

The Warden's lip curled. "You're startin' to annoy me. Jail is for criminals. Criminals break the law."

Thomas kept his eyes on the prisoners.

_This isn't right….. I mean, they don't _look _like bad people…_

As they passed down the pods, Thomas noticed that all of them looked fatigued. Most were lying on their beds groaning, while others were on the floor….fidgeting.

_What's wrong with them?_

Thomas turned to one of the nearby cells, and saw that a Bengal Fox was staring at him with wide eyes.

"Are you…..are you from outside this place…?" He asked in a small desperate tone.

Thomas blinked.

_He's talking to me….._

_I'm not supposed to…..I mean….he _is _a criminal…._

"Um…..yes."

**SLAM!**

Thomas's heart leapt super-high when the Bengal Fox slammed his hands on the glass window of his cell.

"Please, you've gotta help me! These guards, the warden they're all insane! They're demons, I tell you! _They're killing us all in here!"_

Slayet swung around. "What's going on here?"

The Fox kept his pleading gaze on Thomas. "Please, in the name of God, help me! I'm innocent! I'm a father! I have six children! I was trying to feed them! They haven't eaten in days! _They'll DIE!" _He sobbed.

His face was twisted with sorrow and pain, it was a lot for the young cat to take in.

"Yeah, you tried to feed them alright!" Slayter sniggered. "By breaking into the Food Storage and attempting to smuggle food illegally!"

"Please have mercy, my family's dying! It was just a little food, I need not suffer in this dreadful place!"

Slayter tapped the lever on the side of the elevator platform. "This conversation bores me."

"PLEASE!" The man screamed. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY DO TO US HERE! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY FEED US! THEY'RE POISONING US ALL!"

Slayter's smile dropped and he kicked at the cell. "Shut up! You piece of shit…"

The Fox banged his fists on the glass his screams echoing inside the cell. "DON'T LEAVE ME HERE! DON'T LET HI-_bl-cough-Bleeearraraggghhh!"_

The rest of his sentence was drowned out as he fell to his knees and started screeching and retching, clutching his stomach, yellow-brown liquid gushing out of his mouth-streaked with blood.

Thomas scrambled back in horror as the Fox continued to regurgitate.

Slayter slammed his foot on the lever and the elevator was on its way.

"Wha….what's wrong with that man?" Thomas gasped.

The Warden expressed no concern. "He's just sick, dirty piece of crap. They all get sick."

Thomas looked at all the other thousand cells. "You mean the rest of them are like this too?"

He remembered what the man had been screaming about. _'They're poisoning us all…..'or something about being fed…._

He looked up. "What….Mr. Slayter…._what do you feed them?"_

The Warden's look changed. "That's a separate issue, boy. Not one that concerns you, either."

"What do they eat here? Tell me!" Something was very wrong here, and Thomas could feel it, chilling all over his body.

Slayter rolled his eyes. "Sheesh….. you mind lowering voice, jackass? Find if you're gonna be such a wuss about it, then I'll tell ya. Fine, we don't like paying the budget for 700,000 prisoners. We can only afford to feed the guards."

"So what do you feed-?"

Slayter turned to the cells. "I think it would wise to mention, that not a lot of prisoners, and not a lot of guards, make it throughout the year. Most die. So we give them a different purpose in the afterlife."

"Wh-What kind of purpose?"

Slayter smiled evilly and glanced at the sickly prisoners.

"Meat."

Thomas's heart almost stopped.

_Meat? As in….. guards…..prisoners…..become…._

…_..meat…._

He felt a horrible twist of terror and indigestion.

_Oh…my God…._

"You chop your dead up and feed them to your prisoners?" Thomas yelled, horrified. "THAT'S SICK!"

Slayter turned his nose up. "So what do you care? They're just criminal lowlifes."

Thomas felt like hitting the Warden. "They're _people! Human beings! _You….they deserve better than this! This God-damn abuse! This is illegal!"

The Warden's smile faded slightly. "You better keep that hole in your face shut, boy. If General Pepper cared anything for these prisoners, then he'd tell us."

A sharp pang built in Thomas's body. The Warden was right.

_General Pepper does own this place…._

_But someone as good as him…._

_Could he really be responsible for something this inhumane…?_

_Wait a minute…..He owns this place…..but how often does he visit?_

Thomas looked up. "Pepper doesn't know about this, does he?"

Slayter's eyes turned from a lazy expression to an alerted one. "And what if he does or doesn't? It ain't any of your business, kid!"

"He _doesn't _know! I knew it! He probably doesn't even know about the people you lock up here either!"

Slayter grabbed Thomas by the collar. "If you _dare _think about telling anyone about this…!"

"_That's _why only one shuttle trip to this place is granted per year! You don't want anyone to find out about this, do you? Well, I've seen enough of this hell-hole. I'm leaving. I'm getting off this frozen rock before it's _my _guts that these poor souls are eating! Someone needs to know about this inhumane torture in this place! You're gonna go to a REAL prison once the government finds out about this, and after that, hell! And good riddance, you senile monster!"

SLAM!

Thomas felt a painful bludgeon against his cheek and tasted warm blood in his mouth.

"YOU LITTLE SHIT! I'LL RIP YOUR THROAT OUT!"

The Warden grabbed Thomas by the collar and dragged to the edge of the elevator platform…..overlooking the dark abyss that awaited at the bottom of the cell aisle.

Thomas squirmed under Slayter's intense grip.

He looked completely enraged. His nostrils were flaring, his teeth were bared, his eyes were wide with rage, and he was breathing in and out like a mad bull on Thomas's face (who was trying to breathe through his mouth from exposure to the Boxer's rancid weed-breath).

"Let me go! LET ME GO!"

The Warden smiled cruelly. "What? _Let you go? _Alrighty, then!"

He loosened the grip and Thomas gave a little scream as he fell back slightly, before the Warden grabbed him again. He laughed hoarsely.

"Let me g- _I mean, _uh, let me be! Stop it, NOW!"

"What? So you can blab about things that don't concern you and get me in trouble with the authorities? Not a chance, kid. I'd better kill you over _right now."_

"You-you can't! My…my parents will come looking for me!"

"Yeah? And I can make it so your whole God-damned family will get locked up in here for life if you give me the least bit of trouble!"

And now Thomas realized the trap he was caught in. It wasn't just his life at stake….but his family's too.

"Now…..you're gonna do exactly what I say….and if I'm in a good mood, you'll stay alive in this place paid, fed and decent. And if you breathe a _word _about our operation's 'methods', then your family's gonna find themselves in a nice cozy sell munching on _your _meaty remains. Understand?"

Thomas nodded, his hate for this man rising with every breath he took.

_He's a twisted evil piece of garbage…._

_But I'm not afraid of him…_

_He's still nothing but a low-life coward…..he's afraid of the law…._

_But the law catches up to people like him….that's what my father always told me…._

They moved down the aisle until they came across a massive archway, with a red gleaming barrier of an energy wall.

Slayter pulled out his comm. "Security, turn of energy barrier 11432."

_HMMMMM!_

The red beam wall hummed, faded slightly, and then vanished.

The next aisle was also lined with glowing blue pod-cells, but these inmates looked more like criminals.

A lot of them were predators, thugs, head-hunters, sleezy gangsters. Most were tattooed. Half were muscular. But all of them started banging on their cages when they caught sight of the Warden.

"Slayter! Get your ass outta here, you cheap-ass son of a bitch!"

"You're an inhuman freakjob, you prick, and someone's gonna find out about the cannibalism you're doin' with the prisoners!"

"Just wait till I get outta this cage so I can stuff guts down _your _throat!"

The taunts and ranting came one after the other. Apparently, even amongst actual criminals, the Warden was a hated man.

But he appeared to pay no heed to these tough-looking and fearsome thugs. "This is our High Security Area. These goons aren't worth a dime, but we had to put'em somewhere."

Thomas frowned. "Look, _sir, _I know how famous your prison is, but now that I know I'm working for you _by force, _I'd like to cut the tour short and see what my job is."

"Persistent, ain't ya? Well," the Warden spat in the abyss. "Fine."

_SCREECH!_

The elevator halted on its track, momentarily making sparks fly. Then it spun into the opposite direction and sped to the end of the track, where it riveted upwards.

They now found themselves looking over the Main Yard, except the view was higher. Thomas realized that they were moving on the battlements that he had seen earlier.

They halted to a flight of stairs leading down into the yard.

"We're off here. From here, we walk."

Thomas walked down the stairs and followed the Warden to a door in the stone wall at the end of the courtyard.

Behind the door was another massive courtyard-except this one was empty. There was no small building in the middle of this one. But the walls were much higher and bulkier, with dozens more searchlights and contraptions. At the far end, standing in the middle of a massive wall, was a massive, skyscraper-sized black tower, dotted with glittering blue windows.

"The Denique Fatum Security Tower. 102 stories high, the top floor filled with the entire security layout of the prison. Gate control, cell door controls, security cameras…..and lots of people working behind'em too. But I had to pay'em extra to keep quiet about the prison conditions."

"Is that where I'm going work?" Thomas asked, his awed gaze still on the massive tower.

"_You? _Ha! No way!" Slayter scoffed. "You don't even know why you're here, do you, kid? The reason I sent that job request?"

"No." Thomas suddenly grew alert. "Why?"

The Warden laughed nastily. "Don't worry, it's not a dangerous job." His expression became serious. "But your job is classified. No one outside the prison's walls, or even within them can know about it."

Thomas narrowed his eyes. "What? Another addition to your blackmail?"

"No, wise guy. This is an order by law. Your job involves something only Cornerian Top Secret Intelligence knows about. Only about half a dozen people in the entire Lylat System know about it."

Thomas leaned forward, interested despite himself.

"This way."

As they walked, the Warden reached to his comm. "Security Grid A, switch missile turrets to unarmed."

A voice responded. "Copy that, Warden. Missiles are unarmed."

Thomas gaped. _Missiles?_

Slayter grinned. "Don't worry. Standard Procedure."

The silver devices on the battlements swerved their aim away from the main yard.

_So those ARE Missile turrets…..but what do they need them for….?_

"You see, this Tower, those lights and turrets….they're only recent additions to our beloved jail."

"Wh-Why?" Thomas gulped.

Slayter turned to him, a mean glint in his eye. "Because a few years ago, this supermax prison was given a new inmate…..one so dangerous in fact, that we keep him away from all the other prisoners. General Pepper himself saw to the prisoner's locking up." He paused to gaze at the tower. "And he hasn't been out since. But we still need to tend to the unlucky bastard. That's where your job comes in. This way."

They headed towards the tower.

"What did the guy do to deserve this kind of security?" Thomas asked.

"Who knows? They didn't even tell me when I was placed in charge. But one thing's for sure….he'd have to be hell-dangerous to have a full-scale security tower built and a hundred more guards just for his containment."

"So…..what am I here for?" Thomas squeaked timidly, praying that his job wasn't gruesome.

Slayter smiled a very hateful smile. "You'll see."

They headed towards the tower, and to Thomas it seemed to get larger with every step.

There were some massive steel doors at the towers base. Slayter only had to be within five steps of them before they unhinged and slided open automatically.

The room inside was roughly the size of a basketball court, like the ones in Thomas's neighborhood park. It was a dark room, only lit with the blue lamps on the walls on either side. The only remarkable thing about it was its large steel floor. Strangely, it had metal rivets in the center, and appeared to be bolted with steel screws and bolts.

_Like an iron garage door. _Thomas thought. He was suddenly getting the feeling that this was no floor.

The Warden barked into his comm. "Security Bridge, unlock all doors over the Primera Cell."

"Access granted," the comm. voice replied. "All doors opening."

Suddenly (unless it was Thomas's imagination), the ground began to shake, giving off a metallic moaning sound, like huge steel hinges.

_RRRRAAAUUUUUUPPPP…_

The steel floor began to split apart and open like a massive camera lens, its mouth gaping open. A massive horizontal door….

Thomas dared himself to look down into the opening.

_Holy…..crap…._

It was like staring down a massive elevator shaft, only it was wide enough to be like a vertical ship tunnel. The blue lights lit the tunnel down, and Thomas gaped as every 10 feet, another huge "door" opened. The tunnel just kept going…..diving miles underground….

"Step on, kid."

Thomas looked up to see a hovering wall-less elevator platform, framed by steel rods and filled a blue beam.

He stepped on, and the beam on the platform turned yellow, sensing the weight on board.

As soon as Slayter stepped on, the elevator zoomed down lightly, the blue lamps on the tunnel walls whizzing by.

"This tunnel was built right above the prisoner's cell. It's filled with at least 40 doors blocking the way back up-all of which I unlocked just now-each 24-feet thick steel armored, heavy and practically indestructible enough to be used for capital warships. The tunnel goes about underground…..deep beneath the prison, away from all signs of human contact."

"Why?" Thomas asked.

"Apparently, the prisoner's crime was so terrible, General Pepper's final decision wasn't to execute him, but give him the Cornerian Disbanded Penalty, the punishment that had never been used on a single living person in history. The punishment of wading the last days of being in God's world in complete darkness….to be cut away from life itself….and remain living like a caged animal."

Thomas's eyes were wide with fear. "Who'd deserve such a horrible fate?"

Slayter grinned. "Don't wanna ruin the surprise, now do I?"

Thomas shivered. As they kept going underground the island, it was getting colder…

_A lifetime in this dark cold place? How awful…._

"But one thing I know," Slayter continued. "He's a dangerous fellow. That's why built this massive cell down here….and not just anywhere, but under our security tower, to monitor him for the rest of his life."

"How dangerous?"

"Dangerous enough to have nearly killed the last person down here."

Thomas jerked up. "What?"

"Yep. Despite his punishment, we've gotta keep him healthy. But our orders are to never send a person down there for company. His sentence literally meant exile. He gets fed by a deaf mute, you know, and only once every six months. And he hasn't spoken to anyone and no one's spoken to him since he was locked up."

"How long has he been down here?"

Slayter laughed. "How the hell should I know? Like, 20 years, maybe? 100? I don't know when he was first brought here. But one thing's for sure, he's still alive."

"So what am I supposed to do here?" Thomas asked.

"You have to monitor him."

Thomas gaped. "Wha-_me?"_

"Yes, you. Don't worry, you'll be safe."

"I thought you said the last guy that went down there was almost killed."

Slayter frowned. "That was the guy that fed him. You have a different job."

Finally, they had reached their destination.

The cell was a massive room completely made from underground black rock. The center had been paved to resemble a circle. The only thing noticeable in the room was the tiny blue lights that dimly lit the outside of the center circle, and the glowing yellow-window observation booth room built inside the wall on the opposite end.

But there was no prisoner. There was no one in the room.

Thomas looked around. "Where is he?"

Slayter smiled and looked up.

Thomas looked up as well. His eyes widened.

_Oh…..my….._

_God….._

A black shape was suspended about ten or eleven feet in the air, and Thomas realized that it was a person. His arms were spread-eagled out, the hands dangling down. The prisoner's head was slumped forward, facing the ground, making it impossible to see his face.

Thomas continued to stare at the prisoner.

_How is he floating like that?_

_It's almost like he was crucified in mid-air…._

Slayter pointed at the figure.

"I give you…the once proud and fearsome Star Wolf Leader, Wolf O'Donnnell."

The shock from the "Gallery", the prison's food, and the kind of people that were locked up melted away from Thomas's brain as he beheld the stunning truth.

"What-it's….._him? _That's…..Wolf O'Donnell?" His eyes were growing bigger every second.

"What, you've never heard of him?"

"Of course I've heard of him, who hasn't? But….._the _Wolf O'Donnell? The uncatchable savage predator Star Wolf Leader? I…..I don't believe it…"

"Believe it."

Thomas kept his gaze on him.

_The one who…was supposed to have killed James McCloud….._

_Who…hunted Star Fox…..the whole Lylat Wars_….

…_..captured?_

_I….it's not that I don't believe it…._

_I just…..I _can't _believe it….._

"What did you do to him?"

Slayter smiled. "Us? Nothing. That bastard got himself captured by the Cornerian Army…..it's a good thing, too. His ship had crashed on Venom, into a chemical pit, combined with the engine exploding….."

Thomas's eyes widened. "And he lived through that?"

Slaytet scoffed. "Barely. His body was burned and battered, it was more screwed up than a scattered jig-saw puzzle. And his face….oh…" The Warden smiled evilly. "His face was completely shredded open…..if you blew on it would fall apart like a pile of dust."

Thomas gasped. "Dear God…."

"That isn't all….the Cornerian Army brought him back and stitched him back together, piece by piece…..but his face was so damaged up, that the plastic surgery effects would take _years _to heal up. So when they locked him here, they strapped a bronze masking mechanism to his face, required to be on till the surgery had healed. That's why we have to feed him through this."

The Warden pulled out a long, yellow needle, filled with a chunky brown liquid.

Thomas cocked his head. "What's that?"

"Protein, fat, sugars and nutrients, all bundled up into one painful chemical. It's good enough to keep him fed and nutrimental for six months straight, before we inject him again. Doesn't sound too bad, right? Well, it causes a burn that runs down the entire body, bad enough to make him feel like he was burned alive."

The young cat gulped. Then he glanced again at the prisoner's floating form.

"How is he hovering like that? And is he chained to anything?"

The Warden smiled and tapped a button on his comm., which appeared to have a lot of other triggers and controls on it. Thomas guessed that it could be used to open functions for the rest of the jail.

_BZZZZZZ!_

A sudden burst of energetic light filled the room, and Thomas watched as a massive chain the size of an anchor chain appeared on each of the prisoner's wrist, attached to silver shackles.

But these chains were more than just huge. The light they had caused was because they weren't made of steel. They were violet-colored and brightly giving off energy like an electric cord, sizzling and hissing.

"These energy chains are made of fusion energy powerful enough to fuel a warship and strong enough to hold one. He ain't hovering, kid. He's hanging. Those two holes in the walls hold the chain up by continuously shooting bolts of radiated energy down the chain. These chains can also turn off their light when we want, giving off the impression that he's 'floating.'"

Now that his form was lit by the sizzling violet chains, Wolf's body was now visible. He was wearing a ripped open jail-shirt, exposing a muscular chest, with fine abs and high broad shoulders. His arms were also strong, with pulsed biceps and triceps. His jagged tail hung down by his dangling legs, expressionless, like his face.

His face was indeed covered by some kind of bronze face-plate, with welded screws around the forehead and five vertical lines on the mouth indicating the breathing mouthpiece. The only visible portion of his face was his ears, poked out of the top of the mask, and a single slit for his single eye, which appeared to be closed.

_For a powerful guy…he sure looks peaceful….._

_Maybe he's asleep…._

He turned to the Warden. "Can he hear us?"

"Of course he can!" Slayter laughed scornfully. "He's awake."

He pressed yet another button on his comm.

The chain that held Wolf grew longer as he was lowered to the ground, a tap echoing throughout the cell from his feet touching the floor.

The eye in the slit opened, showing a weary, once intense purple eye. It no longer had the deviant and defying light in it. It was now sad, and tired, and desperate.

"Hey, Star Wolf!" Slayter screeched. "Looks like you've got some company! Shame you haven't died on us! Then I could've scraped your worthless shitty body into a cage to hang in the gallery!"

Wolf, unable to express any expression with his bronze mask, said nothing.

Slayter scowled. "Well, that's unlike you. Last time I was down here, you tried to strangle me. 'Cause I said that you lost to Star Fox. You were blown to bits in five minutes like the weak pussy you are…."

Thomas gasped. "What the hell are you doing?"

The Warden laughed. "He can't do anything. If he tries to struggle out of those energy chains, it'll send a shockwave of electricity to his body that'll make an electric eel's shock seem like being pricked by a pin."

Thomas looked at Wolf. "I still think-"

The Warden ignored him. "You don't look so big and strong, do you, Star Wolf? It seems that even cock-faced lowlifes like you can be caught anyhow. You're a worthless piece of crap, O'Donnell. You may be big and scary, and you may have worked for Andross, but you're nothing now. You're as good as dead, and Andross is a burnt pile of crap, along with the rest of your Team mates."

He laughed scornfully. But Wolf continued to stay silent, is blank eyes staring right past the Warden.

Angry that he had failed to make Wolf break, Slayter continued. "You know what's wrong with you, O'Donnell? You're not fucked up on the outside. You're fucked up on the inside. You're a walking disgrace, filled with dirty blood. The blood of your father."

Thomas gulped. "Look, he's had enough. We-"

"Your father was a drunk-ass spawn from hell, and he passed his shitty genes to you. And what about your dead mother? Huh, Star Wolf? Where do you think she's buried? Well, whatever. She was probably nothing but a fat dirty whore, who probably sold her body to your father for a couple of cents. And that's when you arrived, you little shit."

Silence. Wolf continued to stare at the Warden, his eyes empty of emotion.

Slayter's face twisted with rage. "Come on. Get angry. Do something. It won't matter, you're chained up! You can't do anything to me!"

He walked up to Wolf. "Come on."

SLAM!

He kicked Wolf.

Thomas yelled. "What are you doing?"

Slayter waited.

Nothing. Not a sound.

He roared and then kicked him again. And again. And again….

Nothing.

Then he made the mistake of kicking Wolf in the stomach.

The Warden yowled as his foot vibrated off Wolf's tough stomach.

Then he spat on him. And pinched him. And beat and scratched his back.

Nothing.

Slayter stared at Wolf in raged amazement. Then he gave a cruel smile. He reached into his pocket.

_Twing!_

He flipped out a crude pocket-knife.

Thomas yelled. "NO! Stop!"

Slayter held up the knife.

Thomas turned his face away as he heard a sickening _swish _of steel cutting skin.

A small whimper echoed from inside the mask.

Slayter gave a hoarse laugh. "HA! The mutt whimpers!"

Blood dripped from Wolf's forearm where the Warden had cut him.

Thomas stood straight. "Warden, that's enough!"

Slayter turned his crude face to Thomas's direction. "What did you say to me,

boy?"

Then his rage melted into a new look of realization.

"Ooohhhh…..I know what will really get into his skull. I _know _I'm gonna enjoy his reaction to this." The Warden laughed crookedly.

He turned to Wolf who was now staring alive and awake at the Warden.

Slayter reached into his other pocket.

For a scary second, Thomas thought that he was going to pull out another knife, but he pulled out something completely different.

It was a diamond, a crystal of some kind. A sapphire, maybe? No, it had to be more exotic. The crystal was blue, and it shined so brightly that it almost gave off a faint glow of its own. Thomas had never seen a stone like it before.

Whatever it was, it seemed important to Wolf, because the minute he saw it, his eye widened instantly.

"Yes…." Slayter said. "This means a lot to you, doesn't it?"

Thomas blinked. "What….what is that?"

Slayter glanced at the crystal. "This thing? No idea. It was found on his body in the crash. Scientists had a look at it, but their efforts show that it wasn't from any of the planets from the Lylat System, whatever material it is. They didn't find any prototypes, in fact, that they left such a rare artifact in this jail, so that it would be the last source of it."

Wolf's weak gaze looked at Slayter.

The Warden stepped closer to Wolf. "So where'd you steal it, Star Wolf? Who'd you kill to grab something this precious?"

A low growl echoed from inside the bronze mask.

"Heh, heh….I guess this _is _a touchy subject. You know what I think? I think that someone gave this to you. Someone close to you…and it wasn't a Team Mate. Who was it? Tell me."

Wolf continued to glare at him.

The Warden gave a low hollow laugh. "I know….. someone nice gave you this. A girl perhaps? HA! I knew it. It turns out that even the weakest of mongrels can take a liking to plump bitches. A little disappointing, Star Wolf. Deep down, under that growling exterior, you're just a lovesick sack of shit weeping over a shitty rock…..I wonder who was the fat whore of a prostitute that gave you this."

_**BRZAAAAAAAAMMMMM!**_

The room lit up with intense energy light, so loud and terrifying that Thomas stumbled backwards in fear.

The electricity and energy riveted and swung wickedly as they were stretched to their limit, as Wolf pushed himself forward, his savage claws trying to grab the Warden. He roared in fury and tried to stretch as far as he could under the chain's pull, but he was still too far. He was a terrifying sight, the electricity lighting up his masked face, which echoed with his grunts and groans and roars as he pushed harder.

Slayter laughed. "Hahaha! So, I _did _get inside your skin, didn't I? That bitch who gave you this must be real important."

"ARRGHH!" Wolf bared his teeth and snarled under his mask, his hands hopelessly yearning for his tormentor.

Thomas yelled. "Warden! Stop provoking him! _He'll kill you!"_

"HA!" Slayter bellowed. "He can't touch me! Watch."

True enough, although Wolf dug his feet in the ground to struggle out of his chains, blue bolts of electricity shook the chain like a wave and slammed into his body.

"_Garghhh!" _Wolf cried in agony as the bolts of electricity strangled his body. He wriggled and strained like a pathetic trapped animal, while the Warden continued to laugh at his suffering.

_SZZZZ! _The bolts wrapped around his neck. Wolf clenched his fist, hopelessly digging his heels into the ground, trying desperately to break out of his chains.

Then he stopped moving. He stopped flailing his claws. He hung his head down, panting….sweating….his face burning with raged and heartbroken frustration. Smoke drifted of his gashes and burns.

He raised his head weakly, in an attempt to make a last desperate effort.

Thomas's eyes widened, holding his breath to see what Wolf would do.

But Wolf gave one last painful and exasperated sigh, and slumped his head forward in defeat.

Thomas couldn't believe it. _Oh my God….he's….he's given up….._

_He's been broken….like a captured animal…._

The Warden lifted his head and laughed. "HAHAHA! You pathetic little shit! You really have become weak. You've sealed your life and your fate. You're done for, Star Wolf. No one, heaven or earth, is going to help you now. Of course, that's why you're being kept alive, isn't it?"

Wolf looked up at him, the hate in his eyes almost searing straight through the Warden's gaze.

"You're going to live, O'Donnell. You're going to live out your days in this dark, cold, underground cell. Away from light…..away from kindness, or warmth, or life or love…without family….without anyone to care for you….without a friend in the galaxy…..knowing that you've lost everything. Your Team, your pride…._everything. _Even this." He held up the blue crystal.

Wolf's gaze followed the crystal.

Slayter smiled. "Take one long last look at it, Star Wolf. 'Cause you're never going to see this Crystal ever again."

Thomas felt like he had taken a cold plunge. Despite all he had heard about Wolf O'Donnell, here in this dark place, he couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He couldn't imagine anything worse than being held captive all alone without any friends.

Slayter gave one last smirk and pocketed the crystal. "Come on, kid. I've gotta show you how to work the controls in the observation window over there."

He walked towards the yellow-glass window pane on the opposite end of the cell.

Thomas glanced at Wolf again. _I've never seen a more defeated-looking person. Poor guy._

And he walked with the Warden.

Wolf's gaze remained on the floor. Nothing but sorrow was in his mind now.

The Warden's words continued to echo in his head.

_You're never going to see this Crystal ever again…._

_You're never going to see this Crystal ever again…._

_You're never going to see this Crystal ever again…._

Everytime he heard the word "never", a sharp jolt of pain jabbed into Wolf's heart. His heart was sore…..his soul was sore….his thoughts were pain-stricken….

He wanted to die. That's what his final wish was now. To just die and leave this cruel miserable world behind. No one would miss him…no one would even know…..

He was too tired to care anymore. The pain was too much for him to take for the rest of his life….

_You're never going to see this Crystal ever again…._

_You're never going to see this Crystal ever again…._

The words began to mellow into his brain, losing pieces as he drifted into his miserable sub-consciousness.

_Never going to see this Crystal again…._

_Never going to see this Crystal again…._

The sentence came back over and over….

And soon, Wolf's mind began to drift. He thought about her again. All this time, in this miserable cell, he tried desperately not to think about her.

He remembered everything about her….her smile….her laugh….she had such a beautiful laugh….like a trickling stream.

Her soft, soothing voice….nice and innocent….kind….

Her smooth, fragrant fur….her angelically curved body….her soft hair and velvet ears….

_Never going to see this Crystal again…._

Wolf closed his eye. What could he do? How would she react if she saw him now?

Disgusted? Revolted? No…..she wasn't like that….

Disappointed…..that he had lost the will to escape this fate….

Star Wolf was over….and Wolf knew it. He had nothing left to hold on to.

Except memories. Memories of walking the green forests and flowered meadows of Cerenia, conversing about the academy with his friend…..who never stopped asking about it.

Wading and playing in the pond…..seeing her in her sexy white swimsuit….teasing her with pretending to drown….getting embarrassed for losing his swimming trousers…

Lying under the stars….naming the beautiful constellations….thinking about the future….

And staring into….

No. Not that. _Anything _but that. The most painful memory of all…..

He pushed the memory out of his head….desperately trying to think about something else….

But it was too late:

Staring…..into her beautiful, loving, untouched, turquoise eyes….knowing everything would be alright….that he'd come back to save her….before losing her…..forever….

Those eyes….

Then the words came back.

_Never going to see this Crystal again…._

_Never going to see this Crystal again…._

Soon, they began to break as well…..

_Never going to see Crystal again…._

_Never going to see Crystal again…._

His heart ached. He was waiting to die…to leave this place….

_Never going to see Crystal again…._

_Never going to see Crystal again…._

….._ Never going to see Krystal again…._

Wolf's eyes shot open.

A burning energy surged in his stomach. A feeling he hadn't felt in a long time…

The sorrow in his heart….the misery…..the hopelessness…..

…it was all burning away…

_She would never have wanted to me to give up….NEVER….._

_She always told me…..that she trusted me…..admired me…..for being strong….._

_For being perseverant…_

The burning became stronger….all the blood in his body was rushing at the same time….

He remembered her look of awe when he had showed her the T-Rex Claw, showing that he had risked his life to save her….

There was a deafening roar stinging his ears…he bit and grinded his teeth….this feeling….he hadn't felt it in a long time….

He remembered splitting the crystal with her…..saving half of it….so that they would carry a piece of each other…..always….

The deafening roar had left his ears-and was now surrounding the cell…the ground was beginning to give a low vibrate….. the rocks on the walls began to tumble down….

"Warden! What's going on?" Thomas bellowed over the rumbling.

Warden Slayter sat up from his chair in the Observation Booth. He glanced out the yellow window, in Wolf's direction….

The tired and exasperated look in Wolf's eyes was gone. In fact, his eyes were glowing a bright purple.

He remembered what she had told him, to comfort him_:_

"_I know you're destined for something greater, because I realized it when you saved me…."_

The heart in Wolf's body was pulsing with anticipation. These chains…..this cell…..all the guards, technology and weapons in the world couldn't be able to stop him now…..

" _You're a wonderful person for saving me, and a great warrior. You're kind of my personal knight-in-shining-armor."_

His muscles tingled, getting back into their old form, for being out of use for so long….. He hadn't had this feeling in a long time. What he was about to do, he hadn't attempted in years….

Then it came…..he let out a gasp of exhaustion….he'd been holding it in all this time…he hadn't used it since he'd been locked up…..

"Slayter! What's happening?" Thomas yelled.

Slayter continued to watch Wolf, his lips moving, trying to sort out something to say. His eyes were wide with fear….

Wolf clenched his fists. The spark he used to have had faded…..he hadn't used his Inner Power since the Lylat Wars….but after holding it in all this time, that spark would've become a wildfire by now…

_Let it go…._ He told himself. _Release it…..you can do it….._

He tried to motivate himself…. Before, thoughts of anger, revenge…..

James…

Fox….

Pigma and Andrew….

Andross…

Those thoughts didn't motivate him. Not like this….

FW-A-THOOOOMM!

Wolf's haunches began to heat up with intense steaks of oxygen…. so hot, the oxygen smashed into flames….._purple _flames….

_FWOOOOMMMM!_

His feet lit up, as if burning… the ground began to smolder under his feet….

He clenched his fists, his own claws digging into his palm….

The thought that motivated him…that had been triggered by that Crystal Sapphire into his frustrated and given-up-hope memory, that had been built with sorrow and anguish all these years….

That thought…..was the promise he made.

During the entire time, the words had been echoing in his ears: _Never see Krystal again…._

_Yes….I know I'm not going to see her again…._

_But I promised her…..I swore to her….._

_That I'd get stronger…._

_That I'd drive myself through the pain….and suffering….and defeat…..and fate…._

_To stay with my best friend Leon…to make a Team worthy enough to take down even Star Fox…._

_To have adventures….to fight battles…..to do the impossible…._

_So that she'd be proud…..so that she'd smile on me…..from the heavens….._

_That promise….I've kept in my memory….my heart…..in that Crystal Sapphire….._

_I'd forgotten it….._

_I have to keep it…..I've lost too much….but that's what keeps me going…._

_The more I suffer….the more I'm defeated….._

_It makes me struggle…..it gives me the will to fight…._

_It makes me strong…..it makes me who I am….._

Then…..it happened.

He didn't even have to say the incantation. It happened anyway. But it was bigger….and mightier than before…..he could feel it in his body….

The fire got taller…..the pain got fainter…..the strength grew bigger….

….and the last thing Wolf heard before the next moment was his last conversation with Krystal…..the words that comforted him with her soft, gentle voice for the last time…

"_I'll come to your base. There I'll learn your name."_

"_You never gave me the chance to tell you."_

His last embrace…..

"_I will come find you. I promise."_

…_.."I know you will."…_

_**-FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! -**_

The entire cell was filled with a towering purple flame, surrounding and writhing Wolf like an infernal tornado. Every inch of his body felt like he was being dipped into the burning atmosphere of Solar itself. His muscles were being torn loose from the effort he was putting. He could barely open his eyes, as the carbon dioxide stung his eye, almost making it water. The ash and heat smacked against his face, and his blood boiled up and down his body, rushing to his face. He let out a yell of pain that was drowned out by the massive crackling and booming of the purple fire.

It was bigger and hotter than the normal Fire Wolf, because he had held it in all these years.

SZZZZZ!

The electric bands on the chains sizzled and exploded under the raw heat, making immense bolts that reached lightning size of violet shrieks. The bolts wrapped around Wolf's arms like snakes, sinking their tips into his body. But Wolf couldn't feel it-the burning pain of stretching out the fire was ripping his body apart.

The flame grew taller and taller…..it was reaching skyscraper height, now…. And the taller it got, the more cells in Wolf's body erupted with agony….

Finally, the energy from the chains ran out. The sockets that held the chains exploded, shedding sparks everywhere. The lightning wrapped around into the tornado of fire, combining the destruction.

Slayter ducked in fear. Thomas hid under the observation window.

_**SWHEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

A shockwave erupted, bursting into the rocky wall, and the fire changed from a vertical column to a horizontal pair of purple electric-fiery arms, smashing into the walls, and shattering the stalactites into a crumbling heap.

The smoke began to coil of the ruined cell rubble, and slowly, Thomas rose from his hiding place.

_My….God….._

The entire middle was surrounded by a 6-foot deep crater, smoldering and writhing with tiny flames. A pair of discarded shackles lay by, along with the melted remains of a bronze, dented mask.

But Thomas had about two seconds to observe the scene, because as soon as he did, the blue lights that lit the room went out.

Slayter was alone in the darkness…and Wolf was nowhere to be found.

Sweat dripped down the Warden's brow as he drew his blaster and pointed it around blindly in the dark.

"Show yourself, Star Wolf! Come on!"

He sounded more confident than he felt.

But Thomas was sure the Warden had planned for something like this. Or at least, he _hoped…._

The Warden trembled. He shot his blaster into the dark. "Come on! Where are you….."

BZZZZZ!

The Warden screamed as he stepped on one of the wires that had once held the energy chains. The violet electricity lit up the room faintly…

Laughing to himself, the Warden looked around.

"Come on, O'Donnell. Come out, and fight like a-"

_SLAM!_

Wolf pounced on the Warden as if out of nowhere, knocking him to the ground.

The Warden attempted to fire his gun in the strangled position, but Wolf jerked his elbow into Slayter's stomach, forcing him to drop it.

Slayter wriggled out of Wolf's grip, attempting to swing a blow at his face-

_Crunch!_

Wolf caught the Warden's fist in midair, just inches from his face. He clutched it with extreme strength…

Slayter yelled in pain as his fingers crunched painfully together. "Argh!" 

Then Wolf spun the fist away and flew his fists against the Warden's face: _Slam! Punch!_

Then he drove a skull-splitting head butt onto the Warden's face.

Slayter crumpled to the ground. He swung his foot at Wolf's feet, but Wolf jumped up and aimed a swift kick at his face.

The Warden scrambled for his fallen blaster, but Wolf was too quick.

He leapt and sunk his foot into the Warden's spine. But like an eel, Slayter spun around on his back and stabbed an electric baton into Wolf's boot.

Wolf snarled and staggered back.

Slayter grinned doggishly, tossing his glowing baton between his hands. "Heheh, not so tough now, are you, rat?"

He lunged at Wolf, stabbing at him. But Wolf ducked and dived the baton hissing at his cheek fur.

Finally, the Warden brought his baton down for the plunge.

_BRZZZZ!_

Wolf caught the sizzling point of the baton in his palm, the bolts and charges running down his arm.

Slayter's jaw dropped. How was Wolf bearing the electric pain?

But after a long imprisonment with energy chains ripping at his fur, a mere baton was like a splinter for Wolf.

He swung his foot up, smashing it into the Warden's already upturned jaw.

Slayter clutched his jaw with fury, but Wolf wasn't done.

He grabbed the Warden by the face and slammed it into the black rock wall.

_ROkkk-TCHHHH!_

Thomas looked away as he heard the wall vibrate.

Wolf pulled the Warden back and dragged his face against the wall and slammed him against the floor, kicking him forward.

_Sha-shing!_

The Warden's eyes widened as he saw Wolf's claws extend and gleam. Wolf clawed Slayter across the chest, causing a small but stinging stream of blood to trickle.

The Warden screamed in agony before he was grabbed by the collar and hoisted up in the air.

"Let me go! Let me go!" he screamed.

Wolf scowled mercilessly.

"Here!" The Warden fumbled through his pocket and dropped the Crystal Sapphire at Wolf's feet. "Take it!"

Wolf hesitated. Then he dropped the Warden with a rough clatter.

He eyed Slayter before grabbing the Crystal and turning the opposite direction.

Slayter, seizing the opportunity of Wolf's back being to him, yelled triumphantly and slammed his fist into Wolf's back.

The Warden howled in pain as he heard his fingers crunch and bend back off of Wolf's steel-hard back.

Wolf turned and grabbed Slayter by the neck with one hand. He enclosed his steely fingers around the Warden's neck, crushing the breath out of him, knifing into his flesh.

The Warden gasped and spluttered, his eyes bulging, his speech coarse….

Wolf looked long and hard into the Warden's face, not shedding a hint of regret. His face shone with determination, fearlessness….baring his knife-like fangs, emitting a slow, rumbling growl….

Slayter was practically gagging. "You'll-never escape-_kill-_O'Donnell-_gach-"_

For the first time since imprisonment, Wolf spoke. "That's _Lord _O'Donnell, scum."

Wolf clenched his grip tighter. The blood was being drained from Slayer's face, and his mouth was now foaming with lack of air.

_Weakling…._ Wolf thought. _He's not even half as strong as the people he locks up…_

Slayter looked into his captor's face. Now _he _was the prisoner….

"Pleas-_garch-_money, power-whatever-you'll-_cough-_have it-just spare-me-HARGH'll-_gh!" _His voice was drowned out by the coughing and spluttering of bloody saliva out of his wheezy and cancer-ridden throat.

Wolf clenched his teeth. "Cowards like you die a thousand times. But a real warrior dies just once."

He looked away, his grip tightening, and the Warden's petrified screaming growing louder.

Wolf turned his just purple gaze back. "Let hell be _your _final cell…..Warden Slayter."

Thomas shut his eyes as he heard a sickening snap.

_KER-CHAAP!_

The Warden's lifeless body crumbled at Wolf's feet, ringed dented finger-marks around his neck.

Wolf's face shown in the moonlight. At last, the murderous criminal that had ruled the jail and practically killed his prisoners….was dead.

It was clear to Wolf that he'd been gone a long time: justice was not what it used to be.

But one thing was for sure: the tired, worn-out, defeated gaze in his eye was gone. The familiar defiant, radiant, fearless spark in his purple eye had returned.

He had returned from his mentally imprisoned exile.

_Nothing is going to stop me…._

He pocketed the Crystal, after gazing into its blue warmth.

…_from finding Leon and rebuilding Star Wolf…._

…_and keeping my last promise._

_End of Chapter_

Good to be back.


	3. Chapter 3

This next chapter is very special to me, because Wolf's jailbreak's based on my very first Star Wolf story idea…..

I hope you enjoy as much as I first did. (of course, it's all a lot more epic scene in my head…)

_Chapter 3: Lylat's Biggest Breakout_

_Denique Fatum __Penitentiary__, __5 ALW_

Thomas was still gaping in horror at the sight of the Warden's strangled body at Wolf's feet.

He was trembling all over, his heart racing, his blood running to a chilling halt. It was his first time seeing someone die before his eyes-and he wasn't taking his new experience well at all.

_He…..he killed him…._

_With just his hands? No…..just _one _hand….._

_How strong is he?_

He had the nightmarish hunch that he was next.

_He'll kill me, too…..no witnesses…..that's what I know about Star Wolf…_

_Maybe…..I can press the alarm on the button panel…._

_But I have to be quiet….._

_I don't think he remembers that I'm here…._

Thomas inched his body straight and slowly reached for the button….

SNAP.

Thomas froze in fear, as the echo of his foot slipping vibrated in the massive, dark cell.

Wolf's head swung around to Thomas's direction, his eye narrowed.

Thomas gasped. "Oh, crap-" He struggled up and dashed his gaze to the set of controls. One of them _had_ to be the alarm switch.

SHE-TATERERER!

Thomas screamed as the yellow-glass shards shattered as Wolf hurled through the window.

Wolf landed with a SLAM! onto the floor, the glass shards caressing off his body. Raising his head, he darted his eye to Thomas.

Thomas skidded back against the floor, fearfully moving away from Wolf. Desperately, he raised his hands to the controls in a feeble attempt to press the controls.

SMACK!

With blazing speed, Wolf grabbed Thomas's arm, knocking him onto his back on the floor. Wolf shoved the boy back and pushed the arm back like a lever until there was a _SNERR-APP!_

"_Argh!" _Thomas screamed as the impact of Wolf's muscled grip smashed his arm back, making his forearm jolt with a searing stretch of pain. His brain went numb, and suddenly he became dazed.

"My arm!" He yelled. _"You broke my-"_

SLEEM!

Wolf dragged Thomas up against the wall by his collar.

Thomas looked down into Wolf's seemingly merciless face. He was trembling under the intense grip.

"What's the year?" Wolf barked in an impatient tone.

"Wh-What?" Thomas squeaked.

"TELL ME NOW!" Wolf snarled. _"What is the year? _How many years have passed since the Lylat Wars?"

"5 ALW." Thomas whimpered.

Wolf looked away, his face shadowy and distressed, as if he had just realized something horrible.

Thomas waited for a response. "Umm…?"

"Five years," Wolf said quietly. The resentment in his voice was clear. "I've been in prison for _five years. _So much must've changed by now."

He turned his gaze to Thomas. "What button did you press?"

"N-Nothing. I swear…!"

"Don't lie to me, kid…" Wolf's grip tightened around Thomas's collar.

"Don't kill me! Please!" Thomas begged.

"I won't. But from here on, you do as I say. And if you even _think…_"He pointed a claw at him. "…of trying to getting back-up to capture me, then you'll end up like your precious Warden. Understood?" He released the young Tomcat.

Thomas nodded fearfully.

Wolf looked up at the vertical tunnel above his cell.

_The doors are open…_

_It's my way out!_

_I've waited so long for this chance…_

_To escape…_

Meanwhile, Thomas moaned, massaging his broken arm.

Wolf turned to the young cat. "Stop whining over it, kid. You won't die."

"Why the hell did you need to break it?" Thomas cried. _He's such a tyrant! I can't believe I felt sorry for him!_

"I couldn't risk you making another move at the alarm switch. I've waited five years for the chance to escape-I can't risk anything. Not even your life."

Thomas gulped. _I have to be careful….If I do anything suspicious, he's sure to kill me…._

Wolf took another look at the tunnel leading to the exit. Wasting no time, he pulled the blaster and ID Holocard from the Warden's body.

He regarded Thomas. "How much do you weigh, kid?"

Thomas looked up. _"What?"_

Wolf rolled his eyes. "It's a simple question, you idiot. How much do you weigh?"

"Um….I don't know." Thomas shrugged his good arm. "Why?"

Wolf glanced at the vertical tunnel. "You'll see."

_Meanwhile, in Central Security Wing (Top of the Security Tower)_

The security wing of the entire prison was composed mostly of computer panels and people behind them. There were a total of twenty people on each floor, but on the top floor there were ten surrounding a large computer panel.

"Sir, we're not picking up any contact on the Warden's position."

The Lead Analyst, a stocky brown boar with sawed-tusks, glanced at the Computer Worker (an orange and black speckled gecko). "What do you mean? He hasn't reported back up?"

"No, sir. But we're picking up a movement reading."

"What kind of movement?" The Analyst said sharply.

"Rapid. And moving up the tunnel entrance."

"Switch to the surveillance camera."

The screen fuzzed up until it displayed an infrared scan of the cell. The only readings were some discarded broken chains, and a mangled Boxer carcass in Officer's uniform.

The Computer Worker's eyes widened. "Oh _God!"_

"HE'S OUT!" The Analyst cursed. "That Star Wolf guy…..he's escaped!"

The Computer Worker tapped the touch-screen keyboard button's frantically. "I'll sound the alarm. He won't get far-"

"No!" The Boar stopped him. "The last thing we need is the entire Corneria Weapons And Tactics Team scouring this place. They'll shut us down for good if they find out anything about the prisoners' conditions."

"What do we do then, sir?"

"He's still moving up the Tunnel. We need to shut the doors. All of them. Block his way out."

The Gecko nodded and returned to his work.

The Boar turned to the scanner. "I wonder how he got the elevator to work. That requires a code…"

The Gecko looked up from his work. "Sir…..the movement detection didn't have an elevator signal turn up on our radar."

"_What?" _The Boar's jaw dropped. "But-then how the hell is he moving up the tunnel?"

_Meanwhile, Back in Wolf's Cell Tunnel…._

TAP! TAP! TAP!

The sound of Wolf's feet grazing the surface of the tunnel's wall vibrated the air waves of the cell.

Thomas kept his eyes shut. "This is insane….this is really insane…."

Wolf kept on moving. "Just keep quiet. And don't look down."

The amazing thing was that they were hundreds of feet up the wall of the tunnel above Wolf's cell. Using just his claws and agility skills, Wolf managed to climb up hundreds of feet on the wall, except he was _running_. It was as if he was on all fours, running like a wild canine up the wall. And every time he lost balance, Wolf would leap on all fours onto the opposite wall of the tunnel, sinking his claws into the balance of his climb.

_I've been waiting for this chance for too long…..it's a good thing they kept me fit….otherwise I'd be too out of shape to attempt something like this…_

SCRUNCH!

Wolf felt rubble wash over his claws from the rocky wall. Realizing the weakening wall, Wolf stomped both feet on the wall and pounced onto the opposite wall.

CRUNCH! His claws cracked the wall as he continued his rapid climb.

What Thomas couldn't figure out was how Wolf could go this fast….he guessed that his primitive instincts as a Canus lupus must be giving him these kind of reflexes. But he was carrying _Thomas…._while climbing….

But that's probably why the young cat had his eyes shut. Famous pilot scourge or not, Thomas feared that Wolf was still would lose his grip and they'd both topple off to their deaths.

SCRUNCH!

After the billionth leap (or at least as far as Thomas could count), Wolf crawled up the wall-but then paused, his claws still in the wall.

Thomas opened his eyes. "What is it?"

"Shh! Quiet!" Wolf's ears pricked. His eye followed a slow and somewhat quaky sound…..which was coming from the bottom of the tunnel.

Wolf looked down. _What the hell….?_

At the bottom of the cell, a sliding vertical door creeped out of the wall….and the one above it….and the next…

Wolf's blood ran cold.

_Dammit…..they're closing the doors!_

Thomas looked at the opposite wall. "Oh SHIT!"

The door on their level opened out, its steel titanium edge approaching steadily.

Thomas shook on Wolf's back. "Quick! We gotta get to the top! _NOW!"_

"We won't make it in time," Wolf said in a horribly calm voice.

Thomas gaped. "What you mean we won't make it? _Move!"_

"Shut up. I need to think." Wolf glanced at the ceiling. Those doors at the top would close up eventually too….

Thomas yelled. "That door's gonna crush us flat! Are you deaf?"

Wolf looked down. Then, with a swift move, he ripped the grappling chord from Thomas's issued military tool belt. He fired it to the bottom, lashing out an object before the door over the cell shut.

_ZZZZP!_

The chord whipped back, the doors closing behind it….

_Come on…._ Wolf thought.

Thomas braced to see what object Wolf had pulled from the bottom of the cell.

_ZZZZP! _The chord finally went back into Wolf's hand like a tape-measure, handing him the large bulky object he had withdrawn from the cell.

It was the Warden's carcass.

Wolf grabbed the body and darted up the wall.

CLANG!

The door behind them closed with a vibrating crash.

Wolf kept running up the wall, somersaulting to the opposite side every time a door closed behind him.

CLANG!

Wolf's foot slid out of the way just as the next door slammed behind him….

CLANG!

Wolf brushed his jagged tail away from the next door's way just in time….

_CLANG!_

Wolf looked up: Now _those _doors were closing.

_SHIT! _Wolf cursed to himself.

The walls were closing up from the bottom as well as the top.

Thomas shut his eyes. "We're gonna die….we are _so _gonna die…." He whimpered.

"SHUT UP!" Wolf snarled.

He looked up and down…..Now would be his only chance….

Sweat dripped down his brow…..the tension of the situation was bringing his perseverance down….

He was trapped like an cornered beast.

_I have to try it…..as insane as it sounds…_

CREAK…

The door opposite of them was sliding out.

_**TRCHH!**_

Wolf tossed the carcass into the air and slammed his fist upwards into it, purple flames glinting momentarily on his arm.

The body flew up the tunnel, flying upwards from the impact of the punch.

_CREAK!_

The door was sliding rapidly towards them, preparing to crush their bodies under its massive weight…

Wolf shut his eyes and grinded his teeth….the door was about a foot away….

_**CLANG!**_

The door was about an inch away from Wolf's face when he heard a sickening combined sound of a crunch of a body and the clamor of metal.

Thomas popped one eye open. _I'm…..I'm alive! We didn't die! _

_But….how….?_

He looked up.

A few levels up, one of the massive horizontal doors had slammed against the wall….. but something was blocking it….

Like a cork stopping the pressure of a bottle, the Warden's helmeted skull was sticking between the massive door and the wall.

"Impossible…" Thomas breathed.

The door riveted, malfunctioning as it vibrated backwards, white electric bolts shooting up and down the metal.

_BRZZZZ!_

All the doors did the same and eventually burned out. They withdrew back into their slots…..

The biggest door withdrew last, at the top of the tunnel. Slayter's body was released, and fell down the tunnel with an echoing _Clump!_

The tunnel was empty. And the skylight at the top shown with the moonlight under the night sky….

Wolf breathed out. _Finally…..the way out…._

_I can't count how many times I wished I could've seen the moon again…._

_Down there, in that dark, damp, underground cell…._

…_without any light…._

Wolf slowly clambered out of the tunnel, hauling Thomas on his back.

The hole at the top of the tunnel opened up to the Main Yard.

_Clunk!_

Carelessly, Wolf dropped Thomas with a clatter. Thomas cringed back, gingerly rubbing his arm. Despite the fact that Wolf had "rescued" him, he still was responsible for his broken arm. That meant he was dangerous….and worse, unpredictable.

Wolf walked forwards and looked at the sky. He breathed in the cold night air, drinking in the moonlight.

_Fresh air…..light….._

…_.freedom…._

_I've been waiting for that taste for five years…..and now I finally have it….._

_I'm free…..no shackles….no boundaries…_

_Just me….and every danger in the galax.y…._

He smiled to himself. What more could a man need?

Thomas watched Wolf's attention drift off. _Well…..now that he's here…. He doesn't really need me anymore…._

_Maybe I'll just…_

He rose slowly. _Maybe he won't notice if I just….leave…._

He turned and tip-toed in the opposite direction-

_CLAP. _Thomas's heart stop as a strong-clawed, steel-willed hand grasped onto his shoulder.

"Going somewhere?" Wolf hinted dangerously.

"Just let me go!" Thomas pleaded. "Please- just don't hurt me anymore!"

Wolf growled. "I wish you'd finally stop whining about that arm of yours! I walked the entire deserted Fichina Battleground with _three _of my limbs broken. I think you can handle walking to the elevator with one! So shut up, and take it like a man!"

Thomas gulped.

_Damn…. _Wolf thought. _He reminds me of Fox…_

Wolf shook his head. "Now keep quiet… otherwise we'll attract attention. Don't move, speak, breathe, step or even _think _unless I say. Understand?"

Thomas nodded.

Wolf released him and took another look around.

"Thank you," Thomas managed. "….for saving me, I mean. For not leaving me down there…"

"If you think I saved anything worth mentioning, then you're an even stupider than you look." Wolf cut in with a disapproving tone. "The only reason I didn't leave you to rot with that Warden of yours is because I have other uses for you."

"_Uses?" _Thomas yelped. "What kind of uses?"

"Whatever I say," Wolf finished. "One way or another, kit, your job at this jail ends tonight."

_5 minutes later, up on the Central Security Bridge_

The Boar scanned the screen. "No life signs. The cell is completely empty of any life signs."

"That must mean he died on the way up," the Gecko nodded.

"Good. The last thing this place needs is a break-out."

"What about that new kid? The Tomcat?"

"Let's just hope he's still alive. If he's dead, then there's gonna be too much paperwork for this prison to fill out."

"Hey, look at this!"

The Boar turned to see a Dalmatian at the surveillance camera screen.

The screen blared blue, depicting a young Tomcat being strangled by a tall muscular wolf.

The Boar yelled. "It's him! He's out!"

The elevator on their level opened up, and Wolf strolled inside, an arm escorting Thomas by the neck.

"Grab the guns! We need to take him down while he's unarmed!"

Someone pulled some M-16 Army Blaster Rifles from under a table and tossed them to the other eight people.

"Keep your sights on him! Load the Rifles, now!"

Wolf tightened his grip around Thomas's neck. "Drop the guns, you scum. Drop them, or I'll break his neck."

The Gecko loaded his Rifle and aimed at Wolf. "Let the kid go, O'Donnell, or we'll blast your freakin' body back into your cell!"

Wolf gave a cold and merciless stare. "I'll kill him if you don't cooperate…..now DROP THEM!" He snarled furiously.

Thomas gasped under Wolf's clawed grip. "Please! Don't let him kill me! He's already broken my arm!" He lifted his mangled limb.

_Just like we rehearsed… _Wolf thought.

"It's a trick, boys," The Boar decided, his fingers fidgeting under the trigger of his raised rifle. "He won't do it. He's just using an escape maneuver-"

"_You don't think I'll do it?" _Wolf hissed daringly. "You don't think I've got the guts to kill this sack of shit?" He tightened his grip.

Thomas gasped under his grip. _What the hell is he doing? He's hurting me…_

Wolf snarled. "Guess you guys don't know me well enough, then."

He grabbed Thomas's other arm and swung it counter-clockwise.

_SNAP!  
_Thomas screamed in pain as his second mangled arm fell limp to his side.

The Guards gasped and raised their guns.

"I've already broken his arms…" Wolf said. "I can break his neck much more easily…"

"WOLF! What are you doing? This isn't part of the pla-_uutghffgh!" _Thomas stopped as Wolf heaved his hand over the young cat's mouth.

"Okay! Okay!" The Boar yelled. "Don't kill him! Just take it easy…"

"SHUT UP!" Wolf spat. "Do as I say, or I'll rip his fucking neck apart! I've waited too long for the chance to escape…. I won't deal with incompetence! Now, _drop the guns!"_

Everyone nodded fearfully, dropping their rifles with a clatter.

Thomas shut his eyes. _Oh God….I should've never bartered with him…._

_He's gonna kill me, now….I was so stupid to believe him…._

"Arms in the air!" Wolf barked. "On your knees, and face on the floor!"

Everyone obeyed, arms frozen in the air.

Thomas's muffled pleas echoed from under Wolf's hand.

Wolf hissed in his ear. "Keep quiet."

They moved forward, and Wolf kicked a rifle out of the grip of the Gecko.

Wolf eyed the massive control console. "You!" he aimed a kick at the squatting Boar. "Go to the computer and give me an on-screen visual of a map of this place. Move!"

The Boar whimpered and clambered the buttons on the touch-screen keyboard.

A diagram of the prison appeared on the screen.

Wolf's eyes narrowed. "Which of these buildings contains the Prisoners' Possessions Room?"

"The one on the left of the main gate," the Boar answered. He returned miserably to his position on the floor.

Attempting to take advantage of Wolf's lack of attention, the Gecko reached for the pile of rifles-

_WHAM._

Wolf swung a savage kick at the Gecko's chest. The Gecko gasped for air, clutching his stomach.

"KEEP TO THE GROUND!" He roared. "If just one of you tries to attempt treachery, you'll all be drowning in a pool of your own blood."

Everyone cowered before Wolf's twisted, furious expression.

Thomas winced. _Damn….he's a savage! He was nothing like this before…._

Wolf cranked his grip around Thomas's throat, forcing him to move his head back.

"Listen, kit," Wolf hissed into his ear. "Meet me at the Prisoners' Possession Room in half an hour. And if you're smart, you'll come alone…." Wolf's tone became low and dangerous. "Because if you even bring one squadron of guards, then I'll _really _kill you. Understand?"

Confused, Thomas nodded.

Wolf grabbed something from Thomas's belt, and pushed him out of his grip.

The moment Thomas was free, the guards grabbed their guns and aimed them for Wolf.

"Hands on your head, Star Wolf!" The Boar yelled. "NOW!"

Wolf hesitated. He took a step back.

Everyone raised their weapons.

"Drop to the ground, or we _will _shoot!"

Wolf glanced from one guard to another, his eyes darting, as if composing a strategy….

_Click. _The rifles were loaded. Thomas didn't see where Wolf was going now….

He was surrounded, outnumbered…..where _could _he go?

Wolf looked long and hard at the guards. Then he looked behind him, at the glass window-pane.

"There's no escape, Star Wolf." The Boar raised his weapon.

Wolf held up a round, podlike object. "Get back. _All of you."_

The Boar raised his hand. "FIRE!"

Wolf tossed the grenade behind him, drawing something from his belt with his other hand.

_**BWOOOOM!**_

Thomas swatted his eyes away, as a shockwave-emitting explosion shattered the glass and sent the desks, computers…..and guards in tumbling direction.

As the smoke cleared, the guards wearily moped around for their rifles.

Thomas blinked. _WHAT THE FREAKING HELL?_

_Is that Wolf guy insane? He just threw a freaking grenade behind him…._

_There's no way he could've survived that…._

The guards got up and looked past the smoke.

The massive window pane had been smashed open from the explosion, leaving a trail of shards in front.

But there was no sign of Wolf.

"What?" The Boar gasped in disbelief. "Where the hell is he?"

Everyone scrambled towards the broken window, the glass shards crunching under their feet.

They all looked out.

Nothing. Just the view of the prison, the cold moonlight streaming out…..Wolf was nowhere to be found.

"Where'd he go? Out the window?"

"He would never survive a fall this high up!"

"Peh, lousy coward. Probably slunk off somewhere-"

_**SWAP!**_

A dark shape whooshed over the window, and before anyone could cry out in alarm, the speaker was tumbling out the window and falling, screaming all the way down…..

….his rifle missing from his hands.

Everyone looked outwards.

Thomas couldn't believe it.

Wolf was swinging by one hand off a thick black cord (Thomas looked at his belt: _He took my grappling chord!_) feet dangling down, hundreds of feet in the air. He had somehow managed to shoot his grapple-gun while falling out the window during the explosion, and lashing the chord-hook on the roof.

As he swung by the window again, he looked directly at them, holding up his new M16 blaster rifle.

"SHOOT HIM DOWN! _NOW!" _The Boar yelled.

All the guards raised their weapons instantly, firing their guns.

_RITTA-RITTA-RITTA-RITTA!_

Thomas plugged his ears from the earsplitting crossfire.

The guards were quick-

But Wolf was quicker.

He swooped his legs back, swinging farther and farther back, out of the guards' range. He held up his rifle in his other hand and kept his aim at the guards.

_RITTA-RITTA!_

The orange shots blasted the window shards and punctured bullet-holes into the toppled-over desks.

Thomas screamed and ducked.

Wolf felt the familiar grip on the handle and trigger…. His beloved marksman days returned to his muscles and instincts. All those battles, Fichina….Zoness….Venom….

It was all coming back to him now.

_Hmm…. _Wolf though. _The nostalgia feels good…. Haven't wielded a rifle in a while, though…_

_I'm generally more of a pistol person…._ He smiled to himself.

Wolf swooped by closer and kept his fire on the guards, as their bodies tumbled out the window.

He kept his finger on the trigger, until-

_Click. Click._

In midair, as if _that_ wasn't the biggest problem, Wolf eyed his rifle.

_Damn…..out of ammo. _

He snarled and sank his teeth into the gun's barrel, splitting it open, exposing the open sizzling plasma-bolt cartridge. He flung it in their direction like a boomerang towards the Boar's face.

_SHWOOM!_

The blaster exploded the minute it smacked the Boar's face.

As the remaining windows shattered from the explosion's shockwave, Wolf gave a familiar snarl of satisfaction.

"_Huah!"_

He flipped over and retracted the grappling chord. _ZZZP!_

Down he plunged, falling completely, a fierce wind that wasn't there before nipping his face, the cold streaks shivering up and down his body, every muscle in his body tingling, his excitement pounding like a non-stop army drum…

_I haven't done anything like this in ages….._

_Gotta fix that…..gotta get back to being used to being close to the face of death…._

Thomas, meanwhile, emerged from his upturned-desk sanctuary. He looked at the broken glass, fallen bodies, and steaming bullet-shells littering the floor.

_Wait a minute…_ Thomas thought.

_Why would he kill everyone in the room except me….?_

_Maybe he thinks I'll be useful, somehow…._

He remembered what Wolf had whispered to him:

"_Meet me at the Prisoners' Possession Room in half an hour. And if you're smart, you'll come alone…."_

_What does he want me for? He's not gonna kill me, otherwise he would've done it by now…._

_I guess…._

Thomas shuddered. _He's too hard to predict…._

Wolf continued to fall, still waiting for the opportune moment to swing to another classic escape….

_BWOOOM!_

Wolf's feet were tucked into a massive shockwave of heat, as one of the windows behind him exploded.

He looked up. _What the-?_

The glass came down like a downpour of rain, about to sink their shard jaws into Wolf's body-

FWOOOM!

Wolf somersaulted in the air, and pressed his fists together, purple flames rippling over his body and haunches, sizzling the glass as they approached from above.

_What the hell was that?_

He looked over the battlements secured on the ground, and saw the silver missile-launching contraptions face his direction.

His heart skipped a beat. _Oh shit…_

_BWOOM!_

A second missile drove forward, but Wolf was ready. He kicked his feet to the ground, and slung his flaming body upwards, the missile just nicking his feet as it dove under him, shattering some more glass….

_Crap….those missile launchers…._

_Those missiles can track my movement…_

_Almost like…_

_Wait a minute…. I heard a rumor when I was being lowered into my cell…._

_Something about…._

Then it hit him.

He extended his largest claw. Shutting his eyes quickly, he pricked his arm.

_Slfthh!_

The tiny droplet of blood shot upward, as if magnetized by some invisible force.

Wolf speeded downward, and looked up.

He saw the tiniest faint of his scarlet blood, and then-

_BWOOOM!_

Now miles upward, the glass window shattered and exploded, burning and ripping apart the spot where the blood had once been.

Wolf's eyes widened.

_These aren't heat-seeking missiles…._

_There DNA-Seeking missiles…._

_Seeking MY DNA! That's why they injected that serum into me every night…._

_They weren't just keeping me healthy…they were injecting my blood…_

_To fuel these missiles if I ever escaped…_

Wolf looked up, and then down. No matter where he ran (once he had landed), these missiles would be trouble for him….

_BWOOOOM!  
_The next missile had reached him the closest. The walls and windows of the fragmented building were breaking off, sending metal pipes, asteroid-sized rubble rocks, and canvas-sized glass shards down on him.

_Damn….I won't be able to repel all that with just my Fire Wolf…_

But he had wasted too much time thinking. The first pipe slammed down on his back.

_PANG!_

"ARGH!" Wolf yelled in pain as the metal rod echoed off of him and ricocheted upwards.

Only having enough time to bite up the pain away, Wolf straightened his posture as two slabs of metal came on him on either side.

_Damn it….!_

Wolf cursed and swatted the metal slabs off of his path….

_SWOOOOOM!_

Wolf looked up. His worst fear was confirmed….

A black object was riding towards him-not into the building, like the others, but actually on his tail….trailing his movement….

_SHIT! _Wolf hissed. _Now there's missiles coming from that end, too!_

He moved to the side…

…so did the missile.

He sped faster downward….

And so did the missile….

Getting frustrated, Wolf looked around.

_I'm falling too fast to stretch the cable, now….._

_And at any rate, that missile's still gonna follow me…._

_Crap….I didn't count on this…._

_SWOOOM!_

Wolf looked up again.

Now, a _second _missile was riding towards him, following its brother, side to side…

Wolf scowled.

_I'm not gonna put up with anymore of this shit._

_I'm already falling….two pieces of metal aren't gonna kill me….._

Wolf whirled his body around, so that now he was falling on his back.

He looked up between his feet to observe yet a_ third _missile to join the trail.

But instead of panicking…..Wolf had an idea….

The missiles seemed to be mimicking each other's movements….swerving to the left all at the same time like a group of predatory fish….

Wolf concentrated….past the wind rippling and the missile's low hum…..

The missiles edged closer, now a hundred feet from Wolf….

Wolf stretched out his finger over his belt, hovering….waiting….

The missiles were now fifty feet….there was no way they could miss….

But Wolf…..he kept waiting….waiting until they were forty feet….

Thirty feet…

Twenty feet….

Fifteen…

CLUNK.

Wolf kicked his foot back, and his hand shot instantly to his belt when

_FF-ZAAAP!_

There was a faint flash of light, that darkened the atmosphere in its gaze, grazing the air with a sleek beam of purple before…

Wolf Flashed his way though the tiniest opening between two of the missiles. In about a quarter of a second, there was a blink, a sound of crackling….

And Wolf already had his blaster out, pointing at the missiles below him…

_**SHWA-THOOOM!**_

The green blast hit just one missile, and the whole group exploded at once from the first shockwave.

Wolf flung his arms before his face, his body whistling through the orange smoke.

The guards on the battlements watched, their mouths hanging open.

"WHA-_Did you see THAT?"_

"Star Wolf….one minute…he was in front of those missiles….and then he was behind them….and he shot them all!"

"Damn….and he did while falling! Who has that kind of precision? I tell ya….that guy _definitely _was in the Lylat Wars once!"

They were all baffled, terrified, and amazed all at the same time. They had all heard of Inner Power….but in a situation like this? It wasn't possible.

Wolf smiled cunningly and fired his grappling chord at an incoming missile, using it as a pulley to swing off of.

_SHWOOM!_

The hook exploded with the missile, sending a flame down the rope in Wolf's grip.

Wolf discarded it, his body swooping and twirling forward, all the blood rushing to his head.

_CLAMP._

Wolf landed on his feet on the battlement rock-floor.

He looked to the end of the battlement track. The Guards were running towards him

"_There he is!"  
_"Get him! He's unarmed!"

Wolf frowned. _What? And that means I'm vulnerable?_

The soldiers pulled out their rifles.

Wolf growled and pounced forward. He grabbed the barrels of the blasters and wrenched them clockwise, causing the grip of each soldier to turn clockwise.

"_Argh!" _Both soldiers cried out in unison, dropping their weapons.

Wolf grabbed the barrel of the rifle with both hands, swing its steel-hard handle at the soldier's face.

_WHAM! SMACK! _First in the skull and then in the stomach.

_Crunch! _

Wolf heard the sound of the soldier's nose break. Then he jabbed his fist into the soldier's stomach.

As the soldier fell unconscious, the second charged, fist flying-

_Clamp._

Wolf grabbed the fist in mid-air, tightening his steel-willed grip and sinking his claws into to the soldier's hand.

The soldier dropped on his knees, yelling in agony.

Then Wolf flung the soldier into the air by his arm, and then aimed a fast-jolted kick.

_KRAMP!_

Momentary purple flames surrounded Wolf's foot, as the guard plummeted away like a speeding bullet from the impact of the kick, tumbling over the edge.

Wolf stretched his neck and cracked his knuckles.

_Hah….I haven't felt the heat of battle in ages…._

_Feels good….very good…_

"Down there!"

Wolf looked up at the shattered windows of the Main Security Tower to see Guards pouring to the edge, armed with Homing Launchers.

_FWISSSHH!_

The first rocket came forward, but now, being on stable ground, Wolf was ready.

He kicked his foot back and leapt high in the air, somersaulting perfectly as the rocket blew up the battlement fragment under him.

He landed.

_Hey…_

The explosion had put a smoking hole of rubble into the ground, providing….

…_a way in…_

_Perfect…_

Wolf gave another glance to the highest window of the Security Tower.

_I hope that kid doesn't forget to show up…._

_I'd hate to lose him in the midst of the crossfire…_

Snatching a discarded blaster, Wolf took a deep breath and dove down into the tunnel, preparing to confront whatever security dangers lurked throughout the rest of the prison.

_Meanwhile, Several Hundred Feet above the "Island"…._

The C.W.A.T. (Cornerian Weapons And Tactics Team) Gunship hovered over the massive fortress of a prison. The break-out had led to an alarm, and they had flown all the way from Corneria City to deal with the problem.

"_Move! Move!"_

"Grab the guns now!"

They were all covered from head-to-toe with electro-magnetic armor, strapped over titanium fiber jumpsuits. On their backs were Grade A Supply backpacks, and strings of grenades around their belts.

The Leader of the C.W.A.T Team, a tall Doberman with a serious voice, approached the holographic display panel in the middle of the ship.

"Listen up, men! Mission briefing."

A bird's-eye view diagram of the prison, along with Wolf's mug shot, with drawn from the Penitentiary Law Enforcement's Inmates' Photographic Records.

"The Alarm blared at 1:50 AM Eastern Time. Suspect name: Wolf O'Donnell. The Escapee is a SuperMax inmate. That means that Suspect is armed and considered dangerous. All C.W.A.T. Units have surrounded the perimeter area with five gun-ships. 211 is in progress on the Jail's Maximum Security Area and Prisoners' Possessions Building. All C.W.A.T Units from the City are en route, so we'll have back up, soon. Now move!"

Each soldier strapped on their helmet and grabbed a SP-89 Sub-Machine gun. They all lined up in front of the slide hatch.

_**SWPSHHH!**_

The hatch opened over the night-lit prison, and each C.W.A.T. member leapt out in single file.

Spreading their arms in an eagle-like fashion, they all tapped the side of their helmets.

_Pshh!_

Yellow-glass visors shifted over their faces as the harsh wind whipped over their faces.

The _Krssh! _of the Squadron Leader's Helmet Comm. echoed in the air. He tapped it.

"Command, activate Gravity Diffusion Suit Attachments!"

_PHWOOM! PHWOOM!_

Each C.W.A.T.'s suit glowed under a body-shaped green force-field.

Slowly, as they reached the ground, their fall slowed, weakening the gravity pressure around them.

They hovered about 7 feet above the ground when the Lead C.W.A.T. tapped his Helmet Comm.

"Deactivate G-Diffusion Attachment….Now!"

_KSHH! KSSH!_

The Green energy fields disappeared, and the C.W.A.T.s rolled onto their feet as soon as they reached the ground.

They all sprinted in military formation, heading for the Main Security Tower.

The C.W.A.T.s reached the top of the building.

_SLAM!_

The Lead Member strode through the door.

"C.W.A.T.! Search and Destroy Maneuver, now!"

They all charged in, pointing their guns in all directions.

"Damn it…..nothing here but broken glass and rubble…"

They examined the bodies on the floor. "All men here are dead. We must've missed the fight…"

"Sir!" A Mastiff knelt over some of the smoking holes in the ground. "There _has _been a gunfight of some kind, here. M16 Rifle….must've shattered the glass, too…"

The Leader looked around suspiciously. "Then who sounded the alarm?"

He checked the glitching Computer Terminal. It was frozen on the diagram of the Prisoners' Possession's Building.

"He's headed for the Evidence Room! Take the Squad down to the building. I'll call for back up."

"Yes, sir."

The Leader picked up the computer's central comm. panel. "Attention! Attention all Denique Fatum Penitentiary personnel!" His voice rang across the island from the Intercomm. Loudspeakers. "Wolf O'Donnell has escaped. Repeat, _Wolf O'Donnell has escaped!"_

In the Maximum Security Cells, all the criminals, thugs, bounty hunters, and assassin's stood up.

"WHOA! Did you hear _that?"_

"Star Wolf's escaped!"

"_The _Wolf O'Donnell?"

"Yeah-ha! I knew he'd do it!"

"WHOO! Let's give the gutsy pilot some encouragement, boys!"

All the prisoners let out an erupting cheer of proud applause, clapping their hands and beating against their cages.

"YEAH! GO STAR WOLF!"

"Kick their ass for us, O'Donnell!"

"Go get'em, Wolf!"

_Meanwhile, Deep within the Prison…._

Wolf, as he darted through tunnel to tunnel, he looked up at the echoes of the faint cheering.

He smiled to himself. _Well… at least I haven't been forgotten…._

WRRRRRRRRRRR!

The alarm blared above the surface of the fortress, shaking the ceiling.

Wolf looked up.

_Damn…looks like I'm in the spotlight now…_

Click.

He pulled out his blaster cautiously. He knew whatever amounts of Guards were down here, he'd have to take them out if he ran into them.

And sooner or later, _they _would be accompanied by some heavily-armed friends.

Wolf held his pistol with both hands, and slipping down the tunnels without making too much noise.

Once he reached the door at the end, and kicked it open.

_SLAM!_

As the door opened, Wolf dove forward into a quick ground body-roll, catching his feet and raising his weapon.

The Guards in the room looked up.

"What the _f-?"_

_BZAM! BZAM!_

Wolf instantly fingered the trigger with marksman speed, and his green shots took out both guards. Their shoulders and stomachs appeared with laser-scorch marks and they writhed and fell back.

Their bodies clunked to ground.

Wolf dashed forward, kicking the first body over. Taking caution, Wolf whipped the spare ammo from the first guard's belt.

"_Hey, what was that?"_

Wolf's ears perked up as he heard the distant voices down the hallway.

Reloading his blaster, he sprinted into the opposite direction.

Heart racing and feet clamoring, Wolf turned back every minute to see if anyone was following him.

_Crap….I'm no good at sneaking around…_

_This is Leon's kinda thing…_

Wolf skidded to a halt as he came to a vent in the wall.

Taking a look from side to side, Wolf kneeled to the vent.

"Where'd those footsteps go?"

"I dunno….this jail's too complicated.."

"Well, he's screwed if he runs into us….why do you think the coward's running off like that? He's afraid…"

Wolf bared his teeth.

The voices down the corridor grew louder.

"Well, he's screwed if he runs into us….why do you think the coward's running off like that? He's afraid…"

Wolf bared his teeth.

_Yeah….afraid I'll have to stare at that ugly face of yours…_

CLANK.

Wolf stuck his claws into the ringed hinges of the vent and lifted it off the wall.

Crouching on all fours, Wolf crawled down into the vent tunnel.

At the end, he reached his first destination:

Every last red, blue, yellow, and white wire coiled around the Central Power Conduit. Wolf stretched his arm, ignoring the _**Caution: Hot! **_Sign.

_Breek!_

A short electric current shot up Wolf's arm.

Clenching his teeth at the needle-sharp pain traveling up his bones, Wolf snapped the brightest blue wire with his claw.

Wolf then grabbed the single black chord, and wrenched it from its socket.

_BZZZZ!_

The end of the chord sizzled and sparked with red electricity.

Wolf stuck it at the Central Power Conduit box.

_KRHHH!_

There was a deafening hum and all the lights in the prison shone brightly and blew out.

Then it all went black.

Every guard, and even various members of the C.W.A.T. Team, felt a vibrant jolt of fear up their spines.

All of them-and Wolf-were alone against each other in a pitch-dark prison of endless tunnels.

_On the opposite hall…._

"MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!"  
The C.W.A.T.s moved down the hallway like a pack of piranhas, guns up and scopes ready.

"Form up! These tunnels are lengthy…"

They came to a large, bolted door.

The Leader pointed three fingers on the wall.

The others nodded and surrounded the door, mumbling with the wiring something complex and technological.

When they all cleared away, a gel-attached bomb panel was hooked to the door.

The Leader held up his detonator. "Get clear!" _Beep._

BLAM!

The door exploded open, its hinges white with rubble and tumbling smoke into the room.

Switching on their scope-lights, the C.W.A.T. burst into the room.

It was just another hallway, except the left wall was lined with windows. Moonlight streamed in, providing some sight for the Sqaudron.

But the only object in the hall….was the body of a Guard, propped up against the wall.

The Leader strode up to the body.

"Whose is this?"

He gave it an experimental kick at it.

_**PHWOOOOM!**_

The wall, Guard's body, and C.W.A.T Leader disappeared under the explosion (the Leader hadn't noticed that the body had a grenade in its mouth), and all the soldiers ran for cover.

"Get away!" Everyone stepped back and shielded their eyes.

The smoke grew into an enormous size...one could see a thing…..

The C.W.A.T.s pointed their guns around blindly, trying to catch sight of the other side of the smoldering chink that had blasted open the wall.

A dark shadow loomed to the entrance.

"It's _him! _Gun him down!"

They all raised their AK's and blasted mercilessly at the black shape behind the wall of smoke.

_PRATTA-PRATTA-PRATTA!_

The blue shots rained on the shrouded figure, but the laser bolts just bounced off….

They all glanced at each other. There was no way that he was _bullet-proof…._

Everyone stopped firing peered forward.

The smoke opened up to reveal a tall and menacing figure-holding up the dead body of the C.W.A.T. Leader, blaster bolts dented into his bullet-proof C.W.A.T. vest.

The C.W.A.T.s gaped.

Wolf was using their leader as a human shield…..probably the only use he ever had.

Wolf tossed his human shield away (which had smoking holes in it now…)

"GET HIM!"  
Wolf snatched a fallen blaster, wringing the first soldier in reach of his grip by his neck and slammed the blaster barrel into his face.

_BLAM!_

He tossed the charred-faced soldier away and fired the blaster.

_BZAM! BZAM!_

He fired so quickly that the C.W.A.T's didn't have time to reload their guns. The first wall of soldiers collapsed to the floor with rapid _clunks._

The next group slung their rifles back and pulled out glowing-blue energy batons.

They all expected Wolf to pull out a knife or something.

_He's gonna pull out a weapon…. _They all thought. _This is Star Wolf here…he's probably gonna just stick to using a gun…._

But Wolf did something completely unexpected. Something no one had seen him do in years….

_Clatter!_

Wolf tossed the blaster away. A deep and vibrating growl emitted from his throat, as all C.W.A.T.s watched him draw his right foot back, and raise his arms in his legendary fighting position*****.

_SHING! SHA-SHING!_

The demonic stainless steel-like claws unsheathed, and Wolf bared his teeth.

"Come on, you weaklings. _Face me."_

Now the soldiers were completely in shock. Wolf had discarded a weapon and instead chose to battle in hand-to-hand combat.

No one had ever seen anything like it.

"_C.W.A.T. Team! Forward!"_

Wolf snarled. The familiar burning sensation of courage and aggression filled up his body.

The first one aimed an expert swing at Wolf, but Wolf slammed his wrist against the attack to parry it, and jabbed his claws at his stomach.

Another attack came from behind, and Wolf somersaulted upwards and clawed downwards.

_SWISH!_

The C.W.A.T. clutched his bleeding face and screamed in agony.

SLAM!

Wolf landed on the floor, wrestling the soldier in a rapid swing to ground. The heat of battle was returning to him now…..all the grabbing and punching….wounds and combat….

He was feeling his instincts tingle and his nerves buzz with anticipation again….

He was a fighter again….

_CRACK!_

The ground shook as his body slammed against the marble floor.

Wolf grabbed the rifle from the bleeding soldier and smashed into the face of another incoming C.W.A.T. Then with a fearsome roar, he leapt into the air, stomping his feet on the soldier's soldier, and slammed the rifle's barrel into his mouth, wrenching the trigger.

_PRITTA-PRITTA-PRITTA!_

The intense rapid-shots shook his arm muscles, causing him to shake. Wolf leapt of the holey soldier and rolled on the ground.

_SLIT!_

Wolf spat in pain as he clutched his arm. Crimson dripped down his wrist onto his hand. It felt hot, and somewhat made him dazed.

A soldier had pulled out a razor-edged Tactical Knife.

He made another go at Wolf, bringing the knife down with both hands.

_Clamp!_

Wolf grabbed the soldier's arms and thrust them back like a lever, causing a snap to echo. The C.W.A.T. soldier screamed and fell back.

Wolf heard the _tap-tap _of someone running behind him, but he was already ready.

Wolf swung his elbow into the unsuspecting soldier's stomach. The soldier wriggled his baton near Wolf's face till Wolf heard the humming of its energy beam. Wolf swatted his arm away and aimed two rapid but devastating claw-swipes at his cheek. Then he grabbed him by the neck and slammed it against the wall.

_CRACK!_

The area around the C.W.A.T's head crumbled with dusty granite. Wolf grabbed him by the legs; his arms flanked with a momentary purple flame, and swung him down on to the floor on his back.

**SLAM!**

The ground shook with dust.

Wolf leapt on him and retracted his claws.

_WHAP! SLAM! CRASH!_

With his curled and merciless fists, Wolf swung several devastating blows and punches to the soldier's face.

The C.W. came from all sides, surrounding Wolf…

Wolf stood and spun to face his circling opponents.

Watching the whirling faces around him, blood pounding in his head, Wolf flexed his claws.

From every corner, soldiers jabbed at him with their batons.

_BZZZ!_

_WHRRZZZ!'_

Wolf dodged them, swinging his body back and forth, left to right, watching his footing.

_Krsh!_

Wolf's movement shook slightly as he took a burn from one of their electric weapons. He clenched his teeth…..he would not give in….he would _NOT _give in….

He kicked at one soldier's feet, causing him to lose balance. He snatched the soldier's knife from his belt and brought it down with savage force-

_SLRRTHHH!_

There was a painful rip and a final scream as Wolf sliced at the soldier's waist, and ran the knife all the way to the left to the soldier's hip.

_RRIPPP!_

The soldiers gaped stepped back, terrified, as Wolf ripped off the legs and waist of the soldier from his severed-in-half torso, with intense brutal strength.

Wolf threw the legs at them.

_WHOOOSH!_

The soldiers ducked….

…which was a mistake.

_**BOOOOOSH!**_

The belt of grenades on the soldier's legs' belt hit the wall, and caused a massive explosion. The heated cloud of carnage swept over the vibrating floor, ripping the granite walls and burning the metal pipes and wall connections to dust and ash.

Wolf stood up in the cloud of dust, stepping over the C.W.' bodies.

He walked through the smoldering crater of an entrance hole in the wall.

_Well….that's one mess taken care of…_

_They weren't matched to me anyway….in strength, or combat…_

He walked to the other hallway.

But it wasn't another corridor. It was a wide open room, about the size of a gymnasium. Grenades, knives, missile launchers, batons, pistols, and blaster rifles lined the wall in racks-this room was clearly the armory.

But that's not what made Wolf stop in his tracks.

_Oh….shit…_

There were C.W.A.T.s… Dozens of them….all lined up, their eyes fixed on Wolf…weapons raised….

Wolf froze.

_There are too many…way too many…._

_Five, six…..I can take by myself…._

_But this….._His fists clenched. _There has to be about forty soldiers in here…._

…_.all with guns…_

The C.W.A.T Leader pointed his finger at him.

"Get him! He's got nowhere to run now."

There were rapid _click_s of C.W.A.T.s cocking their blasters.

Then there was silence….

The only noise was the heavy breathing….and the intense pounding of blood in Wolf's head.

He was trapped.

"_HUAAAHHHH!"_

Like a pack of ravenous animals, the C.W.A.T.s charged forward, weapons ablaze.

Wolf bared his teeth and snatched two Tactical Knives off the ground, and whirled them into his hands.

He ran forward. But he felt the pounding of the stampeding soldiers approaching….

_Don't show nervousness….don't lose focus…._

_Don't lose…_

His eyes narrowed.

_Wait…_

_I don't have to lose fear…_

_I'm not afraid of this crap!_

He swung the knives forward and sprinted faster.

_BRITTA-BRITTA-BRITTA!_

The blue rapid shots flurried, but Wolf, taking advantage of the large unoccupied space around him, stepped out of their way-

_FSSHH!_

-and appeared a foot out of their range, a purple beam splitting the air behind him.

He ripped through the crowd, spreading his arms forward and gashing in both directions with his knives.

Two soldiers came….one got cut…..

Then three….none got cut…

Then five….only Wolf got cut….

They surrounded him and kept coming…it was like being lost in a crowd…

Wolf slashed and hacked madly around him, kicking, punching, yelling….but they just kept coming….

Fewer soldiers fell….the cuts on Wolf's back multiplied….

_Damn…_

_Damn…._

_Damn…._

_DAMN!_

Wolf snarled, not in anger, but in frustration.

_WHRSSHH!_

Something heavy and snakelike coiled around Wolf's feet. He fell over and lost balance, landing roughly on his back.

He struggled a view of his feet. Someone had blasted a whip-chord around his feet.

"HE'S DOWN!"

Wolf glanced up. _Shit…_

SHING! SHING!

The C.W.A.T.s drew their knives and charged forward like a ravenous onslaught of predators.

Wolf tried to struggle to his feet, but one burly C.W.A.T. had already pinned him down. He jabbed at him with his knife….

Wolf hacked upwards with his knives, but the pack of people on him grew larger…and larger….

The poking knives came down on him like rain..…he was struggling to keep up with attacks but he was pinned down…

He grunted and struggeled….but too many people were on him….

_SLNTHH!_

Wolf yelled in pain, as he felt the cold, splitting surface of knife into his shoulder. He felt the point graze into his flesh, stinging the hollow vibration down his body…

Wolf felt the crowd on top of him grow bigger….he sliced upwards with his two knives, catching some cut C.W.A.T.s off guard….

He tried to raise himself up, but the force was too strong….

His eyes glinted….

_No…._

The blood rushed to his head….this ground began to shake….

_NOTHING's too strong for me…._

_**FWOOOOOOM!**_

Wolf spread his arms back, kicking against the floor, the intense heat and air vibration sending a phantomlike purple fiery shockwave in all directions, slamming the C.W.A.T.s in all directions, causing them to fly off like scattered leaves caught in a harsh wind….

Wolf stood, panting, the smoke caressing off, the ash falling like wayward rain, some with tiny purple sparks attached.

He ripped the knife out of his shoulder and dropped his two into the pile.

Around him, the bodies had spread around the floor, some still burning. Blackened holes had burnt into the floor, some with flickering flames.

Wolf panted. He looked around and froze.

One lone C.W.A.T. stood in the doorway, his eyes huge, and mouth wide open. Apparently he just arrived.

Wolf stood up slowly and cautiously.

The C.W.A.T. looked at the colossal layout of dead soldiers….and then at Wolf.

_Clatter!_

The C.W.A.T. dropped his gun and rushed in the opposite direction.

Wolf glared his eyes. _Where does he think he's going?_

_Definitely not to alert reinforcements…._

Wolf stood and bounded after the C.W.A.T.

Despite his heavy armor, the soldier was fast. He kept darting his head back to see if Wolf was following him. His eyes widened in terror every time he saw Wolf and kept going faster.

Wolf jumped forward, pressing his muscles in his feet, and pounced on the unsuspecting C.W.A.T.

"_Huah!"_

The C.W.A.T. screamed as they both tumbled down the hall, and-

_SMASH!_

Wolf shielded his face as they both shattered through a large glass window at the end of the hall, bringing his hot and sweaty body to the cold and refreshing open air of the prison's surface.

Wolf skidded to a halt, and grabbed the soldier by his collar.

The C.W.A.T. whimpered under his brutal grip. "I surrender! _Don't kill me!"_

Wolf pulled out his stolen knife and held it up.

"Let me go…PLEASE! Have mercy…_I beg you…"_

"Why?" Wolf said harshly. "So you can point a gun at me when my back is turned?"

_WHISH!_

A searchlight blinded Wolf. He swatted a hand over his good eye, and peered through.

Some C.W.A.T.s on the opposite balcony, had their guns fixed on Wolf.

"Star Wolf got him! He got the Cadet!"

"Good God! He's gonna murder him!"

A sudden grip of cold and fearful realization came over Wolf.

_Murder?_

He'd heard that word before….

That accusation….

On his sentence, on Macbeth, years ago….during his trial after his first battle with Fox….

_All those false accusations of me…._

…_.have they….become true?_

_Have I become what they all thought I am?_

His heart beat faster. The horrible possibility dawned on him…

_James said….on the night of my imprisonment…._

_That I was no longer human…._

_Maybe…he was…_

Wolf shut his eyes. _No….I'm not…..I AM human…._

_I'm better than this…._

_I KNOW I am…._

The C.W.A.T.s held up their guns. "You! Star Wolf! Murderer! Release that soldier, _now!"_

Wolf looked down at the soldier in his grip, who cowered at the sight of him.

"_DROP HIM! OR WE'LL SHOOT!"_

Wolf looked away.

_I'm not a murderer…._

_I've been called one, sure, but…_

…_.no…._

_What about when..._

_On Kew…._

_No…_

A sharp pang of emotional strife gripped Wolf's heart.

_That wasn't my fault…_

_I…I was forced to do it…._

_I…I'm not…_

"DROP HIM!"

Wolf looked up at the C.W.A.T.s. And then at the one in his hand…

"C.W.A.T.s! Open Fire!"

_SHING!_

Wolf threw the knife at the search light, shattering the glass and momentarily turning out the light.

He retreated back through the broken window into the prison.

The C.W.A.T. whimpered. He held his hands up in front of his face, sobbing in fear.

Wolf looked at the terrified soldier, with regarding eyes.

_PUNCH!_

The C.W.A.T. fell unconscious to the floor, unscathed by Wolf's blow.

Wolf set him down, and stood. The C.W.A.T. would survive, of course…..

With a last gaze of remorse, Wolf turned and walked down the corridor quietly.

_I'm not a murderer…._

_If any victim wants mercy…._

_I won't kill him…_

_I'm not a cold-blooded savage…._

_I'm not like Andross….or Dark Wolf….._

_Battle shouldn't always end in death…._

_But…_

_I can't expect all my enemies to be as merciful…._

_No one after me will hesitate to kill me….._

_Especially Fox…._

_And there's no way I'll be merciful to him…._

_Prisoner's Possessions Quarters, some hours later…._

Meanwhile, Thomas fidgeted in his seat outside the door to the Prisoner's Possessions Room.

Wolf was on his way….

…and Thomas could feel it….

_Well….here I am…_

_Waiting outside a room…in a prison…_

…_.waiting for Lylat's most notorious pilot to come and meet me…._

…_How the hell am I gonna explain this story to my parents?_

_They sure as hell won't believe me…._

But Thomas was more concerned on getting out of this place alive. He was still clutching his broken arm. Obviously, despite the fact that he wasn't on Wolf's hit list (yet), he still didn't trust him.

_I wonder where he is anyway…._

_It's been more than half an hour…_

**BOOSH!**

The door to the building blasted off its hinges, causing flames and smoke to fume through the entrance.

Thomas yelled in surprise and jumped out of his seat.

_BZAM! BZAM!_

Green shots flashed through the smoke.

Thomas shut his eyes and clutched his ears.

_Oh no….not more shooting…._

_I just wanna go hoooooome…. _He whined in his head.

WHOOSH!

Wolf leapt out of the smoke, landing swiftly on his feet. He aimed his blaster and shot more laser-bolts into the cloud of smoke in the entrance.

_BZAM!_

_Clump!_

A soldier's body fell to the floor. The dust cleared, and all was silent again.

Thomas panted and unplugged his ears.

Wolf slung his blaster back into his belt and eyed Thomas. "So you came."

Thomas yelped. "What do you mean? _Of course _I came! You didn't think that I'd be running around with the C.W.A.T. Team when you'd be blasting this place to bits, would you? No thanks, Mr. O'Donnell, but I do enjoy living, thank you very much!"

Wolf rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the Possession Room door. "Quit assin' around, will you? If you couldn't handle one break-out, the you shouldn't have applied for a job at a prison."

"Hey, no one told me _you'd _be the one breaking out, otherwise I'd-"

"Shh!" Wolf hisses. "I need to think."

He examined the door handle and looked inquisitive.

"Looks like your real job, has arrived, kid."

"What do you mean?"

Wolf turned to the young cat. "The reason I kept you alive…and brought you down here, was because I knew that the security for this room would be tight."

Thomas cocked his head. "So…what do you need me for?"

"This door requires a thumb print pass-key. Scan your thumb on the touch-screen."

Thomas glanced at the security scanner nervously. "Will it recognize me?"

Wolf folded his arms. "Well, you're a new employee around here, so you should be granted access."

Thomas half-heartedly inserted his thumb on the blue pad. It lit up for a second, and there was a _Fshhh! _sound of the steel door swinging open.

Wolf walked into the room, his eyes wide.

It was like staring into a massive and dimly-lit library, except on each shelf, instead of books, was a glass drawer with various items inside. Each drawer had a small black screen-lock on it, with a 4-digit number on it.

Thomas gaped. "All of this….is the possessions of each inmate?"

Wolf didn't answer. He walked to end of the third row of shelves, his eyes darting each drawer.

He stopped until he came in front of a glass drawer labeled _#651157._

_My Prisoner number…_

Wolf smashed his hand through the lock and emptied the drawer's contents into his hands.

Thomas peered forward, interested despite himself.

There were three objects in Wolf's hand.

The first was a pile of trinkets: badges, medals, ribbons, ranking tabs, a bunch of military stuff. Wolf pocketed them into his pocket.

Thomas didn't know how that collection of badges got into Wolf's possession, or why they were important, but he guessed that he must have attained them over the course of battles long forgotten…

The second object caught Thomas's attention: It was a black, dusty eye-patch, made out of faded leather, its strap undone.

_That's it…. _Thomas gaped in amazement. _That's Star Wolf's legendary eye-patch…._

_I had no idea it was still around…._

Wolf turned away from Thomas, ripped off the bandage that had served as a temporary cover during his imprisonment, and strapped on his eye-patch.

But the last object was the most interesting:

It was a long steel blade-like object, at least eighteen inches, glinting with a wicked shimmer. It had the finesse of a finely-sharpened long dagger. Its "handle" was wrapped in a black leather binding. The blade itself was curved and jagged in a terrifying way….just like a claw.

Wolf ran his finger down the Claw's edge. Still sharp…

He tossed it from one hand to the other, feeling its familiar weight. He gave it a testing whirl, and then a mighty swing and cut.

He stared into the Claw's steel reflection.

He remembered the first day he won the Claw…..that day on Cerenia eight years ago….

It was once the Claw of many claws of a mighty mutated T-Rex….and Wolf had slayed it, keeping a Claw for himself as a spoil of battle…

Thomas cocked his head. "You came all this way….for that?"

Wolf sheathed the Claw into his belt. "This Claw is my most prized weapon, kid….it takes years to master its use on the battlefield….just like you'd use a long dagger, this is a dangerous tool, because you don't rely on the protection of the blade's length, like that of a sword….it's the hardest weapon to use, and in my hands...the deadliest. It's the only weapon I own that I'm complete with….it's a part of me."

Thomas nodded, noting that Wolf was saying something rather fine.

Wolf turned to the shelves, peering at the other drawers.

Thomas shifted his feet nervously. "Well….I got you in here….what'll you do to me now?"

_SHATTER!_

Wolf broke open a nearby drawer, withdrawing a long syringe with a long needle attached.

Thomas trembled. "W-What are you gonna do with that?"

Wolf didn't answer. He walked forward and held the syringe up.

Thomas held up his hands. "Wait, don't-!"  
_Slthh!_

Thomas felt a sharp pang of needle-sharp pain in his already numb broken arm. But then it was replaced by a warm sensation, a slow vibration, like a wisp of heated smoke was traveling up his arms….

And then his arm went limp.

Wolf stood. "This is Papetonian Mending Serum. It mends bones by using a precious mineral that's only found in the Papetoon Plains. Very rare….very expensive."

Thomas examined his limp arm. It didn't hurt anymore, but he still couldn't move it. "So how long does it take to mend the broken bones?"

"Roughly about fifteen hours….but don't lose any blood between now and then, otherwise the effects will reverse, and every bone in your body will be broken," Wolf added as-a-matter-of-factly.

Thomas looked at his arm. "And….you gave it to me?"

Wolf scowled. "Don't get all sentimental, kit. Remember, you helped me out, and now I helped you. We're even now, so don't get in my way, otherwise it's gonna be your skull that'll be broken."

Thomas nodded nervously. "I believe you."

Wolf got up and browsed the other shelves. The biggest one caught his eye…

_What's this?_

He peered forward to find that it was another locked drawer, but its contents were blocked from view by a black screen. Wolf tapped the screen to life and read the caption:

TOP SECRET PROPERTY.

Wolf raised his eyebrows. He pressed the button on the side, and a holo-log recording came up.

The hologram portrayed an elderly Basset Hound, decorated with military medals and a general's cap.

General Pepper.

"_To whom this may concern," _The holographic Pepper said. _"This vault contains a Cornerian Military Property object. It contains the Cyberscope, a cutting-edge piece of technology developed by _The_ Cornerian Research And Development Department with assistance from Lylat Space Dynamics. Beltino claimed that this scope is meant for attaching to a sniper rifle, providing extreme-accuracy and marksmanship placed over the human eye. It can also analyze vehicles, see through human skin to analyze anatomy, and the ability to scan and process information on any ship, pilot, planet or weapon in the Lylat System. Accuracy proves that it is more capable of pure sight than the human eye. Unfortunately, due to lack of technological expenditure, the Cyberscope's lens were never built, neither was the rifle to attach it with. So it rests here under Maximum Security, until further modifications can be made."_

Wolf switched the log off and opened the drawer.

The Cyberscope was about the size of a small Refelctor. It was long and rectangular, made of steel and fused with a technological-metal alloy. It had a row of sleek, unnoticeable buttons on its side, giving it a mechanical look.

Wolf had never seen anything like it before.

_What is this thing?_

He turned it over in his hands. Sure enough, just like the hologram had described, there was a large gap in the center because of the lack of lens.

_Wow…_

_I wonder…_

_Can it really scan ships and all that…._

_It's incredible…_

_But if I take it…_

_I can modify it…..make it so that it can do so much more….._

Wolf's eyes gleamed. Then he blinked.

_Nah….I bet Leon would probably like it, though…_

He had another gaze at it, and pocketed it.

Thomas raised his head. "So what will you do now? Get off the island? You've got the chance, now."

Wolf closed his eyes, and then opened them.

"No. Escaping's the easy part."

Thomas nodded. "Oh, yeah. You've got the entire C.W.A.T. Team after you, but it's the easy bit." _Tch….yeah right…._

"First…..I still have to bring this place to justice."

Thomas cocked his head. "What's your idea of justice?"

Wolf smiled cunningly. "You'll see. But kit….do yourself a favor."

Thomas looked up. "What?"

"Get off this island, soon. If you want to live, that is."

Thomas shuddered. "Yeah….I'll do that."

Wolf got up and headed for the door.

"Hey…."

Wolf turned skeptically. "What?" he barked impatiently.

Thomas held out his hand. "Thank you. For my arm….and everything else." He smiled hopefully.

Wolf eyed Thomas's hand coldly. _He's pushing his luck…_

CLAMP!

Wolf grabbed Thomas's arm.

Thomas backed up in alarm.

Wolf made a quick move downwards, and then released Thomas.

Wolf held up the young cat's wallet. "A minimum wage for my tolerance."

Thomas scowled. "Hey! I thought you said we were even!"

Wolf sighed and pulled out a bill from the wallet. "Fine. This should pay for a shuttle back to Corneria City."

Thomas reached for the dollar.

Wolf drew it back quickly, watching the young cat's hand respond quickly. He looked at him thoughtfully.

"Hmm….those are good reflexes, kid. Pilot reflexes….you ever considered becoming one?"

Thomas's eyes widened in surprise. "Me? Uh….no."

Wolf dropped the dollar at his feet. "You make a good one." Wolf nodded approvingly and sprinted out the door drawing his blaster.

Thomas remained rooted at the spot, stunned…

_Did he….just…tell me I'd make a good pilot?_

_Wolf O'Donnell?_

He looked at his mending arm.

_Maybe…_

_He isn't such a cold-blooded killer after all…._

_Later, in the Bottom-most level of the prison….._

SLAM!

The C.W.A.T. Team burst through the door.

Some lucky soldier had managed to cut Wolf, so now, he left a reliable blood trail for the C.W.A.T.s to follow.

Now they just had to see where the trail had led them.

They all looked through the creaking tunnel.

It was a gaping hole in the center of the earth, with broken shackles, a shattered yellow-glass observation window, and a rotting corpse of a Boxer.

"This is his cell!" The Leader barked in frustration. "Why the hell did he lead us back here?"

"He didn't." One scowled. "It was a trick. He _wanted _us to come here. But….why?"

"He can't run forever. Wherever he is, he's probably on his way to the Docking Bay to pick up a shuttle. That's his only way out of here. And we've got that spot heavily guarded."

Suddenly, there was a low vibration from the ceiling, as everyone turned to the loud-speaker intercomm.s that lined the walls….all over the jail.

A deep and cunningly calm voice echoed through the comm. all over the jail-grounds.

"Guards…..C.W.A.T.s…..prisoners….._listen carefully._ This is Wolf O'Donnell."

A cheer erupted from the locked up criminals in the Maximum Security Area.

Everyone, even the C.W.A.T.s, gaped.

"How did he-?"

Wolf continued. "Now listen, because I won't repeat this, and lack of attention only means that your death will come quicker."

Everyone fell silent, terrorized by Wolf's words.

"This island, suspended thousands of feet above the ocean, is supported by an anti-gravity device with enough power to fuse 15000 G-Diffusers on an _Orion _-Class Cornerian Assault Carrier ship. The problem is, it's about as weak and fragile as the Star Fox Team. One explosion could toss its balance into havoc, causing the entire island to explode and sending it to the bottom of Corneria Sea. I've placed fifteen, very dangerous, very operational detonators into the core of the island's system ground-scanners. Once they set off, this island will fall a burnt crisp, _and everyone on it._"

Everyone-in cages, in Guard Quarters, in C.W.A.T. gunships-panicked.

"However…."

Then there was silence.

"…I've programmed the detonators to strike in exactly _one hour. _But I don't intend to stick around. I never do. That's why, to make sure I'm not the only one being hunted on this island, I'm giving every able prisoner a chance to escape. The Shuttles are docked in the Eastern Dock Bay. You'd better hurry and fly off if you want to escape once you're loose. It's my last gift to all fellow criminals."

The Criminals in Max Security let out a wild cheer.

"YES! He's gonna bust us out!"

"Haha, that smart-ass. I _knew _he'd pull out something like this from up his sleeve!"

"Yep, that's Star Wolf for ya!"

After the cheering cleared, the deep voice continued.

"Oh….and for the C.W.A.T. Team…..try not to unarm the detonators. Once they're set, all disarming attempts will trigger the explosions instantly. And if you think you can even succeed in catching me…..let me warn you….._you will die. _Every…last…one of you who pursues me. Well, with that, I'm going to set off the Unlocking Program for the cages now. So far all those criminals who get out successfully…" There was a malicious laugh. "…play nice while you're out of bars."

_WHRRR!_

Once the alarm had sounded up, all of the pod-like cages opened up in a unison _CLANG!_

Then all hell broke loose.

There was a mad rush as the criminals, innocents, thieves and cut-throats scrambled one on top of the other, scrambling like crazy on top of each other to make it out the doors.

The limited number of guards and C.W.A.T.s were helpless under the thousands of prisoners that rushed out.

The more hard-core inmates made a dash to the Armory and picked up some arsenal before heading out to the ships. With unleashed criminals armed to the teeth with grenades, rocket-launchers, AK-47's and knives, it was crime central.

Meanwhile, the C.W.A.T.s down grabbed their weapons and sprang out of the tunnel.

"We've got his location! The comm. controls are in the Top Floor of the Security Wing! He's in the main Tower!"

"Let's move!"

"Wait."

The Leader hesitated, looking at the speaker. "What?"

"No." The speaker shook his head.

The Leader gaped in disbelief. _"No? _No what?"

"We're not going after him. He's set a bomb. And we won't be around to witness it." The other soldiers nodded in agreement.

The Leader's face twisted in rage. "…You cowards. You really believe he'd blow up the island with him still on it? He's using an empty threat!"

The Opposer shook his head. "But what if he isn't lying?"

The Leader stamped his foot. "You retards! _It's a simple mission! _We go to where he is, storm the building, and kill him."

"It's Star Wolf. With him, it's never that simple."

The Leader swelled in fury. "So that's it, then? Fine. The cowards who _believe _in this bull-crap can go snivel to the shuttles. But that means their losing their positions in the C.W.A.T. Team. All who stay, follow me."

There was a long and awkward silence.

First, three soldiers stepped aside.

Then five…

Then six…

Then half of the squad….

Only eighteen remained.

The other half marched out, dropping their weapons on the way.

The Leader scowled. "Let those cowards go. They'll be wanting jump into Venom's deepest pit when they see my (I mean, _our_) names on the front page of Corneria's News Broadcast after we hunt down Star Wolf!"

Unfortunately, not all of the remaining troops shared his enthusiasm.

_Meanwhile, up on in the Security Tower (55 minutes to explosion)_

Wolf watched the gunships and shuttles and waves of criminals emerge all over the Main Yard.

He folded his arms.

_Looks like chaos CAN be created with a single threat…_

_I can't remain here for long though…._

_I don't want to be part of this island when it blows up…_

…_I'm glad I planned all this before I broke out…._

…_I decided, a long time ago, that if I ever escaped from this place, it wouldn't be here if I ever came back…._

_This jail reeks of death and unfairness….and if I ever get got…which isn't likely….I'll never have to come back to this place…._

_I said I'd bring this place to justice…._

_MY kind of justice…_

BEEP! BEEP!

Wolf eyed the bird's eye radar.

On the blue screen, the footage depicted C.W.A.T.s storming up the main stair-well….

SHING! Wolf drew his Claw.

_Looks like the lambs have turned up for the slaughter… _

Wolf looked up and saw that another group had set up on the roof, leveling down the building with grappling chords.

They were all armed with missile-launchers.

_Getting creative…aren't they?_

On the roof, the C.W.A.T.s latched their cable-hooks onto the roof, and attached the other ends to their harnesses.

"All troops! _Drop Formation Delta!"_

WHZZZZ!

They slid down the building, dangling swiftly by their chords.

Wolf waited for them to come….

But something else arrived.

Something….a lot worse….

_PATTA-PATTA-PATTA!_

The whirling of engines echoed down the chain of glass windows to Wolf's floor.

His eyes widened.

_Fuck._

He turned around, Claw raised.

A light shone from the headlights of the Gun-ship. Its helicopter-like blades rotated.

PRITTA! PRITTA!

Laser-bolts from their machine turrets struck the windows and shattered them open.

Staring boldly into the Gunship's gaze, Wolf raised his weapon defiantly, without the slightest hint of fear in his eyes.

A loud voice echoed from the megaphone comm. attached to the Gunship.

"ATTENTION, STAR WOLF! LOWER YOUR WEAPON, OR WE _WILL _ENGAGE!"

Wolf said nothing, glaring his eyes.

"LOWER IT!"

Wolf didn't move.

_Pfthh. Machines….weaponry…._

_They're all the same to me…_

_Expensive tools wielded by weaklings…._

"PILOT 1 ENGAGING TARGET! MISSILES LOCKED!"

"_Huah!" _Extending his swift repulse down to the muscles in his fixed stance all the way up to his arms, Wolf threw his Claw at the Gunship cockpit-window.

_FWOOOM!_

The missiles zoomed out of their compartments towards Wolf.

_Whoosh-THWANG!_

The Claw spun on its edge like a devil-sharp boomerang.

SMASH!

Its razor point hacked through the glass and impaled itself into the pilot's neck.

Wolf leapt out of the missiles' way, their explosive points just , missing his tail by centimeters.

**BWOOM!**

The floor below him ripped open in a infernal explosion, ripping out to massive sheets of metal, each the size of a living room wall.

"_Ga-chh-_huarg-!" The pilot in the gunship regurgitated blood, and then lurched forward.

_WHIIISH!_

The unmanned gunship lurched forward, to Wolf's direction.

Thinking quickly, Wolf grasped the two massive sheets of metal with his claws, wrenching them into the air.

"Hmm…._argh…._" Wolf grunted in effort as he lifted the two slabs of metal into the air.

"_Huah!" _

Wolf Flashed into the air and sprang a purple fiery kick at both of them with each of his foot in a triple-spin aerial kick.

_CROOOOM!_

The two massive slabs of metal spun into the gunship's directions, at a forced speedy rate-

_**CLANG!**_

_**CLANG!**_

The two metal slabs sunk/crashed into the gunship, slicing their way into its structure sending it flying in the opposite direction.

Wolf darted into the air in a swooping jump, landing with both feet onto the ship's window.

SMASH!

He plunged his hand into the window, retrieved his Claw from the pilot's body, and then clamped his hand against the window.

WHOOSH!

Using his palm to push his weight back, Wolf plummeted backwards in a reverse somersault, landing swiftly on his feet back in the broken observatory window.

The gunship tumbled backwards out of sight, explosions appearing on it like scorches.

Wolf panted, struggling for breath.

_Hah…. _He panted. _That actually…took some effort…._

_I can't keep doing everything in style if I wanna remain in one piece…_

BAM!

The door swung open.

Wolf darted his head around to see C.W.A.T.s, all of their guns on him.

"HE'S IN HERE! WE GOT'EM!"

The Leader smirked. "Down to your knees, Star Wolf."

Wolf's eyes fled to the clock.

_39 minutes to explosion…._

"_Hands on your head! NOW!"_

To everyone's surprise, Wolf bent down on his knee.

The C.W.A.T. Leader smiled hatefully. "Looks like you're out of the game, O'Donnell."

Wolf smiled, playing along. "No. The game's over for you. _All of you."_

"Ha! It is, now? Okay….does that make us the losers of your little game, then?"

A fierce glint flickered in Wolf's single purple eye. "Oh no…..you're just the toys in this game, scum. And play each and every one of you….like a deck of cards."

The smile disappeared of the Leader's face. "Kill him!"

Wolf swept his arm to the computer console and slammed his fist on a button.

An out-of-place and artificial female voice echoed from the computer.

"_DNA-Seeking Missiles: ARMED."_

_**SHRA-BOOOM!**_

The entire building shook as a massive shockwave blasted through the building, shattering half of the building's windows. The explosion echoed off of the entire island, causing every witness, criminal and guard alike to look up. The C.W.A.T.s in the building lost balance as the building swerved back and forth like a vertical turbulent airplane. Wolf, completely on balance, looked up. The spark of the explosion had sent a light that could be seen even from the distant view of Corneria City. It made the tension in the air swerve in a gravity-defying level, causing the water below the island to ripple into massive waves.

The plot behind this explosion was that Wolf (who had purposely led a false blood cell back to his cell in order to rally the entire C.W.A.T. Team to one position) had intentionally cut himself, and paint a thick crimson stripe around a a group of windows on the exterior of the building. After rearming the missiles, Wolf knew that they were attracted to the tiniest portion of his DNA. So painting a blood-stripe around the building was pretty much like setting of heat-seeking missiles near a forest fire.

The impact of a hundred missiles fired at one spot caused the entire building to lurch. The base was completely blown apart, being held up by a weakening group of pipes and wall fragment.

In short….Wolf had drawn the entire C.W.A.T. Team to one building….only to send that building to a falling and crushing doom.

All of the soldiers screamed and fell over, as the wall sank into gravity's mouth and the building began to swerve.

Wolf dug his claws into a steel pillar, keeping his balance despite the chaos.

_Good…._

_Now all I need to do is to…_

Wolf turned to the window. But what he saw made him stop in the middle of his plan….

_Wait….WHAT?_

The shuttles were flying in the opposite direction-apparently, all the criminals had made it to the docks….and were heading in the complete opposite direction Wolf had expected them to go….

_Shit….they're heading in Corneria City's direction…._

_I won't be able to hitch a ride without communicating through a comm…._

…_and they're too far out of reach…_

Clutching the pillar, falling at blazing speed in a falling building, with only twenty minutes to the explosion….

Wolf was trapped.

_No….No I'm not….._

_If those shuttles are heading in the other direction…._

_...then so am I…._

Wolf, realizing that what he was about to attempt was incredibly risky….and that he would be trailing the surface of certain death doing so….

….grinded his teeth, and took a deep breath and made a jump.

Wolf leapt upwards at the windows (which now served as a ceiling now that the building was going from vertical to horizontal) and aimed a swift and desperate punch at the glass.

_SHAR-RER!_

The shards blasted out into the cold air. The wind was rushing wildly and the atmosphere was getting clogged up…..the building was falling faster.

"Hey!" A pilot in a nearby C.W.A.T. gunship zoomed near Wolf's position. "O'Donnell's out!"

Wolf leapt through the hole in the window, diving upwards, his fur tingling under the ripping tide of winds that were gripping his state of gravity…

He took a deep breath and sprinted up against the building's surface. Every muscle in his body faced forward. He was telling himself not to look down, not to lose concentration….

"Command! _Are you seeing this?"_

"Copy that….he's running on the surface of a falling building! There's no way he'll make it!"

Wolf trudged up the building, which was now completely horizontal and now serving as a massive glass floor under Wolf's feet, and kept blazing towards the top of the building at the end of the trail.

_This is insane…._

_This will never work…._

His heart was thumping wildly…..every instinct was panicking and discouraging him, but he ignored them….

He abandoned the fear and doubt, grasping the unsureness, the doubt that he would make it….

_I can make it…._

_I WILL make it…._

PRATTA! PRATTA!

Wolf spun his head around. _Oh, WHAT NOW? I'm already jogging on a falling building…._

The gunship was pursuing him, pelting the window-floor with laser-tinted blasts from its machine turrets. Soon the trail of bullets would reach Wolf….

Wolf sped faster, his feet slipping but fragilely retaining balance over the glass surface...

He was too high up….he wouldn't be able to make it….

And then Wolf spotted it:

A shuttle, not a C.W.A.T. one, but a jail one, probably stolen…..hovering a hundred feet above the building's falling tip….

_It's my only escape…._

A sudden thrill gripped Wolf's bones, anticipation bubbling inside him. Half-unsure and half-fearless, he kept going.

_ZOOOOOM!_

The gunship whirled over to the building's ending edge, its nose towards Wolf, hovering, its rocket-compartments ready….

Wolf smiled to himself.

_Perfect._

Panting, making up his mind, his reflexes readying for this next never-before attempted cheat against death, Wolf headed to the edge…

FWOOOOM!

A rocket ejected from the nearest compartment, jutting towards Wolf….

Wolf jumped upwards and Flashed out of its way-

_BLAMMM!_

The misdirected missile shredded through wrecking building glass, tearing the structure apart with a single deadly explosion, ripping open the building from under Wolf's feet, causing it to burn and collapse from right under his feet.

Wolf kicked his feet against the ground…

_SHWEEEEM!_

A purple streak of light sliced through the oxygen field as Wolf leapt up into the air….

FWOOOM!

The explosion sent a shockwave across the air, is impact catapulting Wolf's jump to hundreds of feet in the air….

Wolf was really high now….higher than any of the buildings….and falling….

The pilot….the guards….the criminals in their shuttles…._everyone _watched as Wolf's dark shape leapt in front of the moon…

Wolf was falling….

And then he looked down.

The gunship's roof stared back up at him.

_I have to do it…now…._

_Otherwise….one wrong move could break every bone in my body…._

Wolf tilted his body back, so that his feet were dipping downwards….

He clenched his fists, closed his eyes…..and said two words he hadn't spoken in five years….

"_**FIIIIRE-"**_

The gunship's roof was inches from his feet…

Wolf's single purple eye shot open, glinting fearlessly downwards.

"_**-WOOOOOOOOLF!"**_

With the oxygen whirling around him like a slow-winded hurricane, Wolf's muscles and feet extinguished the air outside with tantalizing purple flames, engulfing the air around him.

Like a living bolt of lightning, Wolf slammed into the gunship's roof, purple fire funneling into the iron hull like a flaming drill.

_CRE-__**KASH!**_

A shockwave of purple flames sliced through the ship in a single flash, crunching the top of the ship like a crumpled tin can, shattering the windows and crunching the engine into exploding.

Wolf stomped his foot on the ship hull and launched himself into the air, as if using the massive crumpled and battered gunship as a mid-air 500-feet high stepping stone.

Wolf saw the previous shuttle from before heading towards him….

He held out his Claw….

_CRASH!_

The entire shuttle shook as Wolf slammed into it, sinking his Claw into its hull to break his crash.

The shuttle's sliding hatch opened up.

_Whoosh!_

Wolf leapt inside rolling onto the ground, and flipping back onto his feet, panting.

The escapees inside gaped at him.

Wolf looked at his comm. watch. _Oh shit…_

"DRIVE! _NOW!" _Wolf yelled.

The driver didn't need a second warning. He wrenched back the boosting lever in the cockpit.

_FWIIIISHHH!_

The shuttle boosted through the night, the island prison of Denique Fatum getting more and more distant….

Wolf turned to the driver. "_Faster! _We have to get away as far as possible!"

They were edging the arch-like Cornerian Rocks when they turned around.

The blistered and burnt island was silent, before a small orange light streaked through the tallest fallen tower, and-

_**SRA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

The island's structure split open, the inside bursting like the inside of a volcano, the building and scraps crumbling like crumpled burnt paper. Specks fell into the sea, consisting mostly of massive building fragments and charred debris falling with large splashes.

The scorched island, no longer supported by its engine, fell with a echoing splash into the dark ocean, sending a minor wave of tension through the water clashing against the City's beach.

Thomas, safely watching from a C.W.A.T. Escape Shuttle (driven by the smarter C.W.A.T.s who gave up the crazy hunt when they had the chance), glanced at the shuttles which were heading towards the City.

_Wow…._

_He really did it….he sunk that place…._

_Well, God knows I'm not gonna miss that evil place…._

He wondered which of those shuttles was carrying Wolf. _I guess even a notorious criminal legend can have a better sense of justice than the Cornerians do…._

Thomas Gingerbeck was never going to forget this night. He knew, that when he would be an old ginger cat, he'd tell his grandkittens the story of how he met Wolf O'Donnell, and rode on one of his most famous escapades.

_But I have to convince my parents that it really happened first…_

Thomas grumbled, rubbing his healed arm.

_Guess this means I got to find another job…_

…_maybe I should take his advice and become a pilot…._

_Meanwhile, on Wolf's shuttle…._

Wolf panted as he watched the remainder of the island sink.

_There…..it's done…_

_I'll never have to go back to that horrible place…._

_I'm free…_

Wolf looked at the other passengers in the shuttle.

The other escapees looked at Wolf with nods of approval and smiles.

"Good to have you on board, O'Donnell."

"Yeah, way to show'em, Wolf!"

Wolf nodded with a modest half-smile. "All in a day's work, boys."

One looked concernedly at Wolf's bleeding arm.

"Hey….you're arm…you need some help with that?"

Wolf clutched his arm to stop the bleeding. "Nah, I'll take care of it. Just a scratch…I've had worse." He pointed to his left eye. "I just need a med-kit."

He was handed one, and Wolf stepped over to the back of the ship to the restroom, shutting the door behind him.

_Twenty minutes later….._

Wolf stood in the tight squeeze of a bathroom, in the dark.

After the rush of the escape had worn off, Wolf had finally reached one of the most terrifying revelations in his life…one that had haunted him for the entire five years of his life in prison.

_I know I got into a crash on Venom…._

_And…..the explosion….combined with a vat of Venomian Toxins…._

_It did things….to my face….._

Alone in the dark, he was trembling….

Wolf was afraid….it had been five years since he had seen his own face…..and that was back when he was nineteen….

_I went under surgery…._

_They didn't tell me anything about the results…._

His heart beat went quicker. The fear of not knowing….that was the true fear….

_I….I probably look different now…._

_Not just because I'm older…_

_But because….my face changed under the surgery…_

_What if….what if I'm hideous underneath….?_

_No…..surgery results couldn't have been that bad…._

_But….I still…..could've changed…for good…._

_To not to be recognizable…._

…_not by Leon…_

…_not by Katt…._

…_not by anybody…._

Wolf touched his face in the dark. Maybe he wasn't ready….

He stared at the bathroom mirror. It was too dark to see his reflection…

He was building up all his courage to turn on the light…..to reveal his new face….

But he was scared.

Wolf shook his head.

_Look at me….I've faced so much…._

_Andross….Dark Wolf…._

…_and I'm scared of this?_

…

_But…_

_I guess…it's only natural to be afraid…._

_I can't show it…..that would mean showing weakness…._

_And I'm not weak._

Wolf cleared his throat, determined.

_I'm NOT afraid…._

_Who cares what I look like? Not me…._

He raised his hand for the light switch.

Then he hesitated.

He looked down.

_I don't know anymore…._

_I don't have the guts to do it….I'm too self-conscious….and I know it…_

…_What if….that Wolf I was…is gone….?_

_What if….the face that saw Krystal…the face everyone was afraid of…._

…_.disappeared?_

_What if I changed into something worse?_

Wolf clenched his fists.

_I have to face it sooner or later…._

_I'm still Wolf O'Donnell…no matter what face I've got…_

Gathering up his bravery, Wolf took a deep breath…..and switched the light on.

_SWIP! _The switch's click echoed in the small bathroom.

As soon as he heard it, Wolf shut his eyes.

But he already caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.

Wolf opened his eye slowly….his reflection came into focus….

_Wow…..so that's me…._

It was like looking at a future version of himself…

His looks weren't damaged, for one thing. The changed traits were barely noticeable. That at least, relieved Wolf.

But…he had changed. Not for worse. But still…

The face he saw in the mirror was an older Wolf O'Donnell. A face tinged with grey and white sleek fur. That's what he noticed first, that his fur was sleeker. His face was muscular in a relaxed kind of way. Whenever he frowned, he looked less lost. Whenever he smiled, it looked less cheeky, and more warm. Whenever he was angry, his cold stare mended perfectly with his striking purple eye.

The scar under his right eye, that James had given him so many years ago, was gone. He now had the pure black-lined _lupus _eye markings, giving him an intimidating but defiant look. His cheek-fur was more chipped and to the point, jagged, like his tail.

Wolf looked older, not in age, but in battle-hardened experience. A reassuring, fearless, bold and cooler look. His face wasn't drawn in outdoorsy good looks, like Fox McCloud.

His face shown in a permanent scar of emotion. A look that was carved with depth, character…as if staring into the face, you'd see that the owner was already seeing right through you, analyzing how to take you down. It was drawn with a dawned look of deep intentness. His face was covered in a shadow of gray fur, and it was pressed with his emotion and defiance, pushing out his looks in a new blend of natural but dark handsomeness.

Wolf was even more relieved, because being leader-like and enforcing had been hard with his previous punkish and defiant teenaged face. This new look made him look commanding and intimidating. It had a aura that put all things in front to waste, a face that would answer to no one. All would answer to him…

He touched his face, looking hard at this new and revolutionized expression.

_I can't believe that's me…._

_It's like….I'm not looking at Wolf O'Donnell…_

_I'm looking at myself for once….the person underneath…._

He looked down.

_Hmm….I wonder…_

He unzipped his jacket and looked at his bare chest in the mirror.

_Damn….I'm out of shape…_

Typically, any person would have said that Wolf's build would be similar to an average athlete. But that wasn't good enough for him…

_I know, since I'm a Wolf…that I can get much stronger than this…._

_This is a waste of potential…_

But he figured he'd have to worry about that later. He had more pressing matters…

Like his chin. The muzzle fur was staring to get unkept, like a five-o-clock shadow.

Wolf picked up a razor from the med-kit, and put on some cream.

After shaving, Wolf also got a good look at his hair.

_Ugh…_

The white stripe of head-fur that lined the front of his face had become messy…and shaggy.

_Well….I don't want to attract attention…._

_And I especially don't want to look unkept…._

…_.otherwise, I'll look like a hobo…or a child-molester…_

_And that's not a good way to forget about jail…_

Taking the pair of scissors, Wolf cut off some of the sticking-out mats of fur.

Snip! Snip!

White fur fell to the looked into the mirror.

His self-done haircut was somewhat unprofessional, and looked spiky and Mohawk-like in some spots.

But it would have to do.

Wolf cleaned his wounds, strapped on some bandages, and washed his face.

Taking another last look at his new reflection, Wolf shut off the light.

_This new face will have to take some time to get used to…._

He stepped out of the room feeling better than he'd been in months.

The criminals were talking amongst themselves when Wolf arrived. When they saw him, their faces became serious and they snapped to attention.

The tallest, a Doberman, nodded in his direction. "Look, uh….Star Wolf-We've been talking and, uh….no disrespect or nothin', but uh…we feel…"

A retriever got up from his seat. "The authorities are looking for us. I think they know you're on our shuttle. It'd be best to-"

"You want me to leave so you won't get attention. I see," Wolf said coldly.

_Criminal scum….I should've known better…_

"Fine. I'll get a parachute from the cargo hold."

The others looked at each other. "Parachute?"

"You want to look less conspicuous, right? Then this shuttle can't land." He snatched a parachute harness from the pile of metal crates.

Wolf stepped over to the hatch, and looked down at the brightly-lit view of Corneria City. He'd probably find some transport there…

"Hey, O'Donnell."

Wolf turned impatiently. "What?"

The Doberman rubbed his head uncomfortably. "We….we don't mean to kick you out like this. I mean, you did bust us out. We're not trying to be ungrateful."

Wolf nodded. "I understand. But don't worry…I probably would've done the same for you.""

The Dog cocked his head. "You would?"

Wolf thought about it. "Well, actually, I probably would've dumped your bodies into the sea to avoid detection or witnesses. But I didn't bust you gentlemen out to kill you. I don't have the energy."

He turned his back to the nervous-looking criminals and looked down at the City in the distance.

"Now if you excuse me, I'm late for my own party."

Wolf leapt out-onto the future.

New dangers….a new Lylat System…

Things had definitely changed while he was gone. And now, he had to be ready for them.

And he knew where to start….

_End of Chapter_

Phew…lengthy chapter….

By the way…that whole deal with the Cyber-Scope? If you're wondering what that was about, you should probably take a look at Wolf's current eye-patch (see a resemblance? Hee-hee…)

The next chapter won't be as long, I promise. But I can tell you this: the epicness has even started yet.

Until next chapter, Turdlefans!


	4. Chapter 4

**YES!**

THE _RISE OF STAR WOLF SERIES _IS NOW ON KRYSTAL ARCHIVE!

In case some of you don't know, Krystal Archive is a popular Star Fox Site, and I submitted my fanfic on it!

So if anyone's got friends who visit that website a lot, they can read my story too!

Well, onward with the current stuff!

_Chapter 4: Old Friends and Old Enemies_

_Beltino Orbital Gate (orbits Corneria), 5 ALW_

Thousands of miles above Corneria's atmosphere, a massive Space Station orbited it.

It had several chunks missing from it, giving it the unprofessional look of an unfinished piece of machinery.

But despite its shabby appearance, this massive Station was the future of the galaxy. It was equipped with a large invention called the Dissolving Gate, a cutting edge energy tool built by scientific genius, Beltino Toad, Andross's first, last and only student.

The Dissolving Gate had the ability to transport ships across the Lylat System by creating a huge orb of green fusion cells, allowing all ships who entered it to dissolve into matter and appear in a similar green field in an another spot in the galaxy.

In short, it was to be the biggest space port in the System. One used by all travelers of the galaxy, like a massive intergalactic airport.

Some in the galaxy wished that it had been built before the Lylat Wars, so that the Star Fox Team could've been able to travel across the galaxy more conveniently to carry out their battles, which had taken months due to having to stop at each and every planet in the galaxy.

Nowadays, the Station was closed for construction. No one had the authorization to use the Gate's features.

But that didn't stop what happened next.

_HMMMMMM!_

The low moan-like hum echoed throughout the starry sky, as a huge moon-sized orb of green light shone out of the corner of the Station's view.

Someone was using the Gate.

As a tiny white light appeared in the center of the orb, a rusty, rickety and cheap space-ship skidded clumsily into view. It was a crude faded yellow, round and egg-shaped, with three rusted and charred engines riveted behind it. It had a nauseous rampage of black smoke trailing it. Clearly, its owner didn't take good care of the ship.

_FWOOOSH!_

The rickety ship was practically falling apart. It shook madly, and plummeted towards the Orbital Station.

_CRUUUUUNCH!_

The beaten-up and twisted hunk of metal crashed through the half-constructed roof, causing it land into the Station's Ship Hangar.

The ship stood still, smoking on the smooth Hangar floor, the only sound its bubbling rusty engines.

SWUMP!

The door swatted open, and a pair jumped out, looking tired and disgruntled. What was strange about the scene was how different each person was different from the other.

The first man to jump out was tall and slim. His face was tired and worn-out, its sly and coldy-calculating look replaced with an unusual expression of world-weariness. His electric blue eyes stung his look angrily. He was a lot thinner now, and was all grown up. He was dressed in a ragged overcoat, which annoyed him since he favored sleek and jump-suit-type clothes. A rusty switch-blade hung from his belt, and he was bruised and battered throughout all of his places over his green unshined scales. Everything, and his tail was missing.

Leon Powalski's days of glory were over. The enjoyment and mischievous thrill that he had pursued throughout his days of being a pilot was gone. He was a tired chameleon now, a restless killer, lonely…..and miserable. His large, rotating eyes glared at the source of his misery: the other figure.

The ship's other occupant (and true owner) was nothing like the first. He was short and squat. Tumbles of larded fat oozed from under his grimy shirt, and his tiny toes fwumped clumsily under his weight. He had a round and oily head, with two un-cleaned ears flapped on either side of it. His brow was filled with aged creases and smelly lines of sweat, days of lack of attention to his hygiene choking the air with every step he took. His "white" shirt was now a tarnished tan color, crusty from no bathing. He wore a satisfied and greedy, brown-toothed stupid grin over his fat, dolloping triple chins.

Pigma Dengar, the "pride" of Star Wolf.

"Hurahahargh!" Pigma snorted. "Look at all this loot! I'm friggin' rich now!" He clutched a bunch of Lylatines (Lylat's New Currency in the form of bills). "Our mission was a success!"

"_Success?" _Spat Leon. "You did nothing! We broke into Katina's Treasury, and while _I _took all the laser-fire, _you _grabbed all the cash you could fit in your grubby pockets and deserted!"

Pigma scowled. "If you can't keep up, then I'm not gonna do nothin'!"

"You think keeping up is the problem?" Leon fumed. "I'll tell you what's the REAL problem…..you keep making me doing all this dirty work, and then you leave me to die! I deserve every cent of that cash for all I've done!"

Pigma held on to his money. "No! It's all mine! I'm the leader of this Team! Wolf left _me _in charge before he died!"

Leon looked down. He _hated _every time that Pigma brought that up. He was already crushed after Wolf's death, and would've done anything to bring him back.

_I was his best friend…._ He thought.

_He didn't mean for it to end like this…._

_Or to leave me with HIM…_

He glared once again at Pigma, who was greedily counting his money.

"So how much is mine?"

Pigma looked up. "Excuse me?"

"How much is my slice of that money? I did the job too."

Pigma smiled hatefully. "What? You thought you were actually gonna get some of this?"

Leon's eyes burned. "Not funny, Pigma. Now hand it over so we can split it."

"No."

Leon stood rooted in that spot. He couldn't believe his luck…

"You better not bullshit with me, Pigma…..half of that pile belongs to me."

"No. You've done all I needed. The prize's mine...and now that I have it, I have no further use for you."

He drew a blaster from inside his pocket.

Leon's face twisted in rage. "So that's it? You're betraying me, you shitty fat-faced sack of-"

_Click. _"Tut, tut….none of that, now…" Pigma raised his blaster. "You knew this was coming….you were never much use anyway."

"You're nothing but a coward. You really are a slime-covered traitor right to the very end…with Star Fox….with Andross…..and now your own Team?"

"_Your _Team? HA!" Pigma snorted. "I was never a part of your Team to start….you really thought that I would join another snot-nosed bunch of brats without a reward in mind? You really are a blind shit….just like Wolf…."

_SLAM!_

Leon jumped on top of Pigma and drew his rusty knife.

But Pigma was ready with another dirty trick. He pulled out a forked metal rod, and stuck it into Leon's arm.

_BRZZZ-ZZZ!_

"ARGH!"

Leon fell back, his arm sizzling and writhing from Pigma's electric rod.

Pigma twirled his new weapon and laughed harshly.

"So…._this _is the Great Leon….you really think you're big stuff, dontcha?"

Leon, gasping for breath, glared in hatred at his tormentor.

"Well," Pigma continued. "I was planning on leaving Star Wolf in a less dramatic way…..I actually intended to have you killed in the process of our break-in of the bank….unfortunately, you proved much more against the Cornerian Authorities than I anticipated. So sad I have to kill you now…."

Pigma raised his blaster.

"Two words for you, Leon…._LO-SER!"_

Leon spat out a bloody tooth. "You're nothing without a Team, Pigma! _You hear me? _You'll fucking die some day, and your greed will be the cause!"

"I'm nothing, you say? Idiot…._you're _nothing….always sniveling in Wolf's shadow, always hissing about being his second in command…" Pigma laughed. "…when you were nothing but a low-life loser….an outcast, a freak….a slimy reptile….you're not even Venomian….I don't even know _where _you come from….hell-spawned, probably…."

Leon glared at Pigma…

He wanted him to die….so much….

"Well….don't you look angry….gonna snag me with that long sticky tongue of yours, lizard-boy?"

Leon made a feeble attempt to get up.

_Crap….what was _in _that rod…..?_

_It wasn't normal electricity, that's for sure…._

_Probably stole it from Andross's lab, or something…._

"Don't you get it, Powalski? You were an embarrassment to Wolf…..he despised you….and who wouldn't…?"

_SLAM!_

Pigma kicked at Leon's grounded body.

Leon's long reptilian body winced under the pig's blows.

"Yeah….hurts doesn't it?"

_SLAM!_

He kicked Leon again.

"How 'bout now?"

_SLAM!_

"Now?"

_SLAM!_

"Now?"

_SLAM!_

_SLAM!_

_Blrt—thhh!_

Crimson flecks dotted the chrome-shined Hangar floor.

Pigma kneeled down.

Leon grunted and winced, clutching his badly-bruised ribs.

"Pussy." Pigma hissed. "Always was. The Team's weakest….gonna cry?"

"RRRHH!"

Leon roared and struggled back up.

_BRZZZ!_

Pigma plunged the Electric Rod down on Leon's spine.

Leon yelled aloud and twisted under the electric volts.

Pigma tossed the steaming rod to his other hand. "You know…..before I tried to save Wolf….he said something to me….about you…."

Seeing the alertness that lit up Leon's eyes, Pigma smiled.

"Yeah….he mentioned you….and he told me to tell you…."

Leon sat bolt upright.

"He said…..that he wished you had never joined….that he was better off without you…"

A cold wave of shock pulsed through Leon's veins. His ear scales were ringing….his heart was beating super-fast…

_No…_

"He-he…..said-?" Leon choked out.

Pigma smiled nastily. "Heh. Fooled you….you little turd."

Leon realized it too late-Pigma was holding the Rod in his left hand-

_BRZZZ!_

Pigma laughed insanely as he watched Leon's face sizzle and watched the blood explode from his nose. He fell over with a _Clump!_

"_Hueahahahaehehehea!" _Pigma squealed. "You idiot! You should've seen your ugly face-you actually _believed me…._your resolve is too easily broken…."

Leon's face twisted. His frustrated and angry sweat tumbled down his face….

He couldn't move…

He was aching all over…

And Pigma….was mocking him…..

"AAARRGGGHHHH!" Leon yelled in fury. "I HATE YOU, DENGAR! YOU'LL GO TO HELL FOR THIS!"

Pigma smiled. "With all this money…..I'm on my way to Easy Sector. Just give my regards to Wolf….and James…..two easily-fooled suckers…."

Leon shut his eyes.

_This can't be happening…._

_Not to me…._

_Jeez…._

_I've got nothing, now…._

_My dignity's gone….Wolf's gone…._

_I wish I were dead…._

_I wish Wolf was here…._

**CRAAAAAASHHHHH!**

Both Leon and Pigma looked up at the immense noise.

It shook the entire station, causing the star-ships docked in the Hangar to rattle slightly.

_CRZZZZZ!_

A flaming object the size of a ship blasted through the Ray Shield Ship Entance, skidding and hurling madly towards another ship.

Leon glanced at the smoldering wreckage. It had green-steel armor, its cockpit shattered and its wings ripped open and badly scraped. The Cornerian Fleet Insignia was scorched into the left wing.

_A Cornerian Fighter….?_

Leon peered outside the ray shield ship entrance of the station.

_KA-CHRRG! KA-CHRRG!_

Red beams of laser shots scarred the starry sky, as wasp-like Cornerian Fighters barrel-rolled into sight, laser cannons blazing.

But it was the ships' target which made both Pigma and Leon gape.

It was a massive Dreadnought Ship, equal in size and flight to the Great Fox. It was blazing on all sides, flames dotting its cracked hull, and its boosters caught in a flaming inferno. Charred ship-plates and other flaming debris catapulted off of the flaming ship like a molting bird. It was taking in so much damage, that Leon was wondering how the ship was still remaining in the air.

_FSHHHH!_

Laser-guided missiles zoomed for the flaming ship from the pursuing fighters.

But whoever was driving the Dreadnought was an excellent pilot, because the ship swerved into a serpentine swing, the missiles just knifing above the already battered hull.

_BOOOOSHH!_

The massive blue-lit engines of the flaming ship ignited heavily, and the ship lurched into a mid-air halt.

The pursuing fighters, unable to break in their pursuit, crashed head-on into the back of the Dreadnought.

_BOOOM!_

The flaming ship lurched forward and began to zoom over to the station-

_Clump!_

Pigma dropped his grip of Leon and ran. He may have been greedy, but he had enough experience to know where the flaming ship's pilot was headed….

The flaming ship drew closer and closer to the station.

Leon gained energy back to his legs and stood up, eyes fixed on the flaming ship approaching.

He was to petrified to move.

He _knew _those flight patterns before….only one person could be that skilled…..

But it couldn't be…..could it?

_**CRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSH!**_

The half-constructed metal wall smashed under the flaming weight of the ship. There was a loud roar of its engine as the wall it came through practically disintegrated in its path of destruction. Its already blazing wings spat flames and riveted them in all directions, throwing hot metal and debris on all sides of the room, where they crashed into the hulls of the other ships that shared the hangar.

But the noise deafened Leon's ears when the swooping ship made contact to the ground.

**CRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNCHHH!**

The wings sliced in half as they scraped the smooth hangar floor with intense force that waves of sparks showered in their path, falling metal galloping in raining destruction after it.

Leon's eyes widened and he ran to a ship at the very back of the hangar. He dived behind it and watched the scene unravel from afar.

**CRAAAAAAASSSSHHHHH!**

The first docked ship in the Dreadnought's way collapsed under its weight, twisting and falling apart as if it was under a compactor.

The tip of the flaming Dreadnought smashed through the ships in its way, crunching and sizzling, causing dusty metal to collapse everywhere….

_SHTITITITITING!_

The metal parts exploded off the ship's hull, its own armor falling apart and joining the pile.

The bottom of the ship screeched itself to a halt….

_**SCREREEREREREEEE!**_

The sound of the metal scraping the floor stung Leon's ears like a thousand steel fingernails scraping a chalkboard made of rock.

Then the ship halted, steam emitting on all sides.

_RRRRRRRRR…_

There was a low metallic scrunch, and the ship fell on its side like a massive dead steel animal. The row of ships got crushed under it, flattening like crumpled tin cans under a massive foot. As the shockwave pulsed the entire station, a storm of dust-clouds took flight into the air to immense heights, making it hard for Leon to see anything…

CRUUUSHH!

The ship rolled over, its flaming carcass falling straight for Leon's position…

_Shit! _He thought.

With swift chameleon agility, Leon dived out of the way.

Finally, after much destruction and desolation in its path, the flaming ship remained still.

There was no noise. Just the sounds of the crackling of multiple flames….the _tink-tink _of metal chunks joining the ground….

Black and orange-lit ash flecks fell like tiny leaves, the dust wafting over the metallic wasteland.

_CR-CLANK!_

Leon shoved the bent and twisted hunk of metal off of his body and stood.

_Holy shit…._

_One ship did all THIS?_

The wreckage was vast. It looked as if some sort of massive mechanical factory had laid waste to the inside of the station. Black smoke oozed out of the gaps between several ship-sized chunks of burnt metal. The dust was only just clearing…

Leon edged a little closer to the burning Dreadnought.

_Who the hell….is….or was….inside that thing…?_

_**CLANG!**_

As if to answer his question, the burning side-door slammed off its hinges, rolling off into a pile of dusty metal parts.

_CLUMP-CLUMP-CLUMP-CLUMP!_

One by one, like liquid released from a crack in a bottle, half a dozen burnt and beaten carcasses of Cornerian Soldiers collapsed out of the burning door, falling into one giant pile on the scraped floor.

Leon raised his eye-brows.

_Well….somebody's been busy…._

Then he looked up. His smile faded.

His bright blue eyes widened.

In the haze of flames that surrounded the entrance, a tall, menacing shadow of a figure stepped out of the blaze. Leon could only make out the tall pointed ears, the jagged tail hanging down by its legs, and the unmistakable flapping gesture of leather garments…..an overcoat….along with a shadow concealing the figure's face….lit only by a single purple eye….

Leon's breathing became the only noise in the world. He panted in disbelief….

_It….It can't be…_

…_Can it….?_

_I….I must be dead…_

_The ship crashed into me….that's it…._

'_Cause there's no way this is happening…_

Leon blinked his eyes.

_CLUNK._

_CLUNK. _

_CLUNK._

The sound of the figure's boots slamming down on the metal floor echoed throughout the station.

The ship's entrance was covered with the mass shadow of the figure.

_WHOOOSH!_

Leon watched the figure leap into the air and somersault down onto the ground.

_PSHHH!_

Dust flew from the impact of the figure's landing, and the ground vibrated under Leon's feet.

The dust now covered the shadow.

_SLAM!_

The figure kicked a Soldier's carcass out of its path, and walked straight out of the dust cloud.

Leon's heart leapt. He couldn't believe what he was seeing….

He had given up hope years ago….the possibility was out of his heart now….

And yet….

_God…_

_It's…..it's not possible…._

Wolf O'Donnell stepped out of the dust-cloud, his black over-coat flapping in the wind. His purple eye gleamed next to his old leather eye-patch, and his Claw shined from a red sash around his waist.

It was almost like he had never left.

Leon's heart was racing at bullet speed.

But the tough and ruthless look shifted off of Wolf's face. His familiar reassuring warmth glowed throughout his expression.

"Hey, Leon. It's been a while…hasn't it?"

Leon blinked.

"W-Wo-_Wolf?_ Is…is that really you….?"

Wolf nodded.

Leon looked around cautiously. "Are you….alive? Or am I…..?"

"No, Leon. You're not dead." He clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'm really here." Despite his new face of terror, Wolf managed a small smile.

Leon's sad and weary eyes shone hopefully.

_CLAMP!_

Leon pounded against Wolf, almost knocking him off balance, into a huge hug.

Leon's eyes watered as he laughed joyfully. "I….I thought I'd lost you, buddy!"

Wolf smiled and hugged his friend back. "Me too. I've….missed you so much."

The two friends embraced for a long time.

Then Leon pulled back and glanced around nervously. "Phew….no one saw that. Look at us, Wolf…..Star Wolf pilots, acting like a bunch of sentimental morons!"

They both laughed and hugged again, before slapping each other on the back and throwing old-time questions as each other.

"You scoundrel, you! Where's the Great Leon been sneaking, huh?"

"Oh ya know, around! I've been waiting to pound Cornerian Ships with the great Lord O'Donnell for years! Where'd you go?"

Wolf's smile faded slightly. "Well…..I…was…"

Leon laughed and thumped Wolf on the head. "Ah, save your stories for later, pal! I thought you were dead!"

"Well….I was. In a manner of speaking. I was captured….and betrayed by…."

Then his smile melted. His purple eye was fixed on Pigma, who was standing perplexed in the middle of the wrecked station.

"_**YOU!" **_Wolf roared.

Pigma's lips were moving…..but no words came out. All of the cocky thoughts that had filled him up while he was tormenting Leon were oozing out of him. The day he had feared for five years had come. He'd betrayed many people….including James McCloud….but he never expected something like this to backfire on him….

Leon looked confused. "Wait…_what?"_

Wolf, in a low and enraged voice that menacingly vibrated the entire Hangar, pointed a claw at Pigma.

"That….bastard….and Oikanny were plotting against us, Leon. Andross and them planned the whole thing….I got in the way of Andross's plan, so he needed me out of the way. Both of us….so Pigma shot me out of the sky while I was fighting Fox above the Venomian Fortress. He handed my burnt body to the Cornerian Authorities, where they patched me up and locked me into the Denique Fatum Prison!"

Leon's jaw dropped. "What? But…." He turned to Pigma in disbelief. "Pigma told me that you were dead….that he tried to save you…."

Now Wolf's face was livid.

"_Him….._save _me?"_ His voice was now in a low and demonic hiss.

Pigma's tiny black eyes widened. He turned and made a bolt for his ship-

_**SLAM!**_

A blur of a shadow whizzed past where Pigma once stood.

Wolf, clutching Pigma in front of him by his throat, Flashed through the air smashing Pigma through one…

Two…

CRASH!

Three…

CRASH!

…_Four _walls of ship wreckage. Each one exploded with heated steel fragments and dust, sending a purple-lit repulse with every smashing wake.

In the clearing, in the center of a huge burning crater, Wolf stood over Pigma.

_SWAM!_

_PNCH!_

_KRTC-CH!_

Fists that had waited five years for vengeance crashed into Pigma's fat cheeks and skull. Wolf punched and hit ruthlessly, not a flicker of mercy in his eye, his teeth bared, and his claws out.

_BAMMM!_

Pigma gagged and spat out a bloody mouthful of teeth. He cursed and plunged his still-clutched Electric Rod at Wolf's neck.

_BRRZZZ!_

Wolf grunted as the electric shocks rang through his neck.

Pigma laughed triumphantly and forced his driving grip on the rod, pulsing the bolts against his skin.

Wolf snarled and grabbed the rod by its riveting and sizzling forked end with his bare hands.

Pigma's eyes grew huge. "No….impossible…"

The blue bolts traveled up Wolf's arm, but he didn't even flinch. Years of captivity under his former Energy Shackles back in the prison had mulled his nerves to resist even the slightest bit of pain.

_THWAP!_

Wolf snatched the rod from Pigma's grip, and pressed his thumb on the rod bending its weak metal alloy like a pretzel.

_CLANG!_

Tossing the weak little toy away, Wolf turned his attention back to Pigma-

SWUMP!

Pigma, like a greased pig that he was, wriggled out of Wolf's grip and trudged in the opposite direction.

Pigma drew his blaster and shot some laser shots at the tall pile of ship wreckage.

_SHZAM! SHZAM!_

The red shots blasted into the dusty metal, bringing the pile down on Wolf, who didn't even bother to move from the spot.

_CLLAAAAAAANGGGG!_

The metal wave flooded onto Wolf, covering him with charred pipes, burnt metal, and twisted steel ship armor fragments.

The dust cleared, and only a wasteland of ship parts remained.

Pigma snorted smugly and pocketed his blaster.

Then he heard a faint sound.

"…Fire…."

He cocked his head. "Wh-?"

"…_.WOLF!"_

_**SPRAAAAAASHHHH!**_

The metal pile blasted as if impacted by a hydrogen bomb, sending metal fragments everywhere. A huge blast of swirling and writhing purple fire coursed through the abandoned machinery, casting away all ashy creation in its heated shadow.

Wolf stood in the ash-fallen junk pile, completely unscathed, his expression of loathing and rage unchanged.

Pigma squealed in panic and took off again.

"Fine…" Wolf spat. "Run…._Run….._you filthy shit-sucking _COWARD!"_

SLAM!

He kicked a charring mass of metal out of his way as he stomped forwards.

"You can run, Dengar….but you can _never _hide your stanching trail of cowardice and weakness!"

Pigma desperately headed towards the end of the wreckage-paved path. He looked around desperately-a huge burning ship blocked his path…..he was trapped.

He turned around fearfully. Sweat dripped down his filthy brow.

"There's nowhere to run, Dengar. Nothing's gonna stop me from ripping of your filthy hide and blasting the remains with my ship."

Pigma held up his hands desperately.

"Wolf…._old friend…._you don't understand…"

_Krtchh._

Steel and glass crunched under Wolf's merciless boot. His harsh breathing echoed around the room.

"Andross….." Pigma attempted. "He—He forced me, that's it! Yeah! He threatened my life if I didn't kill you-"

"Liar." Wolf spat in disgust.

"I swear-I would _never_ try to hurt y-"

"LIAR!"

_FWOOOM!_

Pigma screamed and cowered.

Wolf flared his fists and swung them to either side of his body, and purple flames ignited his arms and haunches. His mouth curled into a chilling snarl, his single purple eye glinting a fearsome light purple…..the pupil was drowned out by a demonic whitish-purple gleam….

"YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE ALIVE!" Pigma screamed. "HOW…_HOW _COULD YOU HAVE SURVIVED—?-I KILLED YOU-YOUR BODY WAS IN A MILLION PIECES-"

Wolf stomped forwards…

"Wait…WAIT!" Pigma flailed his arms desperately. "I can pay you-ANYTHING-EVERYTHING! ANYTHING YOU WANT!"

Wolf continued to march forwards….

"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" Pigma lied frantically. "I'LL-I'LL SET OFF A BOMB! YES! THAT'S IT! I'LL SET IT OFF! I HID ONE….RIGHT ON THIS STATION!"

_Clunk! Clunk!_

The echo of Wolf's boots came closer to Pigma…

"WAIT! _WAIT-WAIT-WAIT! _ANDROSS!...HE-HE TOLD ME SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR FATHER! _YES! _THAT'S IT-AND HE ENTRUSTED _ME _WITH THE SECRET-YES-AND I CAN TELL YOU!"

The desperate lies just flooded out of Pigma's filthy mouth…

But Wolf wasn't a fool.

Pigma backed up against the wall, and hopelessly drew his blaster-

_WHAM!_

A brutal force of muscular grip pounded onto the wall. Wolf's clawed hand grasped Pigma's throat mercilessly, crushing the air out of him, causing him to wheeze and splutter, his face losing its pink color and draining it into a repulsive shade of sickening blue….

"_Gach-_COUGH! _Ugh-_mercy-_"_

SCRUNCH.

But Wolf only tightened his grip.

"Mercy? _Mercy? _You sickening diseased weakling….you've got a lot of guts to look me in the eye and beg for mercy….after what happened on Venom. The 'mercy' you showed me was leaving my body in burnt fragments scattered across the barren planet's surface….and I treat my enemies the way they treat me, Pigma…."

Pigma's bulging eyes widened.

"You're quite the snake, aren't you, Dengar? You've got so many filthy tricks up your shitty sleeves…..but you never expect your sins to come back and haunt you, do you? Well, you can never be rid of me Pigma…..just like you're driven by money…."

"_G-uhaARGHH!" _Pigma hacked and spluttered. Blood-red spit leaked out of his throat…

"…I'm driven by vengeance. And vengeance _always _comes back to haunt people….and you and Fox will be the first to realize that…."

Pigma could no longer feel the blood flowing from his head to his neck. Wolf's intense grip was crushing his blood-stream to a halt. His legs were becoming limper….he could feel the knife-hard grip edging agonizingly into his neck-spine….

His eyes began to roll to the back of his head-

_SLAM!_

Wolf crumpled Pigma against the wall, shaking him back into consciousness.

"_Look me in the eye when you're in my presence, you shitpile!" _Wolf snarled. "Look me in the eye as you die….and tell me….who Star Wolf's Leader _really _is…"

Pigma gagged out some harshly-breathed noises._ "Y-Yo—_COUGH-!"

"LOUDER!" Wolf tightened his grip.

"YO-YOU-ARE!"

Wolf glared at him. "Right….for the first time in your wasted life. I swore I'd never choke someone weaker than me years ago….but after all you've done…you're worse than weak….you're weak, but you use cheap tricks to take down people stronger than you….But most of all….you not only lied to me…but to Leon too….you treated him like bullcrap…._my _friend…and you lied and said that you tried to _save_ me….and I made _you _Leader…."

Wolf's eyes gleamed hatefully.

"As if you would ever risk your wasteful life to save anyone but your own skin…."

Pigma looked up fearfully. "Wh-What are you going to do to me-?"

_SHA-SHING!_

Wolf raised his hand, his drawn-out claws glinting. "What you did to me….you took me down without giving me the chance to defend myself…so I'm gonna send you to hell….and make _you _the deprived one….maybe break all the bones in your body and make you crawl back….or make you fly a ship with broken arms into Lylat's Star…."

Pigma's eyes widened, fear gripping his nerves and brain.

_Clamp!_

Wolf felt a hand on his shoulder.

"That's enough."

Wolf turned to see Leon standing next to him, a different look in his eyes.

"It's over," Leon said. "He's beaten."

Wolf glared down at Pigma. "He needs to be killed! He deserves it….after what he did to me…..to you…." He looked at him sadly.

"I know." Leon spoke in a firm tone. "I know he's a bastard….a filthy one…" He glanced at Pigma in disgust. "I would almost kill him myself….but…he's weak. And he's a coward."

He forced Wolf's clawed hand in the air down.

"But you're stronger than he can ever be, Wolf. You shouldn't dirty your hands taking a filthy life like Pigma's. Do you remember what you told me…..the day you fought James McCloud for the first time at the Academy?"

Wolf hesitated. "…'only kill…..a strong opponent…..never weaklings….'.."

Leon nodded. "Doing what you're about to do…..would make you stoop down to his level….a common killer. You're my best friend, Wolf….I've traveled and fought alongside with you for a long time. I know that you never kill….unless your honor demanded it…."

Wolf looked at Leon with a familiar glance.

_Man…._

_He DOES know me…_

_But…I can't deny that he's right…._

_It would be below me to kill someone as low as Pigma…_

He glared down out Pigma, who recoiled in terror.

_THWUMP!_

He dropped Pigma on the ground like a sack of bricks.

"Be lucky that Leon was here, Pigma." He pointed a threatening claw at his face. "He being here was the only thing that could've saved you from being ripped open alive. But next time…..I warn you….you won't receive the same mercy again. One day, you _are _going to pay for your sins, but not by my claws. You'll burn in the biggest circle of hell…for betrayal. And you can see if James McCloud is happy to see you. So don't ever show your ugly face again, Dengar….because the instant you do, I'll rip it open and tear your throat out, so you can never spew shits of lies again. Now, _get!"_

Pigma scrambled to his feet and backed up against the wall.

Wolf growled, baring his fangs. Then with a last disgusted look, he turned and walked away.

Pigma, with his nose and mouth bleeding, just stood there, not in fear….but in rage. He had failed to kill Wolf O'Donnell….and when Wolf had the chance to kill _him_….

…he didn't fail.

He just chose not to.

And it infuriated Pigma. To filthy to be killed? _Him?_

"BASTARD! You-_how? _How did you survive after I carved your corpse with my missiles? With _Andross's _weapons? No one has ever survived a scheme that I've ever laid out…._except you!_"

Wolf stopped, but didn't face Pigma.

"That's because….unlike you…..I don't just sneak off and run….." He turned to fix his burning purple gaze at him.

Pigma snarled. "HAH! Not for long you will! Just because you cheated death once won't mean you'll cheat it again! Andross made sure of that and won't stop until your corpse is in his hands!"

Wolf's tall and pointed ears perked up. He turned around.

"What did you just say?"

Pigma's smug grin melted off of his bloody face. He realized that he had just unintentionally spilled information….information he wasn't supposed to even breathe about…..

"Nothing. Nothing…!"

Wolf narrowed his eyes. "Andross 'won't' stop….you talk like he's still alive…"

Pigma glanced nervously around.

Wolf clenched his fist. "You're not telling me something, Pigma….and I want to know….now!"

Pigma raised up his hands. "I swear, I don't know anything!"

_SLAM!_

Wolf's clawed hand returned around Pigma's throat in a bolting movement. Leon didn't even remember seeing Wolf move from where he had been previously standing. Just a purple streak of light….

Pigma struggled under Wolf's grip.

"Gaac-You-_You said you wouldn't kill me!"_

Wolf bared his teeth. "Yeah….but I can still maim you. Now….what do you know about Andross? Tell me, now!"

"He-He's alive! He can't die….I don't know why…but he didn't…."

Wolf narrowed his eyes. "You lie. Fox McCloud blew him to bits…."

"He only thought he had killed him….Andross lives, I swear! He remains….but he isn't whole…."

Wolf narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean, 'he isn't whole?'"

Pigma glanced around nervously. "I can't reveal any more than that…..he'll kill me if I say anymore out in the open!"

Wolf tightened his grip. "I thought you said he wasn't whole. How would he kill you…."

Pigma gulped. "Despite his disappearance, Andross has followers….crazed fanatics, ones who want to join his cause…."

"Why doesn't he use the Venomian Army?"

"After McCloud's rising from the ashes of Andross's palace, Oikanny believed that his uncle was dead. So he assumed the new title of Emperor, and took the army to a place outside of the gaze of Corneria's government. Even now, he breeds his army in secret…"

Leon scowled. "Sounds like a hunk of bullshit to me." He turned to Wolf. "Leave him, Wolf. He's got nothing we want."

Wolf took out his blaster.

"Yes he does. He knows where Andross is. And he's going to lead us there." He pointed it at Pigma's forehead.

Pigma trembled. "But….he'll kill me if I do!"

"You're good at running off and saving that filthy ass of yours. Use that talent. Now move!"

Pigma stood. "Fine. But you'll regret returning…..you're returning blindfolded into a pit of snakes, O'Donnell. I'll ready my ship."

_Click._

Pigma froze.

Wolf raised his blaster. "Not _your _ship. I'm not gonna sit in a passenger's seat of a ship while _you're _at the wheel. I can't risk you trying anything stupid-not that you can, anyway, without me cutting you up first. Besides, there's no way I'm gonna be seen in that rusty shit-sack on wheels."

Leon shuddered. "Better plan…..if you think it looks bad on the outside, Wolf, you do _not _wanna see it on the inside. Trust me," He made a face. "I know."

A sudden spark lit Wolf's eyes.

"That reminds me…"

_WHU-PACK!_

Wolf aimed a kick at Pigma's stomach, forcing him to crouch in pain on the ground.

He handed his blaster to Leon.

"After all these years of Pigma mistreating you….I think you deserve to be the one to make him miserable for the majority of the trip."

The old mischievous light shone in Leon's eyes. He smiled.

"Yeah….that sounds nice."

He took the blaster and aimed a second kick at Pigma's rear.

"Get moving, lard-ass! The Great Leon is getting impatient!" He hissed in his favorite psychopath voice.

Wolf smiled. It was good to have Leon around again….

As Pigma lumbered miserably to one of the station's Hangar ships, like a dog with its tail between its legs, Leon turned to Wolf.

"But, Wolf….why do you wanna see Andross so badly? He tried to kill you last time!"

Wolf sheathed his Claw. _SHING!_

"I know. He has been….for a long time…since before I started Star Wolf…..and its time I found out why…."

_About 2 hours later, in a new ship, in a Gate Tunnel between Solar and Macbeth….._

The thing about traveling with the Dissolving Gate was that once you entered the Green Transmission Energy Field, your ship needed to fly down a long glowing green tunnel of energy for a few hours before it finally reached the entrance hole that had your ship to its destination.

That gave time for Wolf to catch up on things.

So while Pigma fearfully sat at the wheel of their "borrowed" Cornerian Crusier, Leon and Wolf sat in the comfortable white-leather seats of the Passenger Leisure Area at the back of the ship's large and roomy cockpit.

Wolf sat down, and Leon watched him with curious eyes.

Catching his look, Wolf frowned.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just…..your face….."

The cold reality struck Wolf again. "Does it look….bad…?"

Leon waved his arms frantically. "No, no! It's fine….great, actually. You look older, that's all…." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "But you know…I like it. Back before everything…the surgery you told me about….you seemed a little too adolescent. Giving all those orders, and stuff? You looked arrogant….weak."

Wolf laughed. "Yeah, I felt a bit stupid giving out orders and only being nineteen and all, but-" He stopped mid-sentence. "Hey, what do you mean 'weak'?"

"ANYway," Leon raised his voice to change topics. "You look more like a Leader, now. More tough….commanding. The way you always acted….is now the way you look." He smiled. "I feel like I'm looking at you for the first time again."

The warmth of Leon's words filled Wolf with modest pleasure. He had doubts about his new look, but he didn't expect to turn out _good_.

"You still look good, too, Leon. I thought you'd have changed a lot after all these years."

Leon rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding? I'm a mess! I've been hanging around with lard-face at the wheel for so long, I've lost track of myself (not to mention my hygiene!) I've lost my reputation, my fame, and I haven't sold a new copy of Wave Race 64 in weeks!"

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "Wave Race what?"

Leon hesitated. "Oh yeah…I forgot to tell you….Nintendo made a new console and replaced the SNES….you know….the one we used to play Star Wing on?"

Wolf raised his eyebrows. "Wow, I _have _been gone a long time."

"And plus, I haven't been able to buy all the awesome clothes and weapons I always wanted."

Wolf leaned back on his comfy seat and smiled. "Don't worry, pal. Soon, we're gonna be living on Easy Sector. Just you, me, some nice girls (for you mostly, I don't really have time for girls anyway…) and all the weapons, booze, and fancy clothes and ships Lylatines can buy!"

He waited for Leon to give him a usual back-slap of support, but Leon looked down.

Wolf sat up. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Leon spoke in a low, almost regretful tone.

"Are you sure?"

"Wolf….while you were at that Prison….things….changed a lot out here in the Lylat System."

Wolf shrugged. "Well, yeah, I know that…..but once we get some ships we can steer things straight with a well-trained fist like we always have."

"It…It may be a lot more difficult than that, Wolf…"

Wolf's eyebrow's furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Leon looked outside at the green streaks of the Gate Tunnel.

"Well….the Lylat System's different, Wolf…..it's not the same place you left when we got separated….it's a new place. And…it's not an easy place to live in anymore….not since the Lylat Wars."

Small droplets of concern dripped down Wolf's fading optimistic mood. "Why? What happened?"

Leon gave a sad and world-wear sigh, one that made Wolf a little uneasy since he never knew Leon to be bothered by anything. The shadows lined the weary creases in Leon's face, making him look sadder.

"Wolf….imagine if a place….a place that had always been an untouchable place….one that had always walked hand-in-hand with peace…imagine if that place was stained with something terrible…something that made everyone in it afraid….unsure….paranoid….and created an aftermath of depression and paranoia…"

He looked up.

"That's pretty much what happened to Lylat after the Wars. Things had been terrible during the war, but things got worse after it ended….after the soldiers returned from the long and hard war with Venom….they didn't come back to peace. They came back to corruption."

"What kind of corruption?"

"After Fox McCloud and the rest of the Team Star Fox returned and announced that Andross was dead, things began to change. Sure, there was celebration, and hell of a lot of it too…..but ideas…and worries rose to the surface after all the confetti was swept up. The Cornerian Government had become crippled and weak….and its agencies and intelligences were getting more and more paranoid about the aftermath of the Lylat Wars. They said that the previous war had become devastating…and the losses had been severe. They also said that they couldn't risk anything to start another series of Lylat Wars, and had to make sure all possible threats were eliminated."

Wolf folded his arms. _That doesn't sound like Cornerians….The ones I knew that controlled the government were overly-confident bastards…not paranoid ones…_

"But the Government was having problems of its own. For years, they'd been running up bills to keep Lylat's Economy up with the immense costs for the war. The funding for ships, weapons, artillery….it was all too much." Leon looked up grimly. "And that's when it all got worse. On December 9th, 1 ALW, the stock market crashed. After that, everyone called that day 'Gloomy Wednesday'. The economy had split in half. 50% of Lylat's entire population was left unemployed."

Wolf's eyes widened. _"50%? _But…that's _impossible_…no crisis in the galaxy ever rose that high…"

Leon leaned back, eyes fixed on the ground. "Well, it did. Incomes, outcomes….they all were ¾ of what they used to be. Hundreds starved. Thousands died. But millions survived miserably to this day. And the Government did nothing. All they did was keep worrying about potential threats against the galaxy." Leon's eyes glowed with hatred. "I didn't want to believe it at first either…but the results came in quick. Somehow…using some trick…or some method….the government found everyone. All the criminal gangs, drug trades, weapon larcenists, mercenaries….they were all found. Found, captured….and executed. That's why these days are called the Hollow Mercenary Days. There isn't any room for respectable outlaws like you and me, Wolf."

"But how did you survive?"

"The way the only smart mercenaries did….they went into hiding. Put up aliases."

Wolf glanced at Pigma who was still fumbling at the cockpit. "Then how did you and Pigma get out of the Government's way?"

"We did the only sensible thing to do. We faked our deaths."

Wolf sat up. "You _what?"_

Leon looked down. "We had no choice. These were…and still are…dark times, Wolf. We lured the Cornerian Space Cruiser the _Clocerion _to the edge of Sector Z. We hid some Floating Mines around the area. When they opened blasterfire, we took an escape pod, left our Cruiser behind, and it blew up. They found debris and some battered-up bodies we used a decoys, and that pretty much convinced them. After the _Clocerion _returned with their news, the entire Star Wolf Team…including you, Wolf, because you had disappeared….were dismissed by the government as dead. Once the rumor had spread around the Lylat System, years of telling and retelling put us outside of Lylat's timeline. In short….you're nothing but a myth, now. You never existed."

Wolf sat there in shock.

_Have I been gone that long?_

_People….have forgotten me?_

_All those years of gaining notoriety….all that time I was becoming infamous….._

_Were they all for nothing?_

…_and what's all this about the crime rate dropping…._

_Are we really the last criminals in the Lyat System…._

He was breathing heavily. This was all too fast….he'd only been gone five years and everything had come down…

His Team…

His home…

Even his fame as a pilot…

All of it was gone. It was as if he had started life in a new world…

"But….that can't be…."

Leon dipped his head shamefully. "This must be a lot for you, Wolf….I'm sorry…"

"But happened to the 302nd Army? Galt…Aallotar…Jimmy?"

Leon looked outside. "Dead….probably…"

A cold anchor of sorrow dipped into Wolf's heart, making his existence heavy.

Were they really all gone…? His only allies in this galaxy?

Wolf looked at Leon. "But….we're Star Wolf! All those battles…all those stories….? Where did they all go?"

"They were forgotten. Covered up, by the agencies….those stories about us in the Academy….Fichina…Zoness…Venom…they're nothing but tales told to keep young children awake before bed. No one knows about us anymore."

"But why didn't the Army interfere with all this?"

Leon shook his head. "They tried. General Pepper and old retired Lysander demanded for justice. But after Lysander died of leukemia in 3 AlW…Pepper was left to fend for himself. And he wasn't alone….protestors banged angrily on the Government's doors, demanding a solution….but through bribing, false jurisdiction, and covered-up deaths, the Government managed to drown out all protests. Then, in 3 ALW, things arrived at the worst. The Cornerian Army built something…or discovered something….a weapon of some kind. No one ever found out about it. But was powerful whatever it was….and sent all the planets into a panic. This new weapon's shadow brought the power the Government needed. It passed the Lylat New Order bill six months later. All power was handed over to the Cornerian Government, and all former representatives and political senators were fired. In the panic, the Government also placed a blaming finger at the Star Fox Team for not ending the war sooner. The Team was furious, and responded by cutting off all ties with the Government. As a result, it took away all of Star Fox's funding. And with Falco leaving the Team a year ago, they haven't had a new mission since. And after the dust cleared from this long political and economic battle, the Government emerged victorious. They were feared….powerful…..just like Venom. They had become the people they had fought against and swore to extinguish during the Lyat Wars. And the fake optimism didn't die. While the poor were starving and coughing up blood in the streets, the government kept putting up slogans and ads, claiming that Corneria was now what it had always strived to be: Safe and peaceful. Bullshit!"

Leon spat in the corner and folded his arms angrily.

"And now the Lylat System's become a gloomy place. No one trusts each other….and the government accuses everybody…even Fox McCloud. Things like loyalty and planetary pride have become issues. And while all this happens, the rich prey off of the weak like vultures. More and more just hand their lives in and give up. Pilots…..dead-beats….retired warriors….they have no place in a galaxy like this. The galaxy is shrinking….and the government, not the stars…are filling up all the gaps. No human can live. All they can do is exist."

Wolf took this all in, piece by piece.

He couldn't believe it.

_I knew the government was corrupt, but…._

_This is too much. Corneria's never been this chaotic…..this possessed…._

_Some puppet-work is at play here…..treachery…_

_I've seen it all before…_

_Andross used to pretend to be the caring old inventor…having the galaxy's best intentions at heart…._

…_and he revealed himself as a monster….before anyone realized it…_

_And what's this weapon that the Government's using to gain fear…_

_The Research Facility's never manufactured weapons of any kind…._

He stood up and walked towards the window, looking at the millions of stars whizzing by.

_Has the galaxy….changed this much…..?_

_Everything I fought for…._

_Revenge…_

_Freedom…_

_Glory…_

…_.gone?_

_I can't believe it….._

Leon's expression saddened. "I'm sorry, Wolf…..you….coming from a Lylat System that was in a war….that wasn't like this….I can't imagine how you must feel…"

Wolf didn't answer.

_It's what I've always been afraid of…._

_The Lylat System's become a place….where I can never belong…._

_No adventures…._

_No code of battle…._

_No honor…._

_No freedom…._

"I guess," Leon said. "For you…..the galaxy has less in it now."

Wolf closed his eyes.

"No. The galaxy's the same…..it's just….you no longer have the room to strectch your wings….to be free of shackles…"

He rested his forehead on the window.

_Good God…._

_I've escaped one prison and came back to a bigger one…._

He looked outside.

Stars…

Planets…

Then his eyes furrowed.

_What's that_?

Small objects were drifting by….

Debris…..battered ship parts….torn flags…..mangled bodies….

…just drifting in empty space….

Leon sat up. "We must be in Area 6."

"What happened here?"

"A mercenary warship _The Huntress _fought a battle for freedom. They were carrying families….hundreds which couldn't afford safe passage across the galaxy…and those government dogs opened fire on them."

Wolf's blood ran cold. "They killed civilians? But….that goes against the conduct of war….that's bloodshed…."

Leon sat back down. "I know."

Wolf looked around. "Who would do this? Andross is in seclusion…..Oikanny's in preparation….are you sure the government is responsible for this?"

Leon looked up. "Who else would have the weapons to do this kind of thing? Every mercenary in the galaxy is dead."

These grim words wrapped a cold chain around Wolf's heart.

"Leon….are we…..are we really that last criminals now?"

Leon sighed and looked up sadly.

"Probably."

Wolf looked out the window. He felt lonelier than he had ever felt in a long time….

_God…._

_Lylat's a slave galaxy now…_

_No one…not even the criminals are free…_

_It has this huge invisible noose around it…._

_If your life isn't ruled…._

…_then it's taken…_

_Every right a person used to have is gone…._

Wolf remembered all the people that had been locked up in that Prison. The families….the loved ones….

Normal people….

_They probably never even had a fair trial…._

_And they call this justice…._

Wolf clenched his fists so that blood ran down palm.

_I knew this would happen…_

_I was the only one….me and Leon…._

_Everyone else was fighting for Corneria…and they called us traitors…._

_Guys like Fox….and Bill Grey…._

_Those patriotic fools…_

_Well….look where their patriotism has led them…_

_Seems like now…._

_The only people who ever knew about justice in these harsh times…._

…_were the criminals…._

_Even WE had better sense of justice than the people now…._

_Justice doesn't exist anymore…._

…_only survival remains…._

_But I can't survive in a galaxy like this…I'm not free….and I never will be…._

…_and neither will all these people…_

_..not as long as the government's got the galaxy in its grip…_

_Someone has to change all this…._

_There's no point being free in a world of slaves….every bounty hunter and mercenary knows that…._

_But we can't change it…_

_We're just two people…and we're the last…._

_Shit…._

Leon put a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe it's time to move on, Wolf….I don't know how….but we can't be mercenaries in a galaxy like this…"

Wolf looked up. "No."

"What?"

Wolf turned around, a defiant gleam in his eye. "I don't care how the Lylat System's changed. I'll die before I have my freedom taken away by some bastards on Corneria…we fought injustice on both sides during the war….we'll do it again….and this time, win."

Leon's look of weariness returned to his face. "You really believe that, don't you?"

The older and more mature Wolf gave his confident and intent stare.

"Yes."

A small hopeful smile played on Leon's face. "Me too, Wolf. Me too."

_WHRRRRZZZZ!_

They both looked outside, and a huge, dull-green planet came to focus outside.

Pigma looked around. "Here we are….Venom. We're coming in for a landing….I don't think Andross is expecting us….or will be happy to see us, either."

_Venom (30 Minutes later)_

The Ship passed through the intense atmosphere. It rumbled and shook the ship, more than it should have done…

Clearly….the atmosphere had gotten more polluted since their last visit….And gravity would no longer support the ship if it stayed in the air for long.

The blackish-green smog that served as the harsh atmosphere closed around their ship. As they grew closer, the smog whipped out of their way and the planet's surface came into view.

To Wolf, Venom looked more nightmarish and foreboding than ever. The entire planet was covered with jagged and ruthless rocky cliffs, all consisting of an unnatural black obsidian rock. The sky was empty and hollow, the clouds drifting consisting of the lightless blackish-green fog. No sunlight could ever get in.

The ground was cracked and twisted and barren, robbing the dead planet of any natural life. Any cracks in the ground were covered in thorns and letting out deathly streams of toxic smoke. The mountains and low cliffs were filled with gaping openings, plagued with endless streams of dark caves. Huge eerily-lit green lakes dotted the planet's surface, plagued with green toxic waste, bubbling and crackling with green fire, like lava. Gorges…cliffs…..crevasses….caves….caverns….spires…..they never seemed to end…

Their ship came down, and the lower they got the taller and more menacing the towering mountains surrounding them became.

As the small landing feet etched out of the ship's sockets, steam rose from the ship's engine causing a _SSSHHHHH! _sound to echo across the barren wasteland.

The exit-shaft swung open.

Wolf stepped outside.

The cold, lifeless wind bit though his skin like leeches. The rocky ground crunched into lifeless dust under his feet. Everywhere he looked, there was nothing…..nothing but an endless array of dark caves and black rocky cliffs. Shadows lurked everywhere…

Wolf remembered this place all too well…

The place where he had survived throughout his childhood since he could remember….

Alone….scared….unwanted…

_This place isn't fueled by oxygen…by life…_

_It feeds on hatred….despair….emptiness…._

_Death…_

_Anything that walks this surface becomes drowns in the lifelessness of the planet…_

_Something harmless will become a monster…_

_Someone kind will become hateful…._

…_and in Andross's case…._

…_someone who was a genius….with good intentions…becomes insane…._

_This planet does horrible things to living things…_

_I'm grateful that nothing turned me into a monster during my life here…._

Wolf knew that he really was at the edge of the galaxy….

…again.

Leon followed shortly, jumping down to the ground in a reptilian fashion

"Well," Leon looked around. "Venom looks worse than we last left it."

Wolf nodded. "Hmm….probably because Andross's power was the only thing that was keeping this planet together…I guess all hell broke loose once he was defeated."

He took another look around.

Leon, noticing Wolf's deep expression, nudged him back to reality.

"I know what this planet is to you, Wolf…..don't pretend it doesn't mean anything to you. Are you sure you wanted to come back here?"

Wolf closed his eyes. "The sooner I get my answers the sooner I leave…..they were the only things binding me to this place…once I have them, I can finally turn my back on this place."

Suddenly, there was a scuttling noise from behind a cluster of rocks.

Leon jumped and pulled out his blaster. "What was that?"

"The creatures of this place.." Wolf said. "Andross's experiments….they're stirring. We shouldn't have come in a ship. That caused a lot of attention."

_**BRZAAAAAAAAAMM!**_

A huge thunderous crackle caused both Wolf and Leon look to the sky instantly.

"Looks like we came in the midst of a Venomian Hurricane."

Leon cocked his head. "Hurricane?"

"It's because of the intense winds and lightning. It doesn't rain here…but it can still be hazardous. We need to move quickly."

_**BRZAAAAAAAAM!**_

This time, they both saw it.

A wicked, crooked, twisting bolt of green lightning hurled from the sky, unleashing its devastation on a mountaintop, shattering rock fragments down to the ground.

Pigma climbed out of the ship.

Wolf eyed him suspiciously. "You better not lead us astray, Pigma. One treacherous thought and the asteroids won't be the only things floating aimlessly through space."

Pigma shuddered. "Don't worry….I'll take you to the right place."

Wolf turned his direction to the coming storm. "I didn't think that Andross was still functioning in his palace after his defeat."

"The palace?" Pigma looked confused. "He doesn't live there anymore. It was blown to bits by the explosion after Fox McCloud's Smart Bombs combined with Andross's stash of radioactive chemicals."

He pointed in the eastern direction.

The huge, dome-like palace that had once served as the Venomian Empire's secret Headquarters was now reduced to a huge black and charred mountain of ash and rubble. A blackened crater surrounded the area, and some remains of tattered Venomian flags littered the area around it. There were also dusty fragments of glass, which Wolf guessed used to have served as test-tubes for Andross during his reign.

Leon whistled. _"That's _the palace? Looks nothing more than a worthless pile of shit, now."

_WHHHHHHHssssssshhhhh….._

The eerie wind shrieked and whistled across the wasteland. Whatever "creatures" that inhabited Venom were probably taking shelter by now.

Wolf's years of living on this planet provided him this experience: when the surface was inhabited, that could only mean that the storm was getting closer.

"Alright Pigma. Where's Andross's new base?"

Pigma pointed a greasy finger at the tallest of the foreboding black mountains. It stood higher and more regal than the rest. The other black cliffs seemed to surround the mountain in a fearful way, as if repenting from a fearsome creature. The top was a massive singed hole, a chunk missing, with bubbling red smoke emitting, which seemed hellishly out-of place amongst green smog and rivers that consumed most of the planet.

"Mount Hecate," Pigma nodded. "Venom's single volcano."

"He built a base in a Venomian Volcano?" Leon said, eyebrows raised. "He really did lose it."

Wolf gazed closer at the towering volcanic menace. "Not inside….at the base….that's the only way he could…..but how…?" He shook his head of doubt. "Never mind. Lead on, Dengar. And no tricks."

He drew his blaster.

Pigma raised his arms. "Okay, okay. This way."

So they trudged throughout Venom's harsh terrain. The rocky soil crunched under their feet, and they coughed through the green fumes that creased from the gaps in the ground.

Pigma and Leon did, anyway. But Wolf didn't.

And Leon knew why.

He remembered that Wolf had told him that he had survived on this planet for the majority of his childhood. He claimed to have no memories of his parents, or where they were, or when they had left him here….

..or _why…._

And because of that, Wolf had spent thirteen years on this barren and deserted planet, surviving off of hunted animals and sleeping in cold dark caves. It had left a permanent scar on Wolf….whenever he came to this planet, he tried not to think about those dark and endless caves….

….otherwise they'd bring back childhood memories…

But since Wolf had been here before, he was walking with a more confident strut then any of them. His ears twitched at every sound, nose perked at every fume….

Every new sound or movement caused his eye to narrow and look around, its purple gaze calculating each possible danger, and how to counter it ...and bring it down….

It was those primitive instincts that Leon had seen countless times on the battlefield when fighting next to Wolf. It had all come from living here….

_**BRZAAAAMMM!**_

The green lightning flashed again and they picked up the pace.

When they finally reached the base of Mount Hecate, they saw the large gaping cave.

It wasn't dark and hollow like the others, though…..

It was a lot worse.

Inside, a huge flowing green glowing river coursed through the base. It bubbled and frothed like lava, and produced a fume so hot that it made everyone's eyes water. The end of the river in their direction made an awkward curve in the western direction. And what was worse was that the other end of the river was flowing into the direction into the tunnel, and there were no ledges or side-rocks to shimmy over to cross.

Leon's eyes widened. "Jesus…._Christ…._

Pigma smiled nervously. "Well, uh….Andross's new headquarters are just at the end of the river inside. So….I guess I'll just…take my leave n-"

Before the fat hog could scramble back into the ship's direction, Wolf held onto him by his scruff.

"Not so fast, Dengar…..in case something comes up with a password, or something, then we need a Venomian coward like you to get us through."

Pigma scowled. "I was afraid of that."

Leon's blue eyes grew huge reflecting the green eerie glow of the river.

"Is that river…..all waste?"

"Toxic waste?" Wolf answered. "Yes. Every drop. I fell into a vat of it when I crashed my ship here five years ago. But I was lucky….I fell into a side-puddle of the vat. Plus, the explosion of my Wolfen II had caused my body to be blown out before sinking in."

Leon took a few steps forward. He kicked a pebble over the black-rock shore.

_PFFFSSSHHH!_

The tiny rockbites disintegrated the minute they hit the chemicals.

Wolf walked over to the edge with Leon.

"Only Andross would build a base at the end of a toxic river."

Wolf looked into the depths of the river.

Leon looked at him quizzically. "What's wrong, Wolf? Old memory coming back?"

Wolf looked up. "I remember this place the most…..this is where I first woke up and walked around as an infant."

Leon gaped. "What? Surely not….you were too young to remember something that early…how do you know? Instinct?"

"This planet is teeming with vicious predators…..bio-weapons, results of Andross's early experiments. And they killed and devoured anything that came in their path….except me."

"Why?"

Wolf stood. "This river is deadly enough to burn flesh and bone to dust. The only one capable of dipping his hand into this river….and withdrawing it completely unscathed is Andross. Even the lava on Solar's surface is mere water to this liquid. That's why the beasts on this planet avoid Mount Hecate. And that's why I know I was abandoned here. If I was left to die on any other spot on this planet, I would have been eaten."

Leon nodded. "Wolf…..this planet….it was the bane of your childhood….are you sure you want to keep going?"

"The answers I seek are worth it."

Leon shrugged. "Okay. But I still don't see how we can cross…"

Wolf walked over to the cave that led to the river-lit tunnel.

"Leon…..give me your knife for a second."

Leon clutched his switch-blade reproachfully. "You better not toss it in there. It wasn't cheap!"

Wolf laughed. "I won't." He took Leon's knife.

_WHOOSH!_

With impressive athleticism, Wolf threw the knife as far as he could, until it notched its blade into the rock above the cave's entrance.

Pigma cocked his head. "What the hell was the point of that?"

Leon's eyes widened. He already knew what was going to happen before it occurred.

"RUN BACK!"  
_**BRZAAAAAMMMM!**_

The tension in the air knifed a wind that almost sliced the ground open. Wolf and Leon covered their faces with their sleeves. A huge bolt of lightning whipped from the sky and struck the top of the cave where the steel knife was, striking the rock and blasting it into flying boulders.

_KER-SPLSSHH!_

The boulders fell into the foaming river, but surprisingly, didn't disintegrate.

_WHA-Ting!_

Leon's smoking switchblade swatted into the ground next to his foot.

Wolf walked towards the river. "The only thing capable of surviving the Mount Hecate's river's acidic liquid…is Mount Hecate herself."

Wolf beckoned them to the nearest boulder that bobbed up and down in the green river like a log.

"Get on."

Leon hesitated. "Wait…_what?"_

Wolf rolled his eyes impatiently. "Just get on."

Leon hopped onto the boulder. His slim, reptilian body gained its balance easily. Pigma lumbered on the boulder. The bubbles around the boulder rose, and for a second, Leon thought that it was going to sink under Pigma's obesity.

Leon glanced at Wolf. "And this solves our problem….how?"

SNAP!

Wolf wrenched a long and thin chunk of rock from the cave wall. He hopped on and plunged it into the river. It didn't disintegrate.

Wolf heaved his grip on the rock down through the acidic current and pushed the boulder like a raft.

"There's one name Andross gave to this river."

"What?" Leon cocked his head.

Wolf looked up. "The River Styx."

_10 minutes later, up the course of the River…_

Wolf paddled the toxic waves as they brushed against the rock-raft.

If the river hadn't been bad enough from a view in the distance, actually being nearer to it was much worse: The heat simmering from the bubbles and currents caused carbon dioxide made everyone's eyes sting and water up, they were all blinking constantly.

The heat beat against their clothes, making them hot and sticky and uncomfortable, and the air became stuffy.

Wolf plunged his oar-like rock into the river's floor pushing the raft forward.

He hadn't realized he was panting until he heard himself.

_Ugh…._

_I hate this tunnel…_

_It's just a long and unbearable stroke of heat and exhaustion…_

_Like those factories in underground Zoness…._

Wolf felt a little uneasy about thinking about Zoness…..or Area 6…

Both places gave him a nostalgic feeling of dread…

…because those were the places where he encountered….

…_him…_

Suddenly, a familiar scent wafted around Wolf's nose.

He nudged Leon. "You smell that?"

Leon took a whiff in the air. He scowled.

"Yeah….I've smelt that before…"

"Macbethan mercury," Wolf recognized the stench. "Metallic alloy for Venomian Chemistry Equipment." His glare brightened. "We must be getting close."

CRACK.

The sound echoed throughout the long tunnel, causing the three to look up.

The smallest crack appeared on the side of a stalactite a few yards behind them. Then, like a miniature wildfire, it spread….

_KER-SNAP!_

There was a loud hunching noise that vibrated the entire closed-in concave structure of the rocky tunnel, causing small pebbles to fall into the green river. The huge stalactite tumbled out of its firm, rocky perch and plunged into the river, sending a large and wild wave against the current, making the raft spin out of control.

Wolf yelled over the rocky tumble. "What's happening?"

Pigma pointed at the ceiling. "The storm must be shaking up the mountain!"

_KER-SNAP!_

The next stalactite fell and buried itself into the current, this time alarmingly close to the raft, causing a huge waft of tension across the surface and slamming into the raft.

"_WHOA!"_

The raft spun and slid and dipped and dove, as if flying over a field of rapids. Every now and then a huge splash would cause a wave to rise and splash against them, making them topple off balance and attempt to avoid the green toxic liguid as it soaked the edges of the rock….

_KER-SNAP!_

The third stalactite plunged into the waves, this time pushing the raft into a spark-skidding reunion with the tunnel wall.

Even Leon was having a tough time keeping his balance, his slick pilot boots skidding and scraping the rock surface, attempting to regain his slim poise.

Wolf slipped and flailed both arms in front of him—

_Clamp!_

Wolf and Leon faced each other, arms on each other's shoulders in an attempt to maintain their balance.

"Shift your weight on your side!" Leon yelled.

"I'm…._trying…." _Wolf grunted in effort.

CRASH!

The rock bumped against the wall again and they let go of each other.

"I can't constantly worry about you falling over!" Wolf shouted in frustration. "Just shift the weight on _your _side!"

Despite the danger around them, Leon scowled. "Hey! I've got Lylat's Most Obese on my end! It's your turn to lose some weight! And I don't need to-"

CRUNCH!

He looked around, and his eyes widened. He tugged on Wolf's shoulder

_SPLLRRSHH!_

The next wave came too close. It fumbled the rock-oar out of Wolf's hands and landing with a _krplshh! _into the water. In the aftermath of losing his grip, Wolf felt his weight slide back to his legs and fell back.

"WOLF!"

Wolf struggled to regain balance but it was too late-

"_ARGH!"_

Wolf yelled in pain as he felt a jerking pain from his tail.

In an attempt to save Wolf from falling into the toxic river, Leon had grabbed Wolf's leg, but at the same time, had unintentionally dug his foot onto his tail.

Wolf dangled hazardously near the edge of the raft, his head inches from the rippling toxic waves…

_RRRNCH!_

The raft lurched into a dangerous tilt, rising Leon to the top and Wolf lower into the river's clutches.

Leon's face teemed with fear and desperately tried to pull Wolf over…

_RNNNCH!_

The raft tilted again, this time lifting Wolf up slightly and lowering Leon into the river's jaws.

"_Let me go!" _Wolf yelled. "You holding on-to me-is gonna tip the rock and send you in-just let me go!"

"NO!" Leon shouted.

"You're-_gonna kill yourself-"_

"YOU—AREN'T-GOING-_ANYWHERE!"_

Leon heaved Wolf back in, stretching his legs to balance the weight. Wolf swung into Leon headfirst.

They fell back onto the rock clumsily, and the river carried them off again.

Before Wolf could thank Leon or scold him for saving him and almost killing himself, something hard and smooth jabbed the back of his neck.

Cursing in pain, Wolf grabbed the object from behind and examined.

It was a small rectangular object….silver….and it seemed to have fallen from above…

Wolf didn't have time to examine it before the rock-raft hurled them out of control again. He hastily pocketed the object and tried to stand…

FLOOOSH!

The last stalactite fell and pushed the river, and the rock, forward.

After another uncomfortable lurch, the river's pace began to soften-

CRACK.

Wolf looked up.

_Another _stalactite was preparing to make another plunge…..and this time, just above them….

_NO! _Wolf thought. _Not again!_

"Move!"

Pigma and Leon backed up as Wolf drew his blaster. He had no "oar" now, so he had to improvise.

_Shwa-zaam! Shwaz-aam!_

He fired his green shots rapidly into the toxin next to the rock, causing small bubbles to explode, their impact swiftly wading them away, like the bubbles caused by a motor-boat.

PLOP! PLOP!

The bubbles hurled against the raft as Wolf desperately steered them under the stalactite…

CRACK. The cracks were enlarging….

Wolf frantically shot at the water moving them out from under the stalactite's wake and away….

_KER-SNAAAAAP!_

The raft was about two yards from the stalactite's splash. But the impact was still strong.

_SPLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAASHHHHH!_

The green current smashed against the rock, sending it flying it into the air, causing Wolf, Leon, and Pigma to sail with it-

CLUMP!

Wolf felt something hard and rough slam into his body like a wall, causing him to tumble and scatter like a released cork. He fell to a halt clumsily, before having something heavy and clunky slam into his back and press his face against the surface.

After some panting, mild sores, and recuperating, Wolf felt around with his fingertips on the rough surface he had landed on.

With his face still smooshed against the ground, Wolf realized two things:

They had finally reached shore, and the heavy, clunky thing sitting on top of him was Leon.

"_Gerroffme!" _Both yelled at the same time as they scrambled off of each other.

"What the hell were you _thinking?" _Wolf bellowed. "You almost killed yourself saving _my _skin!"

Leon panted. "I didn't…..wait five years for you to return….to get killed an hour after we found each other…"

A small squirm of affection and guilt writhed through Wolf's chest, but that was still no excuse.

"Leon, you _can't _risk your life for me, okay? I….I'm fine on my own…._most _of the time….besides, how am I supposed to rebuild my reputation if you save me all the time?"

Leon scowled again. "Seriously? You're ruining _my _reputation as an assassin for saving your ass in the first place!"

Wolf smiled defiantly. "Fine. From now on, we _never _save each other's skins on the battlefield. Deal?"

Leon smiled. "Deal." He breathed and fell back on his back in exhaustion. "Besides, I saved your skin, and you broke my fall. _That_ makes us even."

Wolf clenched his teeth and rubbed his bruises. "Well, you're not getting any lighter, Powalski. You almost broke my ribs with that thick skull of yours! You really need to lay off the Bolse Bars."

Leon sat up reproachfully. "_I _need to lay off the bars? That hog over there almost sunk us! You should be scolding _him!"_

Wolf glanced at Pigma, who was lying on his back a few yards away, panting hoarsely and eyes rolled to the back of his head. Apparently, he had received more exercise on this trip than his fat stomach could handle.

Leon glanced at the bubbling river.

"Jeez….who could have thought that a few stalactites could throw an entire river off balance?"

The more Wolf thought about it, the more unrealistic it sounded. He had lived on this barren rock for thirteen years, and this kind of thing didn't happen to him even once.

_Those stalactites didn't break off because of the storm….._

_They were falling in proportion….by effort…._

Then Wolf remembered with a perk that metallic thing that had fallen on him.

He pulled it out of his pocket and examined it under the faint glow radiated by the green toxic river.

It was metallic and rectangular, the size of a comm., with machine-cut dents on the side. It bore the tiny symbol of a Z on the side, the insignia for Sector Z Ammunition Providers. Cautiously, Wolf snapped the top off of the small object. A small wisp of red smoke wafted out, and Wolf peered inside to see the fading glow of aligned plasma capsules.

_This is a plasma-bolt cartridge….used recently too, it's still hot…._

_Someone must've dropped this when reloading their blaster…._

_But it landed on me…._

…_.from above…._

Before his instincts could get the better of him, Wolf kept his head down, and restrained himself from glancing at the ceiling.

He turned to Leon instantly. "Let's keep moving. That rock will remain in the stream when we get back."

They all stood and turned their attention to the back of the shore.

Several red-lit catacomb tunnels lay ahead of them. Wolf remembered these caves all too well. Their cruel and lifeless demeanor was like a second nature for him.

Judging by the way Pigma was eyeing the caves, he probably didn't remember which would lead him to the headquarters.

Leon looked into the darkness of the caves. "How will we navigate through all that? It's just….endless maze…."

Wolf approached the cave. Then he peered in through the farthest to the left cave entrance.

"It's this one."

Leon hesitated. "How do you know? I thought you said that you'd never been to this cave before."

"I haven't. But I've walked these caves for years, and they all bear the same scent: Malevolium, the central rock component that Venom's surface consists of. Things like Mercury are easy scents in a single-scent atmosphere. And there's a definite stench of metal teeming from this cave's path."

Leon nodded. "Impressive. You really did live here a long time."

Wolf turned away. "Don't remind me."

As they proceeded Wolf heard numerous sounds echoing from the stalactite-ridden ceiling.

_Crunch-crunch._

But Wolf didn't pick up his pace. He didn't halt in his tracks. He knew that if he did either one…..the noise would stop.

Then, he dropped his pace and walked near Leon.

"Leon…..remember how Pigma said that the storm was shaking this mountain?"

Leon eyed him quizzically. "Yeah?"

"And that it was the storm that was causing the stalactites to fall into the river?"

"Yeah, but….I dunno, Wolf….between you and me, I thought that the storm ended a while ago…."

Then his eyes lit up. He and Wolf nodded at the same time, catching the same drift.

Leon walked a few more paces, his eyes darting to the ceiling….

Wolf walked steadily, his hand drifting near his belt….

Then, in a quick flashing move, Leon whipped out his blaster with both hands and aimed the ceiling.

_SHWA-THOOM! SHWA-THOOM!_

The blue blaster-shots rang in throughout the cave, pressing an echo throughout the dull drift.

Shadows rustled up in the dark stalactite combs. The sound of movement sent trickling rocks….

Wolf's ears picked up movement up behind him. He slung out his blaster and fired without mercy.

_SHWA-THOOM!_

CLUMP!

Something landed on the floor near Pigma's feet, who squealed and toppled over in panic.

But when Wolf looked for the prey he had shot down….

There was nothing there. Just the imprint in the dust.

Eyes narrowed, Wolf walked suspiciously over to the spot. The closer he got, the more he could hear the muffled sound he recognized instantly as panting.

Wolf kicked at the imprint. His foot slammed against a cumbersome object.

_Shweeeeeezzzzouuummm!_

The area shimmered and the holographic outlines of a transmitted object appeared (similar to the transmission fashion used to send a Landmaster down from the Great Fox) and soon, the shimmering stopped, and a panting and bleeding figure remained.

_Camouflage belts. _Wolf thought. _Equipped by Andross, no doubt…._

_The good it did this one…_

_I probably could've still heard him while he was still visible… _

Wolf guessed that it was a monkey, but he was covered from head to toe with camo uniform mesh that covered his mouth and the top of his head. The only visible portion was the red visor that peeked out of a cut-open slit.

The Venomian made a feeble attempt for his blaster, but Wolf lashed his fist into an upper-cut swipe and punched the monkey back to the ground.

_Sha-shing!_

His claws extended as he rested them above the monkey's face, looking up at the ceiling for any other opponents that dared to face him.

"I knew we were being followed. Those stalactites over the river didn't fall all by themselves. They were pushed. Your stealth skills are about as weak as your fighting skills are. Now the rest of you-show yourselves! Otherwise I'll wrench this scum's collarbone from its socket….and that's just the _least _of what I'll do to the rest of you once you're in my grip!"

First there was silence.

Then there was a slinking sound as more imprints were forged into the dusty rock floor. _Clump! Clump!_

The area shimmered as more Venomians came into visibility.

One raised his rifle. "You're in the restricted area of the Venomian Empire. Cooperate, or we'll shoot you all blind."

Leon glared at them coldly. "Lower your weapons, shits. We're in command, here."

The Lead Venomian sneered. "On what authority?"

"My claws around your neck, if you don't get out of our way. But you'll be the second in line…." He tightened his grip around the Monkey in his clutches. "…and he'll be the first."

Leon raised his blaster. "With my assistance. But I'll probably butcher the poor sap before he dies."

The Venomians looked at each other nervously. There was unison of echoing _Clatter! _noises as they dropped their weapons.

Leon walked over and kicked their weapons away.

Wolf stood and released the Monkey.

_SHING!_

Instantly, the Monkey rolled to the side and drew a long military blade. He charged at Wolf.

But Wolf, not even moving from his position, flung his Claw like a boomerang. It spun in a steel-shining blur as sliced at the Venomian's hand, who yelled and fell back.

SLAM!

Wolf caught his Claw from the air with blurring speed and then slammed his elbow into the Monkey's stomach, before aiming a well-placed kick at his ribs and throwing him towards the rocky wall.

CRUNCH!

The Monkey lay in a huge dusty dent in the wall, panting and coughing, clutching his now four-fingered hand.

Wolf held his Claw like a dagger and pressed its razor-sharp edge at the Monkey's neck. A small crimson line ran down his throat from the mere touch of its edge…

Wolf reached for the Monkey's mask's mouth-cover and ripped it off.

Underneath was a terrified Galagos monkey, its orange eyes huge.

"A bush-baby?" Wolf almost laughed in disbelief. "You gotta be kidding me. Even Andross wouldn't have stooped so low to hire the breed of monkeys only used for farming and mechanic works to be part of his army."

The Bush-Baby spoke in a voice that reminded Wolf of the numerous nerds he had seen in Beltino's Robotics Class. High-pitched and manwoman-like.

"For your information, _we _are Venom's Top Class Stealth Scouts, hired by his Excellency himself!"

Leon raised his eyebrows. "Andross must've seriously run out of troops if he hired the likes of you nubetards."

"Nubetard or not," Wolf pressed his Claw. "You're taking us to Andross."

The Monkey Scowled. "He doesn't wanna see you."

Wolf growled. "I couldn't care less if I was walking into a straight-forward trap. You're taking us to him _now. _And even attempt any treachery, and you'll be the next ones falling into that river."

_Deeper into the Cave, 15 minutes later…_

The path began twisting and writhing, edging deeper into the mountain's core. The next tunnel acted like a long corridor. The closer they got to the other end of the corridor, the heavier and closer to the path the presence of the rocky combs became.

The smell of the Mercury had disappeared. But now, Wolf smelt something else. At first, he couldn't recognize it.

It was musty, and rancid…..like decay….

_Smells like rotten meat…. _Wolf's nose wrinkled slightly.

Echoes and whispers drifted around the tunnel…..muffled voices. Behind these rocky walls, there _were _more people. More recruits.

But there was barely any light, so the Lead Scout held up a glowing Illumination Rod, that acted as a torch. Its orange light shone over the rough surfaces of the rocky catacombs.

Finally, they reached the entrance.

It was a huge rock carving, made entirely of Malevolium obsidian stone. It depicted a giant face, old and worn, and primitive. It wore a permanent sinister sneer, and its stone eyes that had carved-open holes for a pair of orange flame braziers, though bearing no emotion, stared down at them, casting a crossed light down on the floor. It had long pointed ears, each about the size of an Arwing's hull, matted unkept hair and beard, and two slits for a nose.

Andross. Or at least, what he was when Wolf last saw him. He was twice as menacing in reality, but after his encounter with Fox, Andross probably didn't look half as scary as this statue.

The Lead Scout pulled at the fingers of his gloves, and drew a knife from his pocket.

_Thwsh!_

He winced as he sliced a small gash into his bare hand. He held it up where the lights from the massive stone Andross's eyes met the floor.

He spoke in a loud and clear voice. "Although the physical strength is gone, the superior mind and sight will always remain."

As if his words acted as a password, there was a low rumble from the floor.

The eyes of the statue blew out. The stalactites that hung from the ceiling shook, and small rocks rained in a hurl of dust.

Wolf turned his ears to the low vibration, and noticed that the huge statue was moving. He half expected the mouth to open.

But instead, a dusty fissure line opened on the statue's large forehead. The bottom portion of the statue, consisting of the eyes and face, moved away from the top portion of the head. It opened up into a huge black hole, until there was a huge opening between the forehead and bottom-face.

Above the statue's forehead, a massive cave-like entrance remained.

The Lead Monkey turned to Wolf. "This is as far of His Highness's Dominion that we are permitted to enter. Commence with your business with the Emperor, and return here.

Then, all of the scouts shimmered, and disappeared into camouflage. Wolf heard the wall-scrapes as they all slunk away.

Wolf turned to the huge gap in the statue's face.

Pigma tapped his foot nervously. "I'll….um, just wait here….there's no point in _me _going….besides, Andross probably won't be that happy to see me…"

Wolf contemplated the cowering hog with disgust.

"Fine. I have no more use for you."

Pigma sat at one of the rocks and pulled out a white bundle. He began drawing out long, stringy, black, gross-looking wads Wolf recognized as Papetonian Chewing Tobacco.

Leon gestured uneasily towards the dark tunnel. "After you."

Wolf peered inside the tunnel. It was shaped into a more narrow corridor, but the rocky floor rose and fell like a raising staircase. At the other end was a small crack of dim yellow light outside of a slightly ajar open door.

Drawing his blaster, Wolf proceeded into the dimly-lit tunnel, with Leon following swiftly behind him.

He now realized that he should have taken the Illumination Torch from the Scout Monkeys, because it was pitch-black inside the cave. He had been in an out of caves before, but this one had an eerie feel about it, particularly because he hadn't explored it before.

And that made him vulnerable.

Wolf kept marching up the staircase, holding his blaster out in front of him. After a few paces, he felt something long and wispy blow over his face.

He clawed outwards in front of his face, and shook off what he realized by feeling the substance was a cobweb.

_This place is old and musty….it feels like it hasn't been inhabited for years…._

A strange prickling sensation soared up and down Wolf's back.

_I feel strange…_

_Something about this place….is familiar…._

_I've been here before…._

_I don't remember ever going inside this mountain, though…._

_Tch….I'm probably just imagining things….this cave's just getting to me…._

But Wolf kept that thought at the back of his head anyway.

CRUNCH.

The sound wasn't loud, but it became louder with the added echo of the cave.

Both Wolf and Leon froze.

"What was that?" He asked.

Wolf bent down and felt around his boots.

"I think I stepped in something…"

_Tink._

Wolf felt his fingers drift over something smooth, and cold, and dusty….

Broken glass.

Wolf picked up a shard and held it into the dim light.

"Glass?" Leon cocked his head.

"Old glass," Wolf said. He sniffed it. "Smothered in Mercury Alloy. This glass was once part of a test tube." His eyes narrowed. "Andross is definitely here."

Wolf walked, but slower and quieter this time.

He stood close to the slightly ajar door, and leaned slightly so he could pick up any noise. Leon leaned next to Wolf, ears pricked as well.

Then Wolf heard a voice.

"Your highness," A voice spoke from inside the room. It was sleezy, yet fearful. It had a ring of laziness towards it, but right now, it was shaky and frightened. Weak. "I…I have returned. And I have the information you wanted."

"You took your time and kept me waiting, Kalos. I'm not a patient person….and you seem to have the tendency to be late. Perhaps if I cut off your feet you'd make more of an effort of going in and out of places, wouldn't you?"

The other voice was low and cold. It was filled with malice and cold fury. The way it sounded, every stalactite and airwave seemed to quake even without the room moving. Every word was tinted with terrible cunning and cruel amusement, with dark intelligence dripping every low or high pitch.

Wolf tightened his grip on his blaster.

It was unmistakably Andross's voice.

And yet…..for some reason, Andross didn't sound the way Wolf remembered. Before, he had a distinctive attitude of pride and arrogance. Now it was weaker….angrier….and more impatient…

"N-No…My Liege, I only meant-" The frightened voice said.

"Shut up. Where's Vientrass? Wasn't he with you when you went on your mission?"

"He's dead, sir. The Agency got to him on his way back, blasted his ship to pieces-"

"Stupid idiot. He's worth more dead than alive in terms of usefulness."

Andross's voice growled for a moment, and then resumed speaking.

"Never mind. What news have you brought?"

"My Emperor," The other voice continued. "Our troops have scoured the palace as you requested. The statues and markings inside match the ones you spoke of."

"I knew as much. I merely needed to confirm it. And the Squad Leader, what of him?"

The other voice cleared his throat nervously. "He….wishes to speak with you once I'm done here, my Emperor. He requests that you finally pay him. He's been asking questions….all of them have."

"They want their reward, do they? So they can slink off with their money and receive more from the Cornerian Government after revealing my location? I thought as much. You will kill him before the night is out, Kalos."

"Yes—yes, my Emperor." The other voice sounded even more nervous.

"Make sure you preserve his body. If you do not, there will be no proof of his disloyalty. The others need an example for all who reject my mercy."

"Forgive me, my Emperor, but I must inquire-Why is it that you only allow passage from this planet every month?"

"Because, you narrow-minded dungsack, the Cornerian Government is watching this place as we speak. Their attention on Venom has increased since the end of the war, and they must assure themselves that this place is an inhabited planet. If one Scout goes astray…if one _single _person becomes aware of my survival….."

There was a long silence, as Andross need not go any further of the possible outcomes.

"My Emperor, are these missions all for the sake of the plan."

"Of course, you idiot. Why else? What other reason would I take such risks in a time when the government is most impudent?"

"Well, sir….we….we are going out of our way for this _particular _target…"

"What?" Andross spoke sharply.

"Sir, I….I think that we-w-we could put much less effort in hiding and sneaking if we addressed a different target….someone _else…_" The voice was stuttering and frightened, as if he was taking all the courage in his body to drive out this idea.

There was another deadly silence.

"I suppose you are right, Kalos….I _have _been taking things much less seriously than I should…."

"Yes! Yes!" The voice now knew he had struck gold. "I-I _know _the plan is taking much more time than you'd like! And the nursing for you has become difficult….maintaining your state of condition…"

"I see…so you are suggesting that I seek another sacrifice other than Fox McCloud?"

Wolf's ears perked up instantly. His heart beated much faster and the anger and fury he had kept controlled during the time with Pigma rose.

"Sir….I only mean, that….for your health's sake…..if you would just allow me to-"

"_SILENCE!"_

Andross's furious scream shook the very stalactites that hung from the ceiling. It was so unexpected and unsuspected in the midst of silence that had continued till this point that it made both Leon and Wolfs' hearts jump.

"Don't even _try _to pull out that sickening lop of fake sympathy for my current state, you filth! You don't give to barrels of shit for my health! I know what you're trying to do…yes….you're trying to catch me while I'm vulnerable, aren't you Kalos?"

"Really, me Emperor, I wouldn't _dare_-" the other voice attempted desperately.

"_Liar…" _Andross hissed. "The eyes and mind of Andross penetrate through the minds of common humans, you stupid fool. I don't need to be telepathic or telekinetic to feel the treachery in your mind. You feel you can take advantage while I'm in this form, do you? You think that I am weaker than I was before?"

"NO! No, my Emp-"

"My powers haven't deserted me, Kalos. Just because I am deprived of certain attributes doesn't make me weaker…..I've watched those treacherous eyes of yours….you all think that I am vulnerable to common backstabbing? That I, the mighty Andross, is in need of _you?"_

A quiet stream of silence drifted across the room. The only sound was the other voice's whimpers.

"No…" Andross said in a soft but cruel whisper. "I am much more intact with my Inner Power than before. I received it, out of mere experiments, and it has made me strong….but not strong enough."

"Do you, then, intend to gain strength from the plan, then?"

"Of course. Why else would I go on this shameful crusade?"

"But, My Emperor," The other voice rose again. "If strength is all you seek, why….of all people….do you choose to use….the boy….? He is a mere pilot….a common pilot….it could be done with anyon-"

"NO!" Andross spat. "That _boy….._that, what was it you called him? That mere pilot, is the whole _reason _I am conducting this plan in the first place! I've waited five years…._five years…._to rise to power again….not just to bring justice on Corneria, but destroy the only one capable of fighting me…..that stupid, arrogant, adolescent brat! I can never understand it….he has something I do not….and he is the only one to ever have defeated me! Even his father, as repulsive as he was, wasn't half as troublesome as his son! But I will have my revenge….and he _will _be present when it happens. And that is why I must have him….not to kill him on instant, oh no….but expose my true form to him….show him how helpless he is before my power…."

There was another silence.

"But, Kalos, I feel that I have ignored you."

"H-Have you?" The other voice spoke in surprise.

"Yes…" Andross spoke silkily. "You have done well. The Emperor of Venom must always reward those who do well, shouldn't he?"

"Y-Yes! Yes, my Emperor!" the voice exclaimed excitedly.

"Good….you shall have the ultimate reward, Kalos. The ultimate honor…..of joining my army."

The excitement in the voice disappeared. "W-What?"

"I've revealed more than I intended to you, my friend. And all who hold my most personal information all end up in the same place…."

"W-ha-no, NO! PLEASE!" His voice was dry now, terrified, and hoarse.

"I didn't think much of your cooperation from the start. But your doubts of my powers have led me to the conclusion that you must observe them for yourself. Put your faith to rest, Kalos. Look into my eyes!"

"_NO! PLEASE, I BEG YOU-DON'T-WHWOOAOAOAOARRAAAAAARGHHH!"_

The was a sickening splattering sound, and the voice's blood-curdling scream was drowned out by his loud burst open yell.

Wolf and Leon looked at each other eyes wide.

_CLUMP!_

There was the sound of a body hitting the floor, and Andross's voice.

"One less inconvenience to put up with," he said aloud in a satisfied tone.

Then he stopped.

"Ah….." He mused and chuckled. "Hmhmhm…..so _that's _who I was hearing….how delightful….do come in, by all means…_Wolf."_

Wolf froze. His blood ran cold, and his grip around his blaster tightened.

_Shit…._

_How the hell did he….?_

"Come in, come in….don't be shy." Wolf could almost feel Andross's hateful smile burning into his fur. "You too, Leon."

Wolf stood up at first, but then turned to Leon.

"Stay here."

Leon's face tensioned in disbelief. "What?"

"He wants us both in there, to pull something. Just wait out here, alright?"

Leon hesitated. Then he drew his switchblade and shifted it to his right hand.

"Alright. But if I hear anything weird, I coming in."

Wolf nodded.

He cocked his blaster and kicked the door open.

The minute he walked into the room, he felt like ripping his nose off.

_Oh….SHIT…._

The smell was unbearable. It was like every bad smell he had ever smelt combined times fifty. It was rancid and musty and putrid and moldy….

_God…._

_What's Andrss been DOING in here?_

The room was dark save for one small flame-lit brazier next to the door. And it only lit up Wolf's figure. Everything else in the room was covered in shadows. Wolf heard a creaking sound now and then, but he couldn't see the source of the noise. Andross was nowhere to be seen.

But…..a pair of huge orange and yellow eyes sat in the back of the darkness, the rest of the face covered in the shadows.

Wolf pointed his blaster at them.

"Andross." He spat in contempt.

"Well, if it isn't Wolf, my boy….hmph….I've been expecting you…."

The strange sensation caused the room to vibrate. True, Andross's voice seemed to be coming from the unlit back of the room where the eyes were, but it seemed like it was coming from all sides of the room.

"Even after five years, you still cease to make any sense," Wolf said in a low voice.

"And after five years, _you _continue to remain as arrogant as your father," Andross replied coolly. "How quaint."

_Click._

Wolf raised his pistol.

"Don't patronize me. I'm only here for one thing."

"Yes," Andross cooed. "I know."

Wolf raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You know?"

"Of course, O'Donnell. After years of solitude in that prison, you must be dying for answers. Answers for a lot of things…."

"Yes, which is why I'd like to keep to the point." Wolf growled impatiently.

"What exactly do you intend to do, Wolf? Are you suggesting that with a meager blaster, you have any attempt in threatening _me _of all people?"

Andross's laugh boomed throughout the room.

Wolf gave his usual arrogant smile. "Yeah, I didn't think it would do much against you after last time. But I know that you love to experiment, Andross, and I know that somewhere in this dimly-lit shit-hole, you've got something radioactive. One stray shot and we'll both be in hell."

To Wolf's surprise, the cunning content in Andross's voice didn't falter.

"Even in the aftermath of the Lylat Wars, you still remain the same hot-headed boy. You truly haven't changed."

Wolf decided to humor him. "Yeah? Well, God knows you don't smell any better than I last saw you. What's with the stench, Andross? Dissecting something in here?"

"How close, and yet how far…..but what can I expect from you? I never planned for you to become superior."

Wolf's smile flickered slightly. "Planned?"

Even in the compressing shadows of the room, Wolf could practically see Andross's smile.

"Of course. A master becomes impatient when his tool lacks the flexibility to become destructive and devastating."

Wolf growled slightly. "Don't bull me, Andross. You are no longer my master. You never were to begin with. You were on _my _leash, not the other way around. I can never be controlled."

Andross laughed. "Are you under the impression that I'm referring to your course of employment during the Lylat Wars? Is that what you think I mean? HA! I knew you wouldn't catch on as I have planned, right from the beginning."

Wolf bared his teeth. "Enough with your cryptic words and answers with only half a meaning! I've come for answers, _and you will give them to me."_

"Yes, absolutely." The maniacal hint in his voice. "I imagine you wish to know more about…." The orange-red eyes glowed deviously. "….certain happenings. Like the change in your Inner Power…..the reason the Cornerians found you when you were blown to bits...or should we go earlier?"

Wolf clutched his blaster in fury at Andross's mocking tone-and in shock, for how he knew so much about these things.

"Maybe you wish to know why James McCloud found you here? Why I requested you to work for me in the first place? Why your rage appeared to be taking over you over the course of the Lylat Wars?"

Wolf's eyes widened. "How do you know about all of that?" His voice was low in disbelief.

"Oh, I know a lot of things about you, Wolf…..I've watched you since the day you were born…..I've watched you progress. And every emotion….battle….foe you've met…and every….ha…._tragic _event…that's ever happened to you….was all part of my overall plan. My scheme, which has taken so many lives and so many years to perfect….you, Wolf, are my ultimate, and most successful experiment."

A huge wave of cold fury and disbelief swept over Wolf. His head was spinning, he became dizzy all of a sudden….

It couldn't be possible…

"No…._no…._you lie, Andross…..you can't have….that big of a plan….it isn't possible…." His voice was frighteningly low and in panic. He couldn't believe what he was hearing…

"But it is, Wolf. I know everything about you….and like every great scheme, the schemer knows that the greatest plan is inevitable if it is especially the one people don't expect to be unexpected….or unsuspected…..don't you see, Wolf? People around you were saying that you were a Venomian pawn….it was such an obvious rumor that you cast it aside….without the knowledge of it being perfectly true…."

"NO!" Wolf yelled, but his voice was drowned out by the horrible feeling of it all being possible. "I…I'm _NOT your pawn! _I CAN NEVER BE! I-I'm NOT your experiment!" He was breathing heavily with terrified anger.

"Ah, but you _are, _Wolf." Andross said maliciously. "You have been. This whole time."

"_I CAN'T BE!" _Wolf screamed, shaking all over.

_It's not true…_

_It's NOT true….._

_Please…..no…._

"You can and you are. Don't you see? I know everything there is to know about you, Wolf O'Donnell. _Everything…._about James….about Fox….about Bill…..about Katt…..about your Devourer…."

The demonic eyes glowed with malice and cunning. All the blocks were coming together…

"…even about…._Krystal."_

_End of Chapter_

I feel I'm going a _little _overboard with the lengthy chapters….

But this one was because I had to cram in two chapters into one. I mean, we're almost on Chapter _5_, and like, we haven't even dived into the main dialogue yet.

By the way, someone asked me why I chose to include Katt in the series, and what I picture her to look like. Answer: Katt is the Lylat System's most eligible bachelorette! She's a sexy beast, my only second to Krystal

As for what she looks like, well….here's what I imagine her to look like (her face, anyway. She's a little more covered up in my head….most of the time. ). I don't own it, but it pretty much convinced me to use her in the fic.

com./2007/08/06/featured-artist-who-is-pey/

DISCLAIMER: I didn't make this, and I don't own the site it was on, and I'm not the artist, either. This is on Krystal Archive, so submit that before the URL


	5. Chapter 5

OK I know what you are all thinking, but taking long on this chapter was just as painful for me as it was for you all.

These past few months have been HELL! Nothing but laptop battery loss, writer's block, and school finals!

So in the course of the long wait, I hope I haven't lost any fans! I'm sorry I took so long!

But I assure you…a LOT will be revealed in this chapter…all the questions you've had about Wolf so far…

**CAUTION: **The following chapter is 100 PAGES, 2 chapters in one. If you see the intermission signal in the middle of the chapter, I recommend taking it.

_Chapter 5: Revelation_

_Andross's New Base of Operations, Venom, 5 ALW_

Wolf stood there, feet rooted to the ground.

The blaster in his hand shook as a large sweat drop rolled down the side of his face. His heartbeat was at machine-gun rate now.

The feeling was like being dropped off of a high cliff, falling miles below….and then feeling the hard tension of the ground hitting his feet into a landing.

So many broken fragments of glass in his mind….so many possibilities that hat routed through his mind for years….they were all coming together, piece by piece….

It was all too fast…

That terrible heart-ache that had lingered in his body the night he returned from Cerinia's shattered remains was now pulsing at a rate that made him too stunned to stand.

On this planet, in this state….

He didn't feel like the famous and ruthless Wolf O'Donnell anymore.

He felt like a small, helpless, confused child. Without answers for so long…..and having the shocking truth in front of him…..

_After all of these years…._

_I thought….I thought that _I _was the only one with knowledge of Krystal…_

_The only witness of her death….to have known about her…._

_I thought that everything about her….had died with Cerinia…._

_But now…._

As his eyes blurred back into the vision of reality, Wolf blinked.

Slowly, his lips moved.

"Andross…." His voice was extremely low, barely above a whisper. His breath was harsh….as if….forced out.

"…what…..what exactly…do you know about her….? About Krystal…?"

The huge orange-red eyes that lurked in the shadows seemed to stare right through him. "More than you know, I'm sure. I 'm certain you feel quite burdened with-"

"What do you know about her?" Wolf repeated, his saddened and perplexed expression melting into fury.

"Patience, my young friend. All will be revealed when-"

"I'VE BEEN PATIENT!" Wolf yelled. The anguish and hatred in his throat burned madly. "I worked for you Andross….._for the entire segment of the Lylat Wars….._and not ONCE did you mention anything about Krystal! You kept the truth from me for this long, while I was scouring the galaxy for answers? I've waited _eight years _to know about her, Andross! I've done my waiting, and you will tell me everything!"

_He knew all this time and he didn't even tell me…._

Andross remained silent. "And why do you wish to know so much? I'm disappointed, Wolf. I had hoped your first question would be about you….your Inner Power….something like that. And yet, you desperately want to know about that girl. Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Wolf's grip around the blaster tightened to the point that he was practically crushing the handle. "I spent one day with her, Andross! I left thinking that I'd at least come back for her….at least be able to save her….but I didn't! _I lost her! She's gone! And everything about her is gone, too! _I woke up every morning for the next eight years wishing I could give something….everything….._anything….._to find out anything about her, or at least what she didn't tell me already!"

He breathed heavily. The anger swelled inside of him like mixed fear and longing.

Andross laughed quietly. "Well…well….you _are _putting up quite a show for all this, aren't you? You must want to know quite desperately….you've never shown this much emotion…" Every syllable was leaking with cruel amusement. "…perhaps….you _cared_ for that girl…"

Wolf's insides tightened, as if drawing back all the heated rage from his body and into his strikingly-blazed glare of hatred.

_He's trying to provoke me…_

_He's trying to move those hands of his inside my emotions like plunging his hand into a fish-bowl…_

A low, dry laugh echoed from the shadowy corner.

"Aahaha….you _do _care for her? This is precious….and all this time I thought that it was that one Katt Monroe girl that you fancied most. I'd hoped at least you'd pick someone worth something, instead of Krystal-"

"SHUT UP!"

The words just flew out of Wolf's mouth. His fangs were bared, and his chest was heaving waves of tension, causing him to tighten his grip around the blaster handle. He had never felt more angry and enraged as he felt now. He wanted to pounce on Andross and rake him to bits with his claws.

The eyes glowered dangerously. _"What did you j-"_

"YOU WILL SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT KRYSTAL, _DO YOU HEAR ME, ANDROSS?" _Wolf was yelling to the point where he was actually screaming in fury. _ "_SHE WAS WORTH MORE THAN YOU OR YOUR SHITTY EXPERIMENTS WILL EVER BE! _She was a good, kind, innocent, courageous person who never thought about herself! _She was more human than you'll ever be…..and you will _never insult her in my presence again, or I will rip that huge pus-filled mouth of yours! _Do you understand?"

"SILENCE! I will not be addressed like that by an illiterate, deformed, half-blind brat!" His voice towered over the room, but Wolf didn't care. "She was worth nothing! A mere life!"

"She may have been that for you, but to me she was _everything!" _Wolf fought back his painful and longing desire to cry. He would never give Andross the satisfaction of seeing him weep. "She was something that you could never create! Nothing that you could ever touch! _And you will tell me everything you know about her, or…"_

"Or _what?" _

"I'll FUCKING DESTROY YOU!"

"With a blaster? HA!" Andross scoffed. "Not likely…"

"_RAAARGHH!"_

Wolf flung his blaster aside and swiped his arm into the air, rippling an energy field.

_FWOOOOOOM!_

A purple stream of fire surrounded Wolf like a upturned dome, causing the rancid smell to drown away from the sparked scent of burning oxygen and heated flames.

The outburst of Fire had caused the brazier next to Wolf to ignite also, causing the combined rising flames to ignite light into the room.

There was a blood-curdling and unearthly shriek as Wolf looked over to where Andross was standing.

The light had burned only for a moment, but Wolf had caught a glimpse of him.

Or…_it…_

Andross wasn't there. Or at least, his face wasn't. Instead of the typical huge floating disembodied head that floated with two large mechanical hands hovering on either side, there was something much more horrifying.

Now, Wolf realized why Andross seemed weaker….in strength and in voice.

He had barely seemed human before. Now he was practically nothing.

Where Andross should've been floating were a pair of huge bulging white eye-balls. They looked like two huge ship-sized orbs, with red streaks running from the red-orange pupils. Sick, flesh-colored veins drifted from the back of the eyes like tails. But the sickest part of the image was the massive brain that hovered over the eyes. It was the size of a gunship….no, probably bigger….huge, pinkish-orange and grotesque….the lobes bulged up and down as it appeared to withdraw, and the slimy cortexes shimmered nastily under the dim light of the brazier. And if it wasn't gruesome enough, stringy and waving tentacles stuck out from under the brain's deeper core.

Before Wolf could look on in shock, the light dimmed back to normal, and a shadow returned to cast its gloom over where Andross stood. Now all Wolf could hear was Andross's steady breathing (even though he couldn't see how Andross _could_ breathe in his present state. He didn't even know where his voice was coming from….since there wasn't a floating mouth to go along with this package.)

"So…you look as you truly are, Andross….a freakish mind."

"Oh, Star Wolf…" Wolf noticed Andross's voice hint with a deep dangerous tone. "You have no clue have far you have gone….."

Wolf stood there, half-shocked over what he had just seen, and half-satisfied that he had at least gotten some form of impact against Andross.

BAM!

The door swung open and squad of Scouts burst through the door, swinging it off its hinges.

They all looked at the blaster at Wolf's feet.

"He's trying to murder the Emperor! _Kill him!"_

Before Wolf could draw his Claw from his belt, they all drew their blasters and charged on him.

In the midst of his already built-up fury from his revelation from Andross, Wolf wrenched his Claw from his belt.

He kicked up at the first soldier and heard his ribs crack. The soldier clutched his stomach, and muffled groan echoing into the room.

Wolf bared his teeth and grabbed the nearest person by the neck. The soldier wriggled and grunted under his grip. The others were about to charge. Wolf hacked around with his Claw.

"_Get back! _ALL OF YOU!"

Andross's booming laugh echoed throughout the area. "Little Wolf….the trapped animal….imagine how much of a disappointment you are….what a rotten experiment _you _turned out to be…."

Wolf snarled in the torment of Andross's constant mocking.

_An experiment…am I?_

"I'd just love to hear Krystal's laugh at your pitiful state right now. SHE thought you were some kind of warrior. What would she say now…"

"ARGH!"

_FWOOOM!_

Purple flames ignited the area. The other soldiers yelled in shock as they brushed off the intense flames and backed away.

Suddenly, Wolf felt a sudden sting echo throughout his body. It was strange….like a hundred needles under his skin.

He swatted at his skin in frustration as if they were bee-stings.

_What was…?_

CLAMP!

The soldier in his grip wrestled his arm free and elbowed roughly into Wolf's stomach.

Wolf wrenched a muscular arm around the soldier's neck and lifted his Claw.

_Slllrtch!_

There was a sickening thump as the Monkey's head rolled to the floor. The other Soldiers stepped back, horrified looks on their faces.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Wolf spat. _"All of you! _Or you'll share his fate!"

With their burns from the Fire, and the combined fact that Wolf had done all this damage-with his blaster still lying on the floor, the soldiers didn't need a second warning.

They all retreated.

Wolf released the dismembered body and sheathed his Claw.

"So….you've finally adapted to your predator instincts. You've finally given into your inner monster…Very good…"

Wolf picked up his blaster.

"After all you've done, that thing I fought inside me seems more human than you've become."

The flicker of a sneer shone in Andross's eyes. "How much you sound like Fox….maybe you _are _more alike than you pretend…"

_Click._

Wolf raised his blaster, pointing it towards Andross's face. "If it was anyone else, I'd have killed them on instant for making that kind of impossibility. I need answers from you, Andross."

"Answers worth killing five of my soldiers? You'd really kill five of my men to know some mere facts about that girl?"

"I WOULD HAVE KILLED A _THOUSAND _MEN WITH MY BARE HANDS IF IT MEANT HEARING HER VOICE AGAIN!" Wolf yelled, his teeth bared and fists clenched. His eyes shimmered with the dangers of tears, but he drew them back.

_No emotion…_ he told himself. _Emotion means weakness…_

"Interesting…" Andross said, the surprised tone in his voice. "You'd go that far to know more about someone dead?"

His words stung Wolf's heart. "I know so little about her, Andross…..only enough to cling on to every lonely day of my life….I've already lost her. I won't bother telling you what she meant to me…..or how much I wish I could bring her back. You'd never understand. No one will. But if I find out more…..that's enough for me to go on…..it's all I have left of her." Wolf's saddened purple gaze melted back to their vengeful glare. "I'll get it, no matter the cost. And you _will _tell me, Andross. If you don't…..you're dead."

"Amazing," Andross cut in cunningly. "That you think you can achieve anything from someone with my abilities with a…..toy." He looked amusingly at the barrel of Wolf's blaster.

Wolf's expression didn't change. "You and me both know that we carry more than one toy on us, Andross." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a round silver orb, with a red glowing Cross in the center.

Andross's eyes drew to it suspiciously.

"What's that?"

Wolf lowered his blaster, and lifted his orb. "More than you can analyze, Andross…..the minute this Venomian Cluster Grenade hits the ground after I've set it, the explosion combined with the radioactive lava in this volcano will blow Mt. Hecate off the face of Venom."

The glare in Andross's eyes burned.

"You'd be willing to destroy yourself for such little importance?"

Wolf pocketed his blaster. "Destroying myself? Not likely. I can escape. I can _always _escape, Andross….but I know that in this form, _you can't."_

A low laugh echoed from Andross's side of the room.

"You still believe you can kill me? Ha…naive as ever. Still," the smugness halted in his voice. "I do not wish my experiments to be damaged….I won't stand for having my work destroyed…_again." _His eyes glowered into a distant and hateful memory. "Very well. I'll tell you everything, Wolf. But every scheme can only be understood by taking it apart from the beginning. I'll give you a little history lesson and if you're smart, you'll reconsider any thoughts about defying me."

Wolf was about to persist with another remark about him being controlled by know one, when he heard a _KRRRRRRT! _noise of something sliding against the volcanic rock floor.

Something small slid across the floor from Andross's direction and bumped lightly against Wolf's boot.

Cautiously, Wolf bent over (but kept his grenade-hand raised) and picked up the small object.

He turned it over in his hands and examined it. It was a circular disc-like object, silver, with a chrome surface. A holographic data device.

Wolf tapped the chrome surface with his thumb.

_Fmmmm…_

The device hummed as the small, blue glowing P.D.A. holographic display appeared, illuminating the area with a faint blue light.

Wolf scrolled through the data with his thumb across the chrome surface until three holographic faces appeared, floating above the display device. They flickered and buzzed, indicating that these faces were photographed years ago.

"Look before you, O'Donnell! You know who these men are?"

Andross's voice boomed loudly, echoing so nearby that it caused Wolf to look around him alertly. And of course, there was nothing there- he was surrounded by darkness.

But Andross's glowing eyes had disappeared from view.

Wolf, keeping his deep and in-control expression, shrugged. "Should I have?"

Without Wolf touching the surface of the device, each face illuminated with mention from Andross's voice.

"Manfred von Richtoven, Erich Hartman, Richard Bang, Charles Kingferd Smith, Maxemillian Immelmann, Douglas Bader and Jimmy Doolittle. The seven most famous Star Pilots over the turn of the last five decades. The aces and heroes that represent the Golden Age of Lylat's Pilots. These men were trained at the Cornerian Flight Academy, Wolf."

Wolf realized that he had indeed seen these faces before. Tough, fearless faces, on busts that lined the Academy's Hall of Fame.

"I've heard of a few of them. Why are you showing them to me?"

"Because I trained all of them, Wolf."

There was a cold silence. All Wolf could feel was the sudden swerve of disbelief in his mind.

_Andross?_

_He trained the Red Baron?_

_The Black Devil?_

_Legends like them…?_

_No way…_

"Yes, Wolf. I trained these men. I taught them everything they knew…..the techniques, the maneuvering, the tricks, the patterns….._everything. _I already knew that these men would become the greatest pilots of their time, because they all shared the same feat: Inner Power."

Wolf sneered. "Come on. Every famous pilot in history possesses Inner Power?"

"Not all of them. A majority, almost 2/3rds of today's pilots don't possess it. These were legends, Wolf….the aces."

"But why these men, Andross?" _And what the hell does this have to do with me or Krystal, or anything?_

"You know, of course," Andross's voice was tilting on all sides of the room, causing Wolf's ears to perk and his eyes to dart around. Was Andross _moving _across the room? "that I conducted an experiment a long time ago that caused a number of people-and their descendants-to gain this ability. Afterwards, I was banished. Casted out, by that insolent military shit-bag General Pepper. But in my exile, I realized the true results of my experiment. I knew that I had to find a way to tame this Inner Power…to analyze it, and fully understand it. It leaves behind many mysteries even I haven't solved. But the majority of my research required a human subject. Not just any subject with the Power, oh no…..but to examine the only type of subject that required the most developed level of Inner Power….the strongest kind, the most complicated kind…..a pilot."

"Why are pilots so interesting? Why is their Power so great?" Wolf asked sharply.

"Inner Power revolves around human ability, Wolf. It isn't some weapon that's all of the same level of devastation or strength. If its host is weak, than it is weak. If the person is strong, his Inner Power is stronger. It's that simple. The most complicated structure of Power comes from the most complicated subject. But why a pilot? Because they are Lylat's most formidable warriors. They excel all soldiers simply because they possess mental attributes that most can only dream of…."

"Like?"

"Instinct! Pure, untouched instinct! Have you not seen a pilot's reflexes, Wolf? The muscles and nerves it takes to maneuver a ship at zero gravity in ways offense and defense? It's incredible…..it makes a normal human being sharp. Efficient! Tough! It improves their mental capabilities….provides them steel-sharp marksmanship from shooting ships out of the sky! The endless abilities it grants are unbelievable….and that's just with an average ace pilot…..imagine the potential of a pilot like the Baron! Or Fox McCloud! The possibilities were endless to me during my study. And with all these instincts….reflexes, strengths, tactics….all fuel the strength of the Inner Power. So I spent my early years creating alliances with powerful men. Government officials…..politicians….company owners….through whatever means necessary."

"How could you persuade men like them during exile? Weren't you…?"

"You forget, Wolf," said Andross's voice curtly. "That I wasn't such a figure of treason and tyranny to Corneria as I am now. Back then, I was just professor Andross, providing studies and ideas for Corneria's welfare. Everyone thought I was looking for means to _help _Corneria." Wolf heard the cunning sneer in Andross's voice. "Fools. They all thought I was on their side. But with my disguise….I held these powerful allies under my grip. By whatever means. And not all of them lived to rebel against me…."

"And you killed them. Typical."

"You are like so many, Wolf. You forget that I stand out beyond the boundaries of common men. I am a great thinker…..a scientist…..not a squabbling, power-hungry Cornerian politician. And I could maintain my status by keeping my grip on these men…..if I killed them, it wouldn't matter. Whatever ties they had in their position, I could swat away. I could cleanse their history with paperwork, blackmail, and close connections. I could make it so that they had never existed."

_Filth... _Wolf thought.

_All that means he can do whatever he wants….._

_With whatever means….he could kill an army of people and keep it covered…_

_All for the sake of his plans…._

"Look, Andross, what's this got to do with me or Krystal?" Wolf barked impatiently.

"Patience, O'Donnell. You will receive your answers in good time. Anyway, the reason I made these alliances (and severed others) was to create an atmosphere where I could take in potential pilots. Take them in….teach them to think, to fight, to become one with the galaxy's army and fists….to become my students. And with my connections, I created the most successful military school in Lylatian history….the Cornerian Flight Academy. It was here, that I trained the pilots like the Baron and the Black Devil. I trained Peppy Hare….James McCloud….General Pepper….General Lysander…._Maxwell O'Donnell…." _

Here Andross paused, as if regarding Wolf's response with malice. But Wolf's expression didn't spark the slightest sign of interest. So Andross continued.

"But those legends….those pilots before James McCloud….they were all failures. Wastes. Not worth mentioning….not to mention worth living. When I took them back for experimenting, it was a dud. The first three went insane within days…..others simply died on instant. No matter how developed their Inner Power was, they weren't up for the challenge. But I couldn't just trash them. True, they weren't even worth dissecting. So I…..disposed of them. Cast them aside. Threw their lifeless bodies into the Venom Sea. That was all they were good for anyway."

_So that's how he sees human lives…._

_As experiments….tools….._

_Ones that can be thrown away at will with no remorse…._

"But one day….._one miraculous day….._I stumbled across you, Wolf."

Wolf's stomach became heavy and hard. _What?_

"I found you by the River Styx…..abandoned….alone….you were about three years old….I couldn't even imagine how you'd survive this long on this planet…..but I could tell that you were a special boy already. So much….potential….." The evil hunger stained Andross's voice heavily. "So I took you to my lab…..ran tests….injected serums…..took samples…."

"You experimented on me?" Wolf asked in quiet, shaky horror. His eyes were huge. "Did….did you…..modify me…?"

"Oh no, Wolf….you aren't radioactive or mutated. You're completely human. Normal…..even _with_ an eye missing. In fact, when I ran those tests on you…..I found that your cells were repelling all artificial substances. You made it barely possible for me to amplify you in any way. But as I ran you through the trials…..you matured into an amazing being. Your instincts and reflexes were incredible. You had done what previously failed experiments couldn't. You survived. You were the one, Wolf…..my sole most successful test subject. You accomplished the trials and mentally matured within weeks. Test after test, I became more amazed. You know why you were the only successful one, Wolf? Because you had the ultimate balance of being a wolf. You weren't timid or weak like a dog, or cat….or avian….but you weren't completely savage like most of the previous predatory species I trained. You were quick….strong….fast….flexible….a born hunter….and a species-built killer. Your genetic code granted you the mind and reflexes of a hardcore fighter, skills that were absorbed with just seclusion and self-reliance. You have that talent, Wolf. You learn more and more about yourself….your strengths and weaknesses….and how to use them against the enemy. That is how you became such a success. And your Inner Power scans were….._unbelievable. _Your Inner Power was twice as powerful as all of the experiments before you _combined_…..and that was when you were a child. Imagine what it is like now."

Many people would have expected Wolf to want to know more. Maybe, draw in the sensation of the knowledge that he had this kind of power….

But he didn't.

He was horrified. Shocked.

_No…._

_It isn't true…._

_Since I'm Andross's most powerful test subject…._

_I'm…..his most favorite…..his most successful….._

Wolf's grip tightened.

_I'm NOT some experiment…..I'm a human being….._

_I don't care about how my power can benefit him…._

_And how come I don't remember…any of the days with Andross…._

_All I remember is…..surviving in those caves…._

Apparently catching the look on Wolf's face, Andross's tone changed.

"I see…..you _don't _remember any of it, do you? The days in my lab cage? Hmph. I thought not. I had implanted a memory wipe serum on your first day in my lab. To make sure….if you escaped…..you wouldn't remember your way back….or remember being taken there at all."

"So that means…..I must've escaped," Wolf said, eyeing the possibility. "Otherwise, I would've remembered…."

"You did. I wasn't prepared for it, so I let you go."

_Or maybe because you couldn't catch me. _

"But I continued to watch. You ran all the way the far wastelands of Venom…..taking shelter inside of a cave. But I wouldn't just let you lie around. I needed to be sure that despite my lack of presence, your instincts and physical power continued to mature. So continued to monitor your movements…..sent deformed experimental beings for you to hunt…..and when you were shivering and lying all alone in those dark caves…..I continued to observe."

"No…." Wolf muttered. But he knew, deep down, he was trying to make himself believe it. "I survived….on my own….you had nothing to do with it…"

"Really, you fool, do you honestly think that monsters like those plagued you daily without rest by coincidence? No. Your struggles and sufferings were by my doings….I made it so….understand?"

Wolf stood there, stunned. This entire time, he had thought that he had struggled for survival on Venom…..only to stand here, and find out that every obstacle…. was already planned for him.

Andross appeared to have notice Wolf's silence. "You're taking in this news far better than I expected. That's good to see…"

Wolf looked up, a defiant gleam in his eye. "That's because….." He clenched his fists. "I know that you're lying...every word coming out of your mouth is just another load of shit to me….."

"Because you don't wish to believe it?" inquired Andross, the slightest smirk in his voice.

"Because I know it isn't true!" Wolf spat, his anger rising with every word, repelling all of his doubts. "You can't fool me, Andross…..there's no way you could be responsible for everything, about the Academy, about all those pilots….you're just trying to manipulate me…..trying to get into my head. You can't have been eyeing me while I was here on Venom…..I survived on my own….and you had nothing to do with it. I'm not your little experiment, Andross!"

"You want proof that you are?" Andross snarled. "Hold out your arm!"

Wolf's expression flickered for a moment. "What?"

"_Hold out your left arm next to the fire. _Let the heat radiate over the surface of your flesh. The proof is right there. You think you're your own?"

Wolf glared into the darkness. "I _am."_

A sneer. "Then let's see it, then."

Wolf narrowed his eyes. He rolled up the sleeve of his left arm and stretched it over the flickering brazier near the doorway. He felt the heat beat against bare fur.

_What the hell does this prove?_

For a moment, he felt a flash of conceived relief. There was nothing to prove….

Then, his eyes froze as he saw it. A horrible, cold feeling caused Wolf's eyes to widen.

Slowly…under the faint firelight, numbers were appearing on his arm…glazed numbers, all aligned perfectly, as if scanned.

_**EXP. 6G6-J5K-8K9-LL74**_

There it was….

Proof that he was an experiment….

An object…

A slave to Andross's mad science….

….burned into his flesh.

Forever.

Wolf saw his hand shake in front of him. His blood had run completely cold. His eyes were blinking constantly, as if trying to flicker, to make sure this wasn't a dream or an apparition. But the horrifying truth was in front of him…..clutching his heart with fear and shock and disbelief….

There was a clatter as the unset grenade fell from his limp hand.

For moment there was a deathly silence.

Then….

"_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" _Wolf screamed in fury and in emotional pain.

_It's not true….._

His heart was splitting open in agonizing anguish.

_IT ISN'T POSSIBLE…._

Breath heavy, lungs tightened, teeth clenched, Wolf backed up against the wall.

He shut his eyes. The world was becoming too small for him…

It was tightening all around him…..making his humanity shrink….

"See the truth now, Wolf? You're nothing but a tool…"

"NO! I'M HUMAN! I'M A PERSON! A PERSON WHO WEAVED HIS OWN PATH!" Wolf was shaking with desperate anger.

"A path which I set up for you, you stupid boy. You were just too blind to see it…."

"It isn't true…." Wolf breathed in a dry voice. "I'm not yours….my destiny has always been mine….and _nobody else's!"_

"You fool…." The cruel amusement was lifting Andross's voice. "You were manufactured! Perfected! By me…..your true master!"

"I survived on my own!" Wolf shouted into the shadows. "James McCloud found me! He took me to the Academy!"

"Because of my doing!" Andross's voice showered over the room, drowning out Wolf's. "How do you think he came before you? He originally took his Team here to investigate the radioactive activity surrounding the atmosphere…..a distraction I committed to having you discovered and taken to the Academy!"

"Why?" Wolf snarled.

"So you could be trained…schooled….so that you wouldn't lose all possible potential….and I kept my watch over you…..by the means of a microchip planted inside of you….."

_I have a chip inside me…?_

Wolf rummaged his hands over his body, as if trying to feel for some sign of it.

"It isn't something that can be found by an ordinary X-ray scan…..it's protected by a camouflage array…that conceals it location….."

"_You put a fucking chip inside me? To spy on me?"_

"Of course. I had to make sure you were heading in the right direction. There was no way I could observe you myself…..there was no way I could send in spies to reveal information…."

Wolf pressed his arms to his ears, desperately trying to find the sound of metal clicking or mechanical whirring…..he had to get that chip out….

"No…._no….._FUCKING NO!" Wolf ran his hands through his head fur. "It isn't true….I'm not some advanced experimental thing with a chip inside me…..I'm not yours!"

"HA! With naivety like that, with your _weakness….."_

"I AM NOT WEAK!" Wolf was shaking all over with fury.

"….what else _would _you be?"

"A MAN!" Wolf yelled defiantly. "A human fighter!"

"Tch. Of course not…..that isn't an option…..you're nothing but a slave to my experiment….."

"There's no way I'm _your _experiment," Wolf snarled, rage burning through his eyes. "I know that much that I'm more human than you!"

"_You only believe what I wanted you to believe, you stupid boy!" _Andross hissed triumphantly. "Everything you think you know is a lie….a mere delusion…..you thought your status as a fighter was real…..you thought that your constant defying feats were real…..you thought your feelings for Krystal were real…"

Wolf froze in his furious rampage. "What? You mean that was fake, too? WAS SHE A DILUSION TOO?"

"Oh no, she's perfectly real. In fact, she had about as much potential as you, Wolf. She was a fine specimen, no doubt….one of the finest people I ever observed upon….she was practically loyal…."

The horrible sensation of shock shook like a pendulum in Wolf's mind.

"Krystal knew you?" He breathed in disbelief.

"Come now, Wolf…." Andross said impatiently. "There was no coincidence that she spoke perfect English…..she knew everything there is to know about the galaxy…..and its technology…."

_She did know all of that…._

_She told me herself….that day I met her…._

Wolf dug deep into his memory. What had she said?

"_A lot of ships pass this place. One person taught me English and about ships and everything. He even taught me how to fly one. But I found out how cruel he really was, that he only planned on using me, and to experiment on me."_

_And she said that she didn't know his name…._

He looked up in stunned realization. "It was _you….you _were the man that taught her all that...you tried to experiment on her too, didn't you?" Wolf's eyes gleamed in hate. "But you failed."

"Yes…it didn't start that way, however." There was a different tone in Andross's voice. It was a mix of low, grumbling regret and hidden anger. "I didn't know much about her when I encountered her. It took me a long time to reach her, though. Cerinia is not an easy place to reach…"

Every new word from Andross's mouth raised more questions in Wolf's head.

"What do you mean?" He asked, eyes narrowed.

"It occurred just one year before James arrived on Venom to escort you to the Flight Academy. I was sending out spies to retrieve information about Corneria's surface and saw that a lot of them were disappearing without a trace. Flight radar records produced no proof of when they disappeared...or where they went. After the fourth ship had gone missing, I decided to investigate myself. I took my Research Cruiser to the star system area surrounding Corneria, to Lylat's Outer Rim. I looked around the area and found weeks of floating shipwreck debris in space before I stumbled across something very peculiar. It was a wormhole...a small, fragile one, just existing outside Lylat's outskirts...not causing damage or threatening any of Lylat's life forms...not very interesting. But none the less, I inspected it. It turned out that the wormhole was actually a Warp Zone...not the somewhat common ones scattered around Lylat that act as intergalactic portals...no, it was something else. I entered it shielding my ship, careful just in case it was something harmful...but when I emerged from the Warp Zone Tunnel, I found myself somewhere spectacular. Somewhere no Lylatian had ever entered before...somewhere that you couldn't reach after a million years of travelling through space..."

Wolf, interested despite himself, leaned forward. "What?"

Andross's voice become low and mysterious. _"Another galaxy. _An _entirely different system. _I was thrilled beyond my wildest dreams...a whole galaxy, unexplored, untouched...and my feet were at the edge of it. I now knew where all my spies had been disappearing off to...and why they hadn't found their way back. I didn't know the exact location of this galaxy, but just by looking at the planets in the system from a distance, I could tell that they were far older than ours...meaning that it must've been far away from Lylat...and that the portal in which I had entered this galaxy from must've been ancient...so naturally, I didn't want to explore all of them. I couldn't imagine what kind of life it sustained, particularly because this galaxy had only one sun...not like our galaxy's suns, Lylat and Solar. So I merely picked only one planet to explore...the only planet with an appearance much like a Lylatian planet well-known for supporting life, Sauria...the planet I picked was Cerinia."

Wolf's ears pricked with alert.

"Yes...Cerinia...it wasn't anything like I had seen...it supported all kinds of life...flowers, plants, fungi, insects, even dinosaurs...not to mention the other assorted creatures I found. But the only intelligent life was the dominant species...the _Vulpes vulpes..._fox, in other words. And not just any kind of fox, either...a completely different species, with very remarkable physical features…..particularly their blue fur. They were totally oblivious to modern technology…..their tools and clothing were quite primitive…..but they were fierce warriors….cunning thinkers….brilliant trackers…..but unfortunately, they didn't live in unison. They had different beliefs, ideals and traditions, so they split into three ruling clans in their own territory: The Tolekooj Clan (the cannibalistic group), the Shoukeh (the wise and advanced group) and the Edo Rahkx Clan (the defenders of Cerinia). I found out about these clans through interrogation with a dinosaur, a, ha, LightFoot, he called himself. But I knew my presence on the planet would cause a disruption…divided they might have been, but that wouldn't stop them for getting in the way from my analyzing of the planet….and all of its life. And that would mean me having to dissect them…..early."

Wolf hated the way Andross talked about the Cerinians, and all people, for that matter. He talked like they were tools, specimen…..beings that only existed for his experiments. To them, they weren't human beings. Just new things to cut open…

"So I kept myself secluded from the tribes, and conducted research. I would have my chance to experiment on one of them….but in the mean time, I could drink in the life on Cerinia. Never before had I witnessed such extravagant natural existence…..so much life…..the herbs, plants, spores, waters…..the very air was enough to keep you going for days. But I hadn't gotten a chance to dive deeper and examine the crystal formations of the planet when I came across my most important discovery. I was in the deep forest core examining a certain plant with pores capable of reducing poisonous molecules, when I noticed that someone was watching me. She had tried to conceal her presence after I took notice, but was unsuccessful. I waited patiently, calling out in the Cerinia dialect that I was unarmed and meant no harm. When she finally had enough courage to show herself, I saw that she was a girl...a young Cerinian child, probably twelve years old-same as your age at the time. I noticed at once that she wasn't like the others...she had a much atoned build than the other foxes of her age...she was dressed differently...and above all, she had curious markings, tatoos, placed on her forearms and below the hips...she was no ordinary child."

_Krystal..._ Wolf thought.

"She may have been afraid at first, but she seemed thankful of another person's company. My guess was that she had been living alone for the majority of her life...like you. We talked and I told her that I was a teacher from Corneria...if only you had seen her eyes spark to life when I told her that I was from another world..." Wolf could almost see the face Andross would make, a hungry look, like giant spider luring in another juicy insect. "So told her about who I was and what I did...she wanted to know more, of course, curious girl...and in return, I asked her questions about her life and who _she _was..."

"And she just trusted you?" Wolf asked.

"Naturally...she was only a child. She hadn't been raised to know the difference between right and wrong…..due to lack of parents."

"Wait a minute," Wolf cut in sharply. "That can't be true….she was the only one there….the only Cerinian….she told me herself…..that she was the last…."

"Let me guess…..you thought she was telling the truth?"

Wolf's eyes shone dangerously. "She'd never lie to me. She was truthful…you'd better pick your words carefully before you accuse-"

Andross chuckled. "Now, don't get offensive…..I mean that she herself didn't know the truth either. Let me see…..did she tell you that she was on her own since day one? That she was _found _with the staff and clothing? Wrong. She only knew what the inscription on the wall of the cave she woke up in said. She thought she was the last….and to make sure of it, she had scoured the planet, evading the cannibal tribes, looking for traces of her family…..she found their village deserted and buried to the ground. She was convinced that she was truly alone after that. Her family's fate….not to mention her tribe's fate….remains a mystery to even me. Not that I care about what happened to those primitive fools," He added with a sneer.

"But why was she alone?"

"It took me a while to find out…..before I met her, I had received word from a cannibal tribe fox I had captured (and later dissected) that he had received word that the Cerinian Royal Family…..who resided amongst the Edo Rahkx Clan, had given birth to a daughter. This girl, Krystal, was….hmph….remarkable, I suppose. She apparently had the ability that no other typical tribal infant had at her age…but above all, the Clan's elders had examined her and ran ceremonial rituals that confirmed that she possessed another ability…..the one that was the real reason I was so interested in her."

"What ability?" Wolf asked. The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed that Krystal _would _have some kind of ability…..she did seem somewhat mysterious and possibly mystical when he first met her….

"Extreme mental abilities," Andross said softly, as if he himself was beholding the wonder as if it was _his _ability. "Limited ones, of course, but unbelievable…..she could channel telepathic messages through her mind…..she could communicate with people through emotions like panic and fear…..this was an ability that had nothing to do with Inner Power….it was an ability much older and more possibly powerful than that…..but she also possessed an ability that was far more wondrous…she was so gifted in reading the cells in the air, the particles of the living things around her, just with her mind….she could manipulate the cells by feeding in their mirrored sights into the very chasms of her mind….she could reach out and touch the atmosphere around her, and read it like a holobook….in short…..she could close her eyes, listen to the atoms around her, and see previous events in environments and their life-signs."

"What do you mean?" Wolf asked.

"Imagine walking to the site of a battle…..there are a few fragments, like ash and charcoal, and even burnt wood…..imagine being able to touch those things….and replay what happened to them in your mind…..seeing what took place in the battle, who was there, who fought…..just by reading their life-signs….to feel the current of life-forms and replay recent history…the ultimate tracking technique for a hunter."

"Jesus…." Wolf muttered. _Krystal could do that…?_

_She could reach out and see things after they happen?_

_No wonder she was such a gifted hunter…._

_She could track better than anyone…_

_But she didn't tell me about this…..why….?_

"But of course, she didn't tell me about these abilities because she was ashamed of them. It made her different. It was the reason she was alone. You see, the Officials saw her abilities as a bad omen….unholy, as a matter of fact…..she was considered an inhuman alien….something nature had dumped upon them in shame. And they didn't want any part of it. So they ordered for young Krystal to be sent into exile."

"What?" Wolf exclaimed in disbelief. "What kind of unfairness is that? She's a freak because she can do something beautiful? That's a load of bullshit!"

"_Will you SHUT UP and let me continue explaining, you stupid impatient boy?" _Andross spat in an irritated hiss. "Anyway…..her parents…..though royal….had no choice in the matter. She was sentenced to life-long exile….she was left in a cave with family heirlooms, a cave drawing that provided some limited detail, and food. And with that, young Krystal started a life of her own. I found it hard to believe that an infant could survive on its own with tools such as these….but that was before I knew that Krystal, being born mentally capable, would be able to survive out of raw instinct. But I wish I could've known what happened to that Clan of hers…..they might have been able to explain those markings on her….or that remarkable staff of hers…..but after I had managed to calm the girl down, and tend to her, I proved to be the only human companion for her. She was lonely, alone, unloved…..very much like you, Wolf. The poor girl was all alone, and looked to me for guidance."

Andross described Krystal's pathetic state pretty well, but the sneer of cruel amusement told Wolf that he really didn't mean it.

"So I took her in…under my wing, so to speak…..fed her, gave her shelter, and put up the show that I was the only friend she could count on…..stupid girl. She didn't suspect me for a moment…..I taught her to speak English…..well, Estuary English, at least…..I taught her to write, to read, to identify literature…..I taught her to survive, to endure. I even taught her how to fly a ship….I didn't expect her to excel so quickly….but her mental abilities strengthened her reflexes to ace pilot-rate! She excelled in places where the best had failed…and was probably one of the few pilots that I had trained that had even impressed _me…._but one thing that I couldn't teach her was how to fight…..she, being of Cerinia's warrior clan had already trained herself in the ways of their ancient traditional combat….there were many secrets of her tribe that she held…..secrets about her abilities…..secrets that I wanted….but I was patient. I wasn't going to blow my cover, or my chances of learning about her would be lost for good….so I pretended to be her friend….pretended to comfort her whenever she doubted herself because of her exile….because she was different."

Scornful disgust burned inside Wolf's body. "So you were only using her."

"Of course I was!" Andross spat contemptuously, as if that was already obvious. "Did you really I cared for that pathetic girl? She was looking up to _me! _But of course, the process took longer than I'd like…you can't imagine how _boring _it is to have to put up with the woes of a teenage girl…..especially one who at some point, wished to see the rest of the galaxy I had told her about. She wanted to fly a ship and see new places, meet new people…..but she couldn't bear being an outcast again…..being the single blue vixen….she was a pretty self-conscious girl, you know. She wasn't interested in how she looked or how attractive she wanted to appear…..what plagued her most was the thought of being different. Being teased and discriminated….she just couldn't stand the thought of being something other than human….or that the people that she would try to befriend would never see her as anything but a freak. But I was sympathetic…..or at least acted like I cared for her worthless feelings….I told her that she was no different in terms of intelligence of humanism….that it was alright to be special. And the more I filled her head with that pathetic lie, the closer she grew…..and I lost _more _time. And poor, blind, stupid little Krystal didn't see the trap she was sinking into…."

Wolf clenched his teeth, biting back the hot anger in his heart.

_He's calling her things…..after she's dead…._

_He's not even worthy enough to SPEAK HER NAME…_

_But I can't say anything….he still has information I need…._

_I can't let him manipulate me into losing my grip….._

"So the long boring months rolled by as that idiotic girl kept coming back, sucking in more knowledge, making me sick with her praise and kindness of me being 'the only friend she's ever had' or some shit….but I just smiled and put up with it….."

_SHUT UP…_

_SHUT UP…_

_Don't let him get to you…._

"But I had to conceal my….Lylatian reputation as a 'madman', as General Pepper likes to put it (bastard), otherwise I'd lose my grip on Krystal entirely. I hid my files and personal data in my mobile lab on the Cerinian surface….mostly because, I was doing other things while I wasn't spending time with Krystal. I was capturing some of the dinosaurs and experimenting on them…..I dissected many of them….and I mutated the others….all behind her back, of course. But lately, she'd been asking more questions about what kind of science I did…..she was becoming more and more inquisitive…..at a dangerous rate….and then the dark day came when she had entered my personal lab while I was out collecting specimen. And I wasn't prepared for it, either….I had run all kinds of security schematics all over the lab, but somehow she got through….Anyway, when I had returned, she was sitting in the center of the lab. Alone. Horrified. She had ransacked all my files, my plans for Lylat…..what I had been doing this entire time…..and what I had planned for her. I tried my best to retrieve the kindly old teacher-image I had gained so far, but she didn't believe it. She said that I had 'used' her. She had discovered that I was planning to dissect her, and truly analyze her mental abilities by taking her apart…..she became cold….defensive….I had never seen her that way. Perhaps she'd been hiding it all along. She was even more angry that I had been taking dinosaurs and mutating them. She said I was, 'abusing Cerinia's gifts'. She said that she would stop at nothing to ruin me and my intentions. And she escaped."

Wolf couldn't imagine how Krystal must've felt after that. A rush of pity swelled towards his emotions for her…..she had carried a secret like that the entire time they were together….

"I called after her, saying that she was no different than any of my experiments, that she could never hide from me, that she was only existing for my use. I was confident that I could find her and terminate her…..there was no way she could escape my clutches again…..I was so sure that I could just handle her with one swift stroke….but…" the contemptuous regret and bitter hatred in Andross's voice rose. "I was wrong. It took weeks for me to find any traces of her…..for months; I sent patrols of amateurs and mercenaries to round up dinosaurs to interrogate. They produced no results. After three months, I sent garrison after garrison of my own Elite Venomian Dragoons to hunt her down and kill her. None returned….and what I did find pinned to an empty helmet was a message warning me to turn back, and that she would be forced to destroy me if I continued to pursue me. I was so furious; I sent my mutated dinosaur experiments, even my prized radioactive Tyrannosaurus Rex. Well, I found the bones of my other experiments. My T-Rex was never found, interestingly enough. Anyway, after she had deceived all of my attempts to take her down, I finally decide to take care of that persistent brat myself."

"Hold on," Wolf interrupted, somewhat confused. "I thought you said that she was an interesting specimen."

"She was." Andross spoke indifferently.

Wolf shrugged. "So why kill her?"

"Because, you fool, she had gone through my lab!" Andross spat. "Uprooted my experiments! Held my secrets! No experiment of mine turns on its master…..she knew things…..too much. And she had gone past all of my defenses….ruined all my plans, my intentions…." Andross's voice became icy and snakelike. "She had to be eliminated. Finally, I found her. Or at least, she had shown herself. It had now been three years. She looked at me with such hatred…..I didn't know if I was looking at the same girl that I had trained so long ago…she said that I was nothing but an inhuman monster, a puppeteer who had been using her and had filled her heart with warmth and possible dreams. And now, she told me that I could chase her as much as I liked…but I would suffer if I continued to experiment and conduct science on Cerinia. I merely laughed and demanded to know who she thought she was talking to. I told her that if she dared defy me, I would snap her little neck and dissect her. I had other hopes of maybe preserving her for other uses, but now that she had irritated me and became a nuisance, I was ready to crush her like the parasite she was!" Andross's voice had risen to an outraged and lived shriek. "But before I could trap her, and make her pay for all the brain cells she'd cost me, she escaped my clutches…..again. This time, she had walked _me _into the trap filled with landmines…..that ignorant, stupid, defiant little bitch…."

Wolf had never heard Andross speak with hate about anyone before, not even Fox McCloud.

_Wow...he really means all of that..._

_He really despised Krystal...I've never seen him this pissed off..._

_What else did Krystal do to him...?_

"I sat there in the forest, hate burning inside me, the wrath against her defiant and worthless soul pulsing in my veins. Now...there was no way she could be allowed to live, after all she had done. She had turned against me...and had succeeded in getting back at me...so I trudged back to my lab to come up with a plan to destroy her...but..."

There was a long silence. Wolf could hear Andross's breathing become rasped and harsh. When he spoke again, his voice was as hard and concrete as the volcanic rock they stood on.

"When I had entered my lab, the door had been ripped off of its hinges...the glass had been shattered...and as I proceeded inside, I realized that...the files had been ransacked...the test tubes had been smashed, their contents littered and ruined...precious data storage chips cracked and burnt...hundreds of months of ideas burned to ashes...they all just disintegrated in my hands. All of it...my fifty years work of inventions, blue-prints, diagrams, notes...my life's work..._destroyed, _by that selfish, ignorant _whore!" _Andross screamed. "She had ruined everything...plans I hadn't even started...plans that I had kept hidden for so long...she had even let out all the dinosaur subjects that had taken me so long to capture...that's when I realized...that the trap I fell into was nothing more than a diversion for her to sneak into my lab and ruin EVERYTHING!"

Despite the situation, Wolf couldn't help but feel a small singe of warmth.

_Krystal escaped and outsmarted him..._

_And then laid waste to all of his insane inventions..._

He smiled. The memory of Krystal's streak of rebellious spirit sprung back into his mind.

_I knew she'd do something like that...she was a survivor and a warrior, just like I knew her..._

"I was determined..._obsessed _to find her, and snap her little neck! I laid out all system schematics and available traps I had...I spent countless days in my ruined lab, pulling out every single scheme out of my mind. Weeks went by...I didn't sleep...I didn't eat...all I did was continue to lay out traps and continue to pursue her. I tried everything...killing off large numbers of the dinosaurs she protected constantly...attempted to burn down the forest...hacked through every vine and tree that stood in my way...but I made _no _progress. I was going to take that girl's life even if it took every bone I had to do it...and then...we confronted once again." He paused, as if remembering the fight. "This time, I fought her myself. I didn't try to talk or reason...I was through with keeping her as my experiment...she had to die. So we fought...she with that staff of hers, and me with my Inner Power that I had obtained after years of self-applied experiments...and they did _nothing _for me...somehow, that pathetic girl was faster, more agile...she struck sharp blows here and there, without sustaining any injuries...and no matter how much fire I threw, or asteroids, or beams, or energy allusions..._nothing _weakened her. She was stronger than I had intended..._smarter than I had anticipated__..._

"And she showed no mercy. She wounded and crippled me...but not once delivered the finishing blow. Finally, when I was blood-splattered and crippled...she looked down at me, and...had the nerve to tell me that it was over. I shouted at her that I wouldn't rest until I had her body in my hands, but she didn't respond at all. She said that no matter what I did, she would never inflict the same treatment that I had done to her...and when I asked why...hmph...how much I hated her...she told me that she was more human than me. _Me_...the intellect who had turned her from a flea-bitten savage to a functional human. And she said...that after she had seen what my experiments were...what I intended for Lylat in the future...she had no respect for me as a human being...that I was no longer a human in her eyes anymore. She called me a fake...she said that I was no genius...just a mad beast, a psychopath...who didn't know about human emotions like remorse...or guilt...that I didn't deserve the right to call myself a professor. That my logic and intellect was just a fancy cover over stains of murder and cold blood. That I just picked up human beings and used them like lab equipment. That weak little girl looked me right in the eye, and said that I disgusted her. She said that I didn't know what wisdom and knowledge really was...that my logic was pointless...that the real nature of thinking with intellect was to use it to create...and she said that I wasn't creating. Just destroying... She claimed that she had more intelligence than I did..." Andross's voice became low and livid. "...during the time prior to the day I taught her everything...that her whole life before I entered it, she was more of an intelligence of human nature than I did. She dared..._she dared..._to challenge my genius..._with her own, of all minds..._before she could turn away, I yelled that I hated her, and that I would stop at nothing...that I would kill every being in the galaxy if I had to...until I had her heart beating in my hands. She didn't turn. 'It's over,' she said. 'You and I...we are two different beings...you're the monster. You're beyond saving. My path is my own...and the day you kill an innocent being in an attempt to kill me...is the last day you live.' And with that, she disappeared…

"I lied there….blood-stained….crippled…..limp….the rain beating against my body….my mind, heart, and soul…..they were all up in flames….her venomous words echoed in my head….her defiance….her nerve….she had _no idea _what she had unleashed….every destructive mechanism was building in my mind. She had resisted everything. Every plan I had ever schemed….every counter-attack….._and she was alive! _There was no way she was more powerful than I was….no way that she could have been smarter than me…." (Andross muttered insanely, as if reassuring himself rather than Wolf.) "I knew now that I would not rest until she was destroyed! It wasn't just killing off another bad test subject anymore….._I had to wipe out her existence! I had to cleanse the galaxy of her rebellious curse! _I would stop at nothing….burn the entire galaxy….slaughter every man, woman and child….anything, to rid me of her existence! But I couldn't kill by hand…no….it was a useless attempt. I knew that if she escaped off-planet, she would expose me to Corneria….my schemes and plans that I had yet to hatch would be ruined….and she knew my secrets….every experiment, chemical, specimen….years of research….she knew too much. She could not escape. She could not be allowed to live…..I had to ensure her complete destruction. I needed to forge a coffin that she couldn't escape, no matter how hard….I drew out my biggest and deadliest weapon: The Planet Disruptor."

Wolf felt the feeling of his body dropped. He felt dazed with horror and shock.

"What….? You…._you_….killed her?"

_THWAP!_

A sudden pain gripped Wolf, like an intense burning knife-wound from under his skin, except he didn't know where the pain was coming from. It made his muscles weak….to weak….

"_ARGH!"_

The nerves in Wolf's body snapped and he fell to his knees, cursing and yelling in pain. His vision went completely black. But he didn't care what was happening to him….

_He killed her…._

_HE KILLED HER…._

The words echoed over and over in his head….

In his pained sense of state, he struggled and kicked in rage. Wherever Andross was, he was going to kill him….

The only girl that he had ever cared about….and would willingly give his life to bring back…

_I should've killed him…_

_I SHOULD HAVE KILLED HIM, THAT NIGHT WE FOUGHT…_

_**I SHOULD HAVE RIPPED THAT ACCURSED BRAIN OUT OF HIS BODY AND HACKED IT TO BITS!**_

_**THAT FUCKED-UP, INSANE, OBSESSED BASTARD KILLED HER!**_

Wolf breathed heavily, his rage seething through his body and soul like lava…

He couldn't believe how much of a monster Andross was. He would destroy and entire planet….just to have his way…to be superior…

_I won't wait for anymore information…_

_Dammit…_

_The minute I get the chance….I'll set this place on fire and watch him burn…_

_Unable to escape…._

_Just the way he did to her…_

Despite his fading consciousness, Wolf prevented any emotion from reaching his face.

_No emotion…..never give the enemy the advantage…_

"If you're wondering what's going on," Andross's voice echoed in his mind, only it seemed closer… "You're being pulled inside a memory. Data is being processed through that chip inside of you."

Wolf spat out scornful words into the darkness about not being Andross's little robot, but…

Nothing. No words came out.

_What?_

He tried to speak again.

No sound. It was as if his voice was gone.

He couldn't move, either. His body felt heavy, like stone-hard concrete, his legs pinned to the ground like iron railroad spikes.

Then, a feeble light seemed to glow in the dark distance….

Then, there were more of them…

When the lights came into focus, Wolf realized he was looking at the endless sea of stars: the galaxy. He didn't appear to be standing on anything or even there at all.

He was watching through the eyes of the memory chip, like a surveillance camera, filling in all of his sight and senses.

On his right, in the distance, he saw a familiar sky-blue planet, with writhing waves of clouds, large green landmasses, with a sparkling blue sea.

The Planet Corneria. The more Wolf looked at it, the closer it seemed to become.

"I needed a distraction, of course. There was no way I could destroy an entire planet with all eyes on one spot. Even in another galaxy, the destruction of a planet can be felt. So I ordered my Armada to launch an attack on the Cornerian Flight Academy. An abrupt and chaotic invasion was the perfect diversion I needed….."

Wolf watched as fleets of raptor-like ships swooped down, followed by much slower, but no less intimidating Venomian Dorisby-Class Battleships, zooming slowly, casting a shadow over the large orbiting Flight Academy. Small orange blasts erupted from the Academy windows.

Small white Cornerian Academy-class Fighters zoomed out of the laser-shielded hangars, repelling the Venomian Fighters, their blue laser-blasts clashing with the red laser-blasts.

Wolf watched as one ship zoomed out of the hangar, its blue boosters setting it apart from the rest, zoomed in the other direction.

With sudden realization, Wolf saw that it was _his _ship….

_I'm sixteen in there…_

"The one thing I didn't count on was you getting caught in the battle. Remember, I _had _been watching over you from the chip I implanted in you….lately, my observation had revealed to me that you were succeeding in your pilot training, but your emotional strife was somewhat….low. The distraction of your competition with young Fox McCloud had led you astray. I needed to add some token of misery and anguish. Why? Because you may not know it, Wolf, but your emotions make you a more enraged warrior….they make you more efficient. So I sat back and watched. You were attacked by a fighter, and your ship span out of control."

Wolf watched as the side of the Arwing Prototype exploded from a swift missile strike. He remembered being inside that ship, frantically grasping the controls, mashing buttons desperately.

It was a different experience from afar.

As he watched, the ship writhed and shook clumsily. It drifted on its side…..until _SHWOOOM!_

The green boosters sprang to life as the ship auto-boosted into the sea of stars.

SHEEEEROOOOOM!

Wolf watched in sudden curiosity as the ship glowed for a moment as it hit the edge of space. A red ring appeared in the dark galactic abyss, surrounding the ship, before the ship was caught inside. There was a flash, and the ship disappeared.

For a minute, it didn't make any sense to him.

Then Wolf remembered…

_That portal to another galaxy Andross was talking about…._

_That's how I got to Cerinia…._

"It was no coincidence that your ship went to Cerinia. I had Pigma Dengar manipulate the engines while it was undisturbed in the hangar before you took it. Your ship crashed into the planet, just as I planned. Your encounter with my Mutated Tyrannosaurus wasn't my original intention, but it served a greater purpose…..it brought you to Krystal."

_But why would he care if I met Krystal?_

_What does she have to do with this….?_

"You both grew closer….and closer…."

The image shifted, and Wolf was standing in the green fields of Cerinia….He saw two figures lying on the hill, looking up at the galaxy's immortal gaze of starlight.

One….was…Krystal.

Wolf's heart skipped madly. He looked harder, absorbing her beautiful features….the intoxicatingly fair face…that made his heart suffer….

Her turquoise eyes….her daintily-pointed ears….her short-cut silky blue fur….her earnest expression of kindness and compassion….

Just looking at her made Wolf's entire body fume with agonizing anguish. He was so close to her….

She looked so real….

_She's gone. _He told himself with mournful firmness. _This isn't real…_

But what surprised him most was the person sitting next to her.

_Me…_

The fur on Wolf's neck prickled slightly. It didn't feel natural….looking down on…well…_himself. _An eight-year-younger version….

Unscathed….young….adolescent….

_Wow…._ Wolf raised his eyebrows. _That's what my fur looked like throughout that year? I look like a punk-rock artist…_

But what caused him to look down with certain….sad longing….were his eyes.

Both of them.

_Then this really isn't real._

"You see, Wolf, Krystal played a crucial part in your growth….because she ignited emotions in your mind…..ridiculous ones….attachment….but it was just enough to use against you."

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. _Use against me?_

"I knew….if anything were to happen to separate you two….something…._tragic….." _There was a definite hunger in Andross's voice. "It would scar you forever. So I struck. I aligned my Armada just above the surface….I held their fire….to give you enough time….to escape."

The scene changed again, and Wolf saw him and Krystal in front of the Arwing Prototype…

_Oh no…._ Wolf's heart became heavy. _Please God….No…_

_Not this…._

He wanted to shut his eyes. He wasn't going to witness this again….it was too painful….this was torture….

But he couldn't close his eyes. He couldn't move…

He watched the horrible scene unravel in front of him. Unable to move….unable to look away from the memory that haunted him most…

He watched as Krystal looked around frantically.

"But there are other dinosaur clans here. They don't know! I have to warn them!"

_Pull her in! _Wolf screamed at his younger self. _Drug her! Drag her! Anything! Just don't let her go!_

"Wait! It's too risky. You won't make it back in time, we need to leave now!"

Wolf heard the younger Wolf's younger and higher-pitched alarmed voice.

"I—I can't. I'm not going to just abandon those innocent creatures."

_Don't let her go! _Wolf screamed…but no words came out. No one could hear him. _DON'T LET HER GO! _His eyes burned dangerously.

"You don't _need_ to save them! You don't need to be the heroine! You'll die!"

Her ears drooped. "Then I'll die."

_NO! NO…PLEASE….MAKE IT STOP…_

_I DON'T WANT TO SEE THIS….PLEASE!_

This was too real….to painful to reenact….

He didn't want to see it all again….it was like having it happen a second time….

The younger Wolf clasped her hand. "NO! I won't let you."

Wolf struggled and kicked, trying to free his hands to wave it all away…or rip his ears and eyes out…

Something to end it….

_STOP! THIS IS KILLING ME-PLEASE-_

She held his hand. "Don't worry. I have my own method of getting out of here. Just go. I won't forgive myself if you die."

_NO! _He screamed at Krystal. _JUST GO NOW! GET OUT OF HERE! STOP BEING SO FUCKING BRAVE AND JUST SAVE YOURSELF!_

Wolf's throat was about to rip open into a sob. His eyes were steaming up.

He couldn't take it….he was going to hide his face in his hands and cry if he wasn't unable to move…

"_I_ won't forgive myself if _you_ die! Just come!"

She brushed her hand on his face. The warmth of her eyes…her gentle touch…

That he would never receive again…

"Listen. I'm going to warn them. I'll come to your base. There I'll learn your name." she added with a small smile.

Wolf looked into her eyes. "You never gave me the chance to tell you."

_**ARRRRGHH!**_

With immense pain and emotional torment, Wolf scrunched his eyelids shut, trying desperately to block the excruciatingly unbearable memory from finishing….

_No…_

He wasn't going to witness the final moment….the moment where he'd have to say goodbye forever….

It had haunted him always…if he saw it one more time, he was sure he would go insane with misery….and never rest until he was with her…

_NO…_

_NO!_

_It's not happening….it's not REAL!_

"Soon…." Andross's voice returned. "I was able to destroy her….without harming you in the process…"

Wolf kept his eyes shut. _No…no….block it out…it isn't here…._

He heard it. The pulsing explosion that had sent an echo of years of mental anguish through Wolf's mind….

The destruction of Cerinia…

_Krystal…._

_Krystal….no….why did it have to be you…._

_WHY NOT ME?_

"She was a necessary loss. Your feelings for her were fake and childish…..hollow. She was a meaningless soul….and her death was far more useful to me..."

"_RAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGHHHHH!"_

It took all of his willpower to rip out of his body's invisible shackles and rip out the Claw from his belt. Tormented at the sight of the planet's ashy remains floating mournfully through space, he slashed his Claw out through the image…again and again….and again…

But it was gone. He was once again in the dark room, chest heaving with rage.

Wolf's eyes scanned the darkness in rage.

"ANDROOOOSSSS! SHOW YOURSELF!"

His blood was pumping under his fur…his entire body was shaking….

He was going to do it…he didn't care what Leon or anyone said…

_I'll kill him…_

_I'LL KILL HIM WITH MY BARE HANDS IF IT TAKES EVERY DROP OF BLOOD IN MY BODY!_

_He deserves to die…_

_Krystal told me that NO HUMAN deserves to die…_

_But he isn't human…_

_What he's done to Krystal…to countless innocent people…._

_What he's done to me…._

He wanted Andross's skull under his foot….he knew he would do it….

_Everything…_

_EVERYTHING I'VE EVER HELD CLOSE HE'S TAKEN…_

_He doesn't care what it does to me….how much it hurts…._

_He doesn't know what loss feels like…._

_He just takes everything I love and crush it to ashes with his armies and weapons and experiments…._

_HE DOESN'T DESERVE TO LIVE!_

"Are you really so keen on destroying something you can't reach?" Andross's voice was so close to Wolf's ear, it sounded like it was right behind him.

"AAARGH!"

Wolf swung around and hacked and slashed into the dark. But, of course, there was nothing there.

"Come out…._come out and face me like a man, YOU COWARD!" _Wolf snarled.

He had never felt so angry in his life….

All the rage that had been building up over five years was overflowing inside of him...

"Come out so I can incinerate those eyeballs and brain and _see you burn! _JUST LIKE HOW YOU WATCHED _HER _BURN!"

"Strange…..you rage so much over a dead woman….one that meant so little, even as a specimen-"

"SHUT UP! _You're _meaningless…._you're _the freak!"

"Listen to yourself, Wolf. Feel your heart race….your anger burn….your rage compile…..that's how I control you."

Wolf looked around in the darkness. "I won't have you patronizing me any longer! _Now WHERE ARE YOU?" _

He was clutching the handle of his Claw so tightly, he could feel the hard backbone of the grip curve and knife its way into his palm. His chest was heaving and he was letting out harsh rasps of air through his fangs.

_I'm not just going to stand here and listen to him get under my skull and dump his evil twisted calculations and taunts into my soul…._

_I WILL kill him…_

"See, Wolf….my _true _tool…not my equipment, or dissecting knife, or test tubes, or DNA Scanners, or even my Planet disruptor…is your emotions. Your fears. Your pursuits. Your instincts…"

Wolf's bared-teeth expression faltered. "What?" His shoulders dropped slightly. "What do you mean?"

"You want to know why you're the one, Wolf? Why you are the most successful experiment? Because you have a strength….that warriors and fighters need to become more efficient….to transform them from common soldiers to greater beings…..it isn't your fighting abilities, or your predatory intuition, or your reflexes or speed, or skills in the cockpit, or even your Inner Power for that matter….it's your vengeful determination."

Wolf stood there, motionless. What the hell did Andross mean?

"You see, you have a confidence, Wolf. When someone takes something from you, or deprives you of your honor or freedom, or looks down on you, you confront them. Even if it means crossing the entire galaxy, or battling every enemy, or losing gallons of blood, or breaking every bone and ripping every muscle….you don't rest until you've accomplished what you set out to do. It's the very fuel that ignites that fiery rivalry you've got with Star Fox. It's why you marched out to war, why you trained so hard at the Academy….it's why you came here. You don't give up…until you've proven yourself. Unfortunately, as powerful as it may seem, it's also your greatest weakness."

Some of the anger that had been slowly tumbling off Wolf's body crawled back up.

_He's not one to talk about strength or weaknesses…_

"I knew your emotions were one of the key factors to your motivation. That's why I set up Krystal as bait. I didn't expect a bond to adapt so quickly, but separation was just what you needed to become hollow and unforgiving. It made you angry and determined. But after a few years, you began to lose your rage, and become more…ambitious. That wasn't something I could handle. So I ordered Pigma to bring you to me, where I lured James McCloud and had him killed. In the wake of the war, you had become murderous….and efficient." The cruel hunger built up in Andross's voice again. "You pledged yourself to my service easily. And with a powerful emotional blow from that duel with Fox, your circle was complete. You became ruthless and brutal….just as I planned. Interesting, isn't it, how the human mind can easily be manipulated by simple feelings like hatred and ambition…."

Wolf remained still, frozen in shock.

_He planned all of that…?_

_He used my revenge against Fox….to manipulate me?_

"Why?" Wolf asked slowly.

"Why what?" Andross said impatiently.

"Why were you trying to manipulate me? If I was so successful as an experiment, why would you go through the trouble to play around with my emotions?"

"Because, you fool," Andross said with malicious triumph. "I was trying to build your confidence….so I could blind you. Make you seem surer about your strength, even if you weren't as strong as you felt."

Wolf's mouth went dry. "What are you talking about?"

Even without seeing him, Wolf could feel the quiet and horribly knowledgeable tone in Andross's voice….the tone he took when he deceivingly knew something that others didn't….

"Come now, Wolf…after all these years….you didn't really think that half of those miraculous deeds that earned you the famous reputation were coincidences, did you?"

The steel-cold blade of disbelieving terror grazed under Wolf's skin.

"No, Wolf. I had planned all of it….everything….like when you were pitted against an army on Fichina, outnumbered from ten to one, and miraculously won. Or perhaps how you sank that Zeram Battleship on Zoness with your bare hands. Don't you see? I _knew _you were going to do those things….I had already decided….I had already organized every little detail…."

The world around Wolf seemed to become heavy and slow, as if he was falling through a weightless atmosphere.

_No…._

_He's lying…..he's trying to manipulate me…._

"You understand? You're nothing special. Those deeds and legendary victories….all were _my _doing. Just like all pieces on the chess board that fell into my doing and worked perfectly….you were a mere pawn."

And that was how Wolf's pride was shattered.

The world seemed to swallow him up in shaken horror…

His eyes were wide and fixed into the air with terror….

Every scattered piece of the puzzle fixated itself together…

_No…._

Everything he had done…

_No…._

All those battles that had earned him the glory as a warrior…..

Every moment that he had been surrounded by awe-struck faces of amazement…

….was a lie.

He had never been fighting in the face of danger…

He had never been defying all odds…

There was nothing legendary about him….

He was a fake.

"No…." Wolf said, his voice shaking somewhat. "You…you're lying…."

"Stop trying to make yourself feel better, you blind boy! Do you really think any human is capable of doing the things you've done, even _with _Inner Power? No. You're just a fake, Wolf. And the rest of the galaxy fell into the trap, too….they all thought it was real, too…."

"NO!" Wolf yelled, a low, rising agony building up in his throat. "That isn't true! _I….you had nothing to do with any of those things!"_

"Oh, but I did," Andross said in cruel amusement, as if loving the look of anguish in Wolf's face. "Right from the beginning. The factory mech….the battle with Bill Grey…_all of it! _And you didn't suspect a thing. You just kept pursuing revenge for Star Fox and proceeded like you were capable of those things….you're nothing, Wolf. You were always nothing."

"_SHUT UP!" _Wolf screamed. He was angry, confused, desperate, at the verge of tears, and in a state of despair all at the same time.

He couldn't fight the truth…..he couldn't change it….

He really was nothing….

"No…no…no…_NO!" _Wolf screamed. "YOU LIAR! YOU SCHEMING, TWISTED, INSANE, MESSED-UP, EXPERIMENTING…."

He collapsed to his knees, panting. It was useless.

"You know it's true, Wolf. You only have yet to admit it…."

"_No….no…." _Wolf gasped in pain. He was wounded….

Broken….

…Fake.

"NO! IT ISN'T TRUE! YOU CAN'T HAVE BEEN PLANNING THAT FAR BACK!" He pointed a claw into the darkness desperately. "I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO! YOU….YOU'RE TRYING TO FORCE ME TO YIELD AND GIVE UP!"

"You have nothing to yield….no power….no pride to defend…."

"_**YES I DO! **__I ALWAYS HAVE! YOU'RE TRYING TO STUFF TWISTED, MANIPULATING SHIT INTO MY HEAD! I WON'T LET YOU!" _Wolf yelled.

"I'm not afraid of you….who would? Behind all the spunk and reluctant heroism, you're just a small, insignificant human, whose steps of fate have been planned out for him….since the beginning…."

"STOP SAYING THAT!" Wolf screamed, mortally wounded. He wanted to break out, to rip out of the atmosphere and just run away from it all….

"FOOL!" Now it was Andross's turn to yell, but his voice rose in triumph, not pain. "You've always thought to be the sole legend, to stand out among men, among pilots…..that you're your own person…"

"I _AM _MY OWN PERSON!" Wolf screamed desperately, trying to burst from his forlorn shell.

"HA! Your own person? Don't make me laugh….your life is a lie. An organized scheme…there is no true legend behind it…."

"No…"

"You're mine, Wolf….you're my creation…..my greatest experiment….and wielded you perfectly to create the perfect outcome for the war…."

"_No…."_

"You've always been worshipped through false feats…..that I controlled….your fate has always been in my hands, Wolf…."

"NO…!" Wolf ran his hands over his face, as if trying to shake himself out of this terrible nightmare.

"You've always been planned….your destiny and legends have always been foreseen…and it always will be….everything you've ever done, felt, thought, or knew is nothing but a lie…."

Wolf looked around desperately. There was nothing he could do….this new threat in his heart couldn't be ripped to shreds with his claws or blasted with Inner Power fire. He couldn't fight it…all he could do was endure it….and let it sink into his tormented soul….

"You can't have….You _can't…." _Wolf choked out, at the verge of letting his pride fall.

"I CAN AND I DID!" Andross roared triumphantly. "You want the proof, you stupid, ignorant boy? Just look at the Laboratory Identification Scan on your broad arm, or listen for the humming of that chip in your body! You're _my _property…_My _experiment….your life had been planned out since the day of your birth and there's nothing special about you…you're artificial….programmed….practically inhuman…."

Wolf's heart tore open in tortured sorrow. He'd been called a freak and an outcast his whole life, and always brushed it aside….

But the feeling he had now…the impact of Andross's terrible words….

It was breaking him...

He looked shakily down at his arm. The small scan-marks were there. They were a permanent reminder of who he was…

No. A reminder of _what _he was….

He looked up mournfully. "N-No…._no…."_

"Hahaha….look at your face, Star Wolf. Going to cry?"

"_!"_

!

The entire room exploded with a massive wave of a colossal blast, as the area around Wolf exploded with flaming wave of towering infernal purple flames. But they were towering higher and burning more fiercely than they had ever done. They were writhing and beating like fiery hearts, swirling in a deadly showering dance of destruction. The ground underneath Wolf's feet began to smolder like burning paper, recoiling into wisps of melting ash.

But before Wolf could get a chance to make a tackle at the direction of Andross's voice, a sudden jolt of pain scurried up Wolf's neck and then buried itself into his skin.

_BRZZZZ!_

Several bolts of blinding whitish-purple electric bolts riveted up Wolf's body, wrapping around his body like crushing white wiry snakes. Every time they lashed around them, their whipping chords of lightning-powered electricity stung and tore at his body.

Wolf screamed in agony as the intense painful blasts of electrical shot up and down, shaking his bones and ripping at his skull, numbing his senses, and forcing him to one knee.

The pain was crushing his will to the point where he released his Fire and tried to fight off the shocks.

"Quiet that temper, fool….it will only make the pain hurt more. This is the price in attacking your master."

"What's…..happening….to me…?" He gasped, but sucking in air with the intensifying atmosphere of whipping energy became a difficult task for his pressured lungs to endure.

"The shocks are but a sample of the Energized Power Cell coming from your chip. I programmed it so that I could….ah…._restrain _you, if necessary."

"Why…._haahh…._" Wolf choked out painfully. "Di-_huAH_….didn't you ever…."

"Do this before?" Andross finished for him smugly. "I had this little accessory implanted in the chip during your facial surgery after that battle with Fox five years ago. Very useful….like a restraining caller on a dog, you might say…"

Despite the pain that was crushing in on his body from all sides, Wolf managed to look up defiantly and spit a curse.

"_Damn….you…!"_

"Well, you know what many say….the harder the animal bites, the harder you have to muzzle him. But you're even less than an animal, Wolf….you're incapable of feelings…of human emotions…"

"I'M MORE HUMAN THAN YOU WILL EVER BE!"

"HA! What could you know what a human is when you're barely one yourself! You are nothing. You are but a thing….a tear-drop in the eye of infinity…"

As the sparks wore off and the pain grew more tolerable, Wolf managed to force himself back on his knees.

The greatest obstacle in his path now wasn't something he could fight; he couldn't do anything….he felt like a helpless child.

The ultimate threat….the one he couldn't tackle or take down by using its weaknesses….like he had done with countless enemies before…

This invincible, soul-plaguing enemy….was the truth.

The one thing he couldn't fight….

"Why?" Wolf breathed, his heart stinging with anguish, and his eyes burning with hate. He was panting heavily, his lungs and stomach all choked up as if he had just ran across an entire planet on foot. The fur on his head was moist and stuck to his forehead with sweat. His claws dug deeply into the volcanic-soily ground.

"Why? What do you mean, why?" Andross barked, both impatient and confused.

"Why….were you trying to bring me down….why were you manipulating….my battles….?"

"That may be the most interesting question of all, Wolf. You see I don't just _do _things…..every scheme or action I conduct has a planned outcome. Nothing escapes my knowledge, Wolf….._nothing. _I know all things before they happen simply by predicting human actions….the most easy to predict out of all the species I've studied. Anyway, after I had hired you in the waking months of the Lylat, I had many plans for you. You had so much potential, so much power….I could've used you to turn the tide of the war easily….but you weren't like the blind and stupid pilots I had trained before. You were ambitious…rebellious….conceited. As the months grew longer, you began demanding more money and better jobs for your team. Not that it bothered me, oh no…I had plenty of money to throw away…but I could feel your thoughts, Wolf. You were becoming over-confident…and that was making you arrogant. You had dark ambitions in your mind. Under some foolish assumption, you were actually thinking of treachery, Wolf….taking whatever you could and then….ha…_overpowering _me. And that was something I couldn't allow. I put too much work in getting you where you were. But I knew how to deal with you. If I ever have a stubborn dog that refuses to sit and obey, you know what I do to him?"

Wolf remained motionless. But his eyes were blazing with intense hatred in the direction of his tormentor.

"I beat him. I make him wince…and shiver….the process will give him pain, and the pain will make him learn his place. I say to myself, 'I'll conquer him…he is _my _property.' Even if it takes every bone in his body, every drop of blood in his veins….I'll do it."

**PAUSE (OUT OF STORY): INTERMISSION RECCOMENDED**

Wolf's fists clenched.

_So this is how he sees humans…_

_Disobedient animals that you can beat to death…._

_He has no heart in his body….he's almost worse than the Devourer…._

"I knew right away how to deal with you. I would aim at your only weak spot-youremotions. I couldn't lay a finger on your friends; you were annoyingly too protective over them. So I decided that to attack your pride: to make you lose countless battles until you were surrounded with bodies of your own men and lost in defeat. To be shot down mercilessly by your sworn rival, Star Fox. I would do all this until I could break you….make you collapse in anguish."

Despite the numbness that had forced him to the ground, Wolf felt a chilling rusty knife graze down his back. Fear caused his fur to rise slightly. The way Andross talked….the way he had calculated Wolf's weaknesses so horrifyingly well….

…it was terrifying to hear. He had never been looked down upon before by any enemy.

"But you wouldn't budge, no matter what I did….I tried sending you to a planet where you were impossibly outnumbered by Cornerian troops….and fight the unlikely battle with Star Fox on Fichina….I even put you in charge of the most unlikely legion of soldiers in the entire Venomian garrison: The 302nd Legion."

Wolf raised his head weakly, his eyes wide in shocked horror. "Were….were they part of the plan, too?"

"They didn't know, if that's what you mean. But somehow….you managed to complete the mission….the Legion returned alive….and after being defeated by Star Fox…you were only driven harder to keep going. I don't know what was motivating you….but it had to be crushed…so I sent you on mission after mission, each one more dangerous than the other….you just kept coming back more and more defiant...but on the way, I decided to create some 'false feats'….like the Zeram that you sunk with your bare hands? I hired a maintenance crew to disarm the security shields just when you hit it….to make you _think _that you did something like that…."

The way Andross was vividly describing everything, the way he was breaking down every battle in his life with revelations about his involvement….

_How could he have planned all of this?_

"Maybe, I thought, _just maybe_…..I could cause you to feel discouraged if you lost your Inner Power. So then I decided to use your own anger as a weakness by sending the coordinates of the 302nd's capital ship to the Cornerian Army….so they would get captured. My spies aboard the ship (disguised as Officers) ordered the ship to fly into Area 6, where they would send Bill Grey to pursue you…"

Wolf's eyes widened. He could see where this was going….

"I then waited until you two would spar your anger out, and then saw that your Devourer had seized the opportunity to confront you. But you survived that, too….

"You still had your Inner Power, you still had your seditiousness…I had failed. _Again," _Andross was starting to sound more irritated, like this was just another inconvenience. "So I decided to drive you into my ultimate trap. I had already planned the destruction of Kew for months, but I could combine plans by sending you to do it…."

_Oh no…_

_Please….tell me…._

_He couldn't have…._

"As soon as you touched surface, I sent a holographic transmission….about your _real _mission objective. You should've seen the priceless look on your face when you found out….just one look, and I saw that I had won. You could do nothing…you couldn't fight or escape….your attachment to your friends made you vulnerable. Weak. Cowardly. Your emotions for them made you succumb to my will….and allowed me to break you."

Wolf's entire body felt like it was bound in cold stone.

_He did that…._

_He made me kill all of those people…_

_The mothers….the children…..the innocents…._

_He stained my hands with blood that will never come off…._

…_.just to bend my will?_

He couldn't believe it. How far could someone go with a plan this evil? It was heartless…..bloodthirsty….cruel.

Nothing like anything he had ever faced.

The vision of that horrible night flashed in front of him….

The smoky orange sky…

The screams….the blood….

The sickening sound of infants' bodies hitting the floor…

The sparks dotting the sky like flecks of orange snow….

All of it….all of that death….

The sins that would never leave Wolf…

…all just to break his resolve.

"You used my friends…..YOU MADE ALL THOSE PEOPLE DIE….FOR ME?" Wolf screamed.

"Naturally." The calmness of Andross's voice made Wolf sick.

"YOU FUCKING MONSTER! HOW COULD YOU WIPE OUT AN ENTIRE PLANET OF INNOCENT PEOPLE JUST TO MAKE ME BOW DOWN TO YOU?" Wolf spat in anguish, struggling to regain his position. _"NO ONE _NEEDED TO DIE BECAUSE OF ME! I'M WORTH NOTHING COMPARED TO THE MILLIONS OF LIVES YOU MADE ME DESTROY! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A TWISTED, INSANE, HEARTLESS, SOULLESS CREATURE!"

_BRZZZ!_

Before Wolf could continue, more bolts of intense electricity shot up his body, like a restraining collar.

But Wolf could barely feel the pain…

He was too enraged. Not at Andross….

But because Wolf had been used to slaughter so many….

…for such a meaningless reason.

_It should've been me…_

_I should've died in their place…_

_I'm worth less than them…._

"But your defeat proved to be my victory. One by one, the bodies fell….and with every one, a new hole was stabbed into your soul. You were breaking apart with every death….becoming weak, and broken. You had become more fragile than shattered glass. My victory was nearly complete…I had only one more event to take place. One more act to seal your allegiance to me…and make you a slave to my will for good…."

Wolf's eyes were fixed on the darkness, barely blinking.

"No…"

"Yes…" Andross hissed cruelly. "The destruction of Kew. The detonation that was the result of your very own choice…ironic, isn't it? Star Fox exists to save lives…"

Wolf shivered and shook, his claws digging into the ground, the horror of it all gripping him.

Andross knew too much…

He had every corner blocked, every possibility planned…

Wolf felt desperate and trapped, like he was in the center of some giant maze without an escape…

"…and Star Wolf exists to take lives."

As Andross, began to laugh a boming, cruel, proud laugh, Wolf jumped to his feet and charged into the darkness.

"_NOOOOOOAAAAAARRRGGGGHHH! _YOU BEAST! I _HATE YOU! _STOP MANIPULATING ME! THIS INSANITY ENDS NOW!"

Wolf swung his Claw upward, hot blood pounding in his in veins, five years of anchored pain and anger rising like a tsunami inside of him, not caring where he struck….as long as he could hit Andross…

_BRZZZ!_

As if jolted with hot wire up his spine, a scream of pain shot from Wolf's mouth. His entire body shook from the pulsing blot of blue energy wrapped around his body and choked him, like acid-hot, sizzling python. He struggled to his knees, but his burning eyes were fixed defiantly forward.

"Stop fighting, you stupid boy!" Andross snarled. "Struggling will only cause more pain. You never knew when to stop...when are you just going to accept that you're a creature of my doing, and give up?"

"I'LL NEVER GIVE UP!" Wolf shouted. "NOT AS LONG AS I HAVE BOTH ARMS TO FIGHT WITH, I'LL _NEVER _STOP DEFYING YOU!"

"Wrong answer."

Suddenly, the scorching agony increased, blistering Wolf's charred fur and caused him to fall onto his stomach. The electricity shot through his skull and bones, almost bending them to Andross's will.

"Bow before me, O'Donnell….kneel before your master. You only exist to do my inevitable will…"

"FUCK YOUR INEVITABLE WILL!" Wolf spat in disgust, despite the wrenching pain.

"You think like you did during the Lylat Wars….even after I crushed your resolve to dust by having you slaughter those people…even after trying to make you kill that Monroe girl….you still defied me. So I punished you. I had Andrew disable the shields on the Wolfen II….making you vulnerable to Pigma's missiles…and the toxins you would fall into…"

"AND YOU FAILED! YOU TRIED TO KILL ME, AND YOU FAILED!"

"_Imbecile! _I made it so you would be found. I was keeping you alive….to be put back together….and return here…."

Wolf's eyes widened. "You….you didn't make me come back here…."

"I didn't have to. I said before, Wolf….vengeance is your fatal flaw….I knew you would come back here because I already knew about your rebellious emotions…I knew you return to face me….as I have always known about all your battles…"

"NO! You can't have…." Wolf stammered, close to frustrated shouts. "YOU AREN'T THAT POWERFUL…."

"It's not about power, you ignorant little whelp….don't you see? I've broken you…made you an empty glass….you brought this on yourself, Wolf….and you can thank your revenge for Star Fox for it…."

Wolf panted furiously…

Desperately….

Hopelessly…

He knew it was all true….he couldn't change the truth….

It was undeniable….he had fallen into his own trap.

For years….he had always thought of himself as some kind of….

….outsider….the defiant pilot…

The one who stood out among the rest….

…and it was all too good to be true….he was nothing….

He really was empty…

"Now….you see the truth come together, Wolf," Andross concluded. "I _knew _about everything….your life has been nothing but a giant scheme….that I planned. Krystal, Leon, the 302nd…they were all just props in the making the plan….there's nothing special about you….you have no talents…no significance….I know what you are….even if you refuse to believe it….you're an experiment, Wolf. A tool. That's all you ever will be. You can't feel…you don't have the capacity of a human being….I've kept you alive for one purpose….to do my will. You want to refuse? I'll just start you up again like a machine."

Wolf sat there, completely still, contemplating Andross's haunting words.

He looked at his hand, shakily…

All this time….was he really just….?

_I'm not even a real pilot…_

_I'm nothing…._

_I'm not Star Fox's rival…_

_I'm not free…_

_I'm not Leader of Star Wolf…._

_I'm not Krystal's friend…._

Tears shone in his eyes. He didn't care…there was nothing he could do…

His pride and glory as a warrior didn't matter anymore….

He was just Andross's slave.

He always was.

_I don't know what I am anymore…_

_He's had his hand over my whole life…_

_And he played me for a fool…_

_It all seemed so real…_

The feeling was momentous…terrible….horrifying…

It was like….Krystal's eyes…

The turquoise gems….the ones he dreamt about for years…

They were just holograms now. Artificial. Synthetic. Fake.

Too wonderful to be real…

He turned his hand over to see the numbers scanned into his arm….like a brand on a captive animal….

_Look at me…_

_I'm….I'm his…._

He shut his eyes, cowering in that one spot. For a moment, the world was spinning a little faster…

And then…

He looked up.

The stone-cold feelings melted into blazing pulses of fury.

He didn't care…in the midst of all hopelessness…

The whole creepy act wasn't going to fool him….

…even if it was true…

He didn't know what he was.

But that wouldn't stop him…

_He…_

_He did this to me…._

_He ruined my life…_

_He plunged his hand into my heart and ripped out everything that I cared about…._

_I don't care what the hell I am…._

_I'm still human…_

_Even if everything I've come to know is a lie…_

He clenched his fists.

_I'll NEVER die without a fight…._

Wolf stood.

Andross sneered. "What are you doing now, Wolf?"

Wolf looked around in the darkness. He didn't know which direction to speak to…but it didn't matter.

"I refuse."

"What?"

"I'm not going to bend down to your will, Andross. I'm human…no matter what. The fact that you know about all my battles….that doesn't mean anything to me. If I really was your experiment that whole time, I resisted….and I won't stop now."

Andross laughed. "How fine you sound with that arrogant spark in your voice. But you have no choice in the matter. I said it before…human condition no longer appeals to you. You're mine….and if you resist….you can suffer here, in the place where I brought you up."

The fur on the back of Wolf's neck cringed a little. His purple eye glanced around the area.

_So this IS the place…_

_I don't have any memories…..but I can't help but feel…._

_This place _is _somewhat familiar…._

_But if this is where all of his horrific experiments took place…._

Wolf's expression hardened.

_Then it's nothing but a hell-forsaken cesspool of inhuman acts…._

_As much as I'd love to see it in ashes like the Denique Fatum…_

_It's still a volcano…_

"Your will is mine to control, Wolf….you cannot resist. You've executed all of my plans with success in the past efficiently….and I can do it now as well. By force, if necessary."

Wolf scowled in disgust. "You can't control human beings….you aren't that powerful even if you wanted to be."

"I can…I have. And I will." The image of Andross's smile formed in Wolf's mind again (Except every time he did at this point, he remembered that Andross couldn't smile or bear any expression at all, being deformed). "The average human being is easy to takeapart…..all one has to do is find the spot where they're most vulnerable….and unleash it on themselves, thus resulting in self destruction. And once you have control over people, you'll be able to bind them into serving you, and within a short amount of time, there is no limit to the conquest you can achieve. You aren't the only one I've had under my thumb, Wolf. I've been able to do it with countless people, to achieve power above all living things. Human beings are the easiest to control, because they're blind to all senses of morality."

"You're wrong," Wolf said defiantly. "You're not powerful enough to bend all human beings under your will. No one has that kind of power."

"Oh, but I can. As I have done with you. I can plan things for people before they even do it…..I planned for you to become my greatest experiment. The ultimate soldier, the invincible warrior. I knew you were capable….after all, _I'm _the reason you are where you are today, in terms of skill and abilities. It was my intentions to do my bidding…and execute my will over the galaxy, as my right hand. And you executed your purpose _perfectly." _Andross's voce lowered into a triumphant hiss, as if congratulating himself for his genius.

"I'm not your soldier, Andross," Wolf snarled, his pride wounded. "I'm nothing of yours. I'm a human being."

"You're nothing more than a human-turned-experiment. A walking test tube, my weapon." Andross laughed cruelly. "What else _could _you be?"

"More than you!" Wolf said scornfully. "Not a murderer, at least. My hands are practically clean compared to the amount of blood yours is stained with. At least I have the capacity to be a man!"

"You were raised and taught for a single reason…..to serve a purpose. To fight for the only sane cause in the Lylat System. _Mine."_

"Your cause means death and suffering for the galaxy. I won't have any part of it…"

"And you think that you can just run off, and it'll be all over? No. I know you better than you know yourself, Wolf. I know what you'll plan to do next…and use you like I always have…."

"NO!" Wolf's teeth bared. "I was never used by you!"

"I've used you to get everything I've needed, Wolf, you were just to blind to see it!" Andross laughed. "To kill James McCloud, to retrieve the blueprints of the Copperhead explosives that tore Kew apart and to achieve galactic conquest!"

"And you failed! Fox McCloud practically destroyed you! Corneria won the war…and you were defeated."

"Yes," Andross said in a seedily regretful tone. "But just because you broke free of my grip and turned on me. But now, I have a way to restrain you."

_Click._

The sound of a remote button being pressed passed through Wolf's audible range, before more agonizing tides of energy-pulsed blasts crashed into Wolf's spine, causing him to fall to the ground.

_BWREEEEZZAAAP!_

"_HAAAGH!" _Wolf let out a canine yelp of pain, as the fur on his tail, neck and head felt as if they were being yanked out of place by a wire-hot force of merciless will.

Pressing the palms of his hands on the cold, rough, cave floor, Wolf caught his breath, as the electricity jolt stopped. He panted, sweat drops swimming down his neck.

"You see, Wolf, I won control over you because I took advantage of your blindness. You foolishly thought that your skills as a pilot and a mercenary were granting you the freedom you always wanted….but I tricked you. It's the same weakness for all humans. I may have lost the war, oh yes….but I put Corneria and the whole Lylat System in chaos that made the war look easy to deal with."

Wolf looked up, his white head-fur Mohawk hanging over his forehead like spiky bangs, his rasped chest heaving, and his blazing amethyst eyes stinging the gloom-pitched emptiness ahead.

"We live in desperate times, young O'Donnell. Times where the government has become frantic and paranoid of threats. People like them are easy to manipulate….because they will believe what they want to believe. They want to believe that their galaxy is safe, that they are the winning side. To achieve manipulation, I gave them what they desperately hoped for….you, Wolf. They had me 'defeated', and you imprisoned. I gave them an illusion….the one that intoxicates mankind from seeing the truth: Victory. This irreplaceable drug made the Cornerian government believe that they had one. And so, they made their government invincible, and got their grimy hands on a weapon so devastating, that it made the other Planetary Governments across the galaxy to be forced to sign a Peace Treaty, that surrendered all judicial, executive, and legislative authority to the new dictatorship: The Cornerian Government. This new system would make their galaxy weak, poverty-stricken….make the jails full of innocents trying to maintain their families' stability, and making Lylat a more grisly site than during the Lylat Wars. This would make the galaxy frail and fragile…..and most of all, vulnerable. Easily succumbed to whatever I have in store…."

Wolf cursed under his breath…

_So that's why…_

_Even if Andross didn't have any impact on the Government…_

_He let them become corrupt so that he can crush them when they least needed it…_

_Just like a ship being attacked without a shield…_

"This falling economy has led the Government to terminate certain projects to reduce the fees….even an excavation project on Sauria….an archaeological research development on a strange tumble of stone buildings…..a palace…."

Wolf blinked, suddenly confused by the sudden change of topic. _What?_

"You see, Wolf, in my youth, while I overlooked some ancient texts and early expeditions, I stumbled over something very curious. I fell across an old archaeological account….one impossible to believe….one based on a legend of a power existing eons before life-forms began to think. I'm a man of science, I don't typically focus my efforts on old legends and myths….but the supernatural occurrences caught my interest. You may have noticed, by now, that the Lylat System's vast numbers of planets consist of specific ecosystems for each one. For instance, Fichina's revolves around an arctic atmosphere, Fortuna's revolves around a rainforest climate…..you get the idea. But in every galaxy, there is one planet that stands out from the rest….one of the oldest in the galaxy. Even if it is on the very edge of the galaxy, farthest from the sun….it is still able to support life. And not just any life….but _every possible ecosystem _known to nature…a world completely untouched by the mark of mankind: machinery, pollution…..for Lylat, that planet is Sauria. And it is said….that the source of this unnatural life energy is a spiritual force older than anything ever created…..something deep, and powerful….something that can never fade…the spirits of a life-giving energy force….the Krazoa Spirits."

At this point, Wolf no longer needed to resist the urge to roll his eyes skeptically.

_Give me a break…._

_Ancient Planet Gods? Life-giving energy?_

_Nothing but a bunch of bullcrap…_

Andross, apparently catching the drift of disbelief in Wolf's eyes, said "You don't believe me?"

"Andross, I've almost lost complete respect for you...well, whatever left, anyway. This is your new obsession? Superstitions and ghost stories? Come on…" Wolf sneered. "This is too pathetic even for you."

"I see…very unexpected. You really don't believe in it?"

"I don't believe in anything I can't see," Wolf said stubbornly. "And besides….nothing can be proved without evidence."

"The carvings on the Saurian ruins prove reliable…..there can be no other explanation…"

"There's _always _another explanation for things, Andross. Look at me." Wolf gestured towards his eye-patch.

"Many I've told," Andross said defensively. "Have shared the same look and lack of belief as you do now, Wolf. But I assure you….this spiritual existence is as real as I am. But I knew when I examined this….that I could harness it for myself. All power….even the supernatural….can be weakened. And if one would succeed in weakening all the Krazoa Spirits, and bring them to one spot…then they would fall. Their combined power would fuel any mortal into a life-form more powerful than any in the universe…." (Wolf could hear the chilling hunger grow in Andross's voice) "And transform that person into a planet-sized deity with unspeakably overwhelming power…enough to….well….to bind the planets together…and create inevitable chaos…and send the entire galaxy into anarchy with a single stroke…the power I will soon have, Wolf. It will make my previous form seem worthless…..imagine…the power to bring the sun closer or farther from a planet…to amend the space-time continuum….to send a supernova clashing into a chain of helpless worlds….to crush a planet with bare hands! To command the universe to bow down to my powers….to be unquestioned, to be invincible….to be an immortal Krazoa God!"

Wolf, his purple eyes wide with disbelief, stared into the darkness.

Andross waited. "Something you'd like to say, boy?"

"You…" Wolf said in a low, hard voice, as thick and forceful as concrete.

"Sorry? Didn't catch that," Andross replied in a loud and obnoxious tone.

"_You…._heartless, stubborn, explosive-happy, insane BASTARD!" Wolf spat.

The look in his eyes wasn't angry, or raging. They burned with a newfound scornful feeling….repulse.

"_What _did you-" Andross started, but Wolf didn't let him finish.

"I don't know what sickens me more….the fact that you survived the Lylat Wars or the fact that you were blown half-way to hell and _you didn't learn a _FUCKING THING! You _still _are bent on the conquest of the galaxy? After the lives you've made suffer, the countless cemeteries you've filled? Does _nothing _get through that THICK SKULL of yours?"

"You pathetic dirty little pup, how dare you speak about _my_ wars when you yourself fought as well. You've killed many….and yet you know nothing of war-"

"You want to know the difference between warfare and slaughter, Andross?" Wolf hinted dangerously. "I've fought on the front lines and seen it myself, and I'll tell you this….war is never about what is destroyed, but what is gained. And yet you leave nothing behind but ash and blood, and you _still _have the guts to call it warfare! At least when the Cornerians kill their enemy….they bury them….not display their guts and heads on pikes for the rest of the galaxy to see! Do you know how many people died in the Lylat Wars? On both sides?"

Andross was silent. "Irrelevant. What matters is-"

"8.4 _billion_, Andross…that's a fourth of the galaxy! And not just soldiers….but families, too! Women…children….infants….dead, because of you!"

"They were a necessary loss," Andross said indifferently. "When a war rages, sacrifices are needed to be made."

"_Sacrifices?" _Wolf said in disgust. "No, Andross….don't you dare tell _me _about sacrifices…..you haven't spent one day on the front lines….you haven't seen the horrors I've seen, the things I've seen done to other people…the screams, the blood, the flames….you haven't walked the streets of a burning city, or have ever picked up a gun and ran at an army ten times bigger than you, knowing that you have no hope of winning….no, Andross. You know _nothing _about sacrifices soldiers make on the battlefield, because you've never been there yourself! All you've ever done is sit back and pour the blood of your armies like water…you don't know what loss feels like, or remorse….and that's why you'll always be nothing but a COWARD! You ignore the rules of war….you don't give quarter to those who surrender…you attack civilians and butcher their carcasses….and you don't feel a damn thing!"

"Of course not!" Andross exclaimed. "And why would I? Pathetic human bodies mean nothing in the light of a cause as great as mine! Their wasted lives are but tools in the making of conquest!"

"And for what? What do you hope to gain by taking over the galaxy, Andross? After killing everyone who opposes you, you'll be sitting on a throne of bones and would have nothing left to rule….is that the kind of victory you want? You never cease to disgust me….don't you understand that human blood is more valuable than power? Because it doesn't last forever like land or planetary ownership! What could you possibly achieve by conquering the Lylat System?"

"That's just the point, you ignorant, pathetic excuse for a life-form…I'm not _trying _to take over the galaxy anymore. The outcome of the Lylat Wars gave me that much convincing….this pathetic excuse for a galaxy isn't worth taking over."

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "But…if you don't want to conquer the galaxy….what _are _you trying to do?"

"Destroy it, of course!" Andross barked impatiently, like this should have been completely obvious by now. "This galaxy stands against everything I'm trying to build! Humanity….is not efficient. Reliable. They aren't well-oiled machines with fixable malfunctions. They're easily corrupted….they're evil."

Wolf took a step back. "I take it back, Andross….you're not heartless….you're freaking _insane! _What, did Star Fox blast you so brutally that you've completely lost it? This is the entire Lylat System we're talking about….and you want to destroy it? _All _of it? The families….the innocents….you'd be killing life itself…."

"The life in the galaxy died years ago, Wolf. You should have seen that by now." Andross spoke in a completely different voice, with a sullen, almost depressed expression.

"What do you mean?"

"I tried conquering it, oh yes….I was willing to have all life-forms bow down to me, and accept me as their ruler. But I realized….that humanity isn't something worth conquering. Look at the galaxy, Wolf….it's stained by pollution, corruption, suffering….when Corneria won the war, when they had the chance to do things in their favor, know what they did? They poisoned the galaxy with their fear. They became attached to peace….to the point where that attraction became sick obsession. They began to hold onto their power….and now look at the Lylat System: Pollution, poverty, starvation, plague, suffering….death. This is what those pathetic humans have brought upon themselves, along with the rest of the galaxy. The human race is too unreliable….they cannot be turned around. And that is why they must be destroyed. I've always had an ambition, Wolf…..since the day I started thinking about science….to make the galaxy pure. That's all I've ever wanted to do….but the galaxy is not a warm place for such ambitions. The human race is dark….evil. They steal…they kill….they're blinded by power….so the only way to put them out of their wasted misery is to purge them."

"That isn't up to you, Andross," Wolf said. "Yes….humans are imperfect. I know that for a fact….but only God has the right to punish the entire human race….and you aren't a god, Andross. No matter how many systems you control….no one can kill the entire human race…"

"Oh, but I intend, to, Wolf. As soon as I harness the power of the Krazoa spirits, I'll have the ability to destroy the galaxy in one swift stroke….and from the ashes, I'll emerge….powerful….and unveil the ultimate technology that can make Venom support life…and become the most beautiful planet in the galaxy….and soon, more planets will fall under the same symptoms. And I'll finally have the empire I've always dreamt of….peace. With no stupid human beings ruining the natural life that they had the chance to preserve…and when I plan to retire (as amazing as immortality will be, I can't continue as ruler forever) I will pass throne to my heir…and ruling the galaxy will be his responsibility, along with his descendants…"

There were too many things running through Wolf's mind.

_Andross wants a peaceful galaxy? _

_That sounds like a load of bullcrap after all he's done…_

Wolf closed his eyes for a moment.

In his mind, he pictured the galaxy the way it had been during the Lylat Wars….

A sea of broken buildings….all tossed in a massive wave of stationary rubble and dust….

The huge roaring and grinning fires flickering in between wreckages…..upturned speeder cars…shattered fighter ships….

Bodies stacked in huge, sick piles, like bloody livestock…..blood-crimson tattered flags fluttering on pikes, topped with the heads of the enemy Generals….

The hellish ash raining from the bleak and hopeless orange sky….

No hope…..no life…..

Peace. The kind of peace Andross wanted for Lylat….

What was scary was that the scene he had pictured was not imaginary…..

It was what he remembered of Kew…

Wolf opened his eyes.

_He wants to make Corneria like Kew…._

_No life…..just death…._

_To everyone in the galaxy…._

_Guilty or innocent…._

"No, Andross."

Andross paused. "Excuse me?"

"That's not the kind of peace this galaxy deserves. It's not even peace at all….it's anarchy. And if that's what's in store for every planet in the future…..you won't get away with it….not as long as the Star Fox Team has breath in their amateur bodies…."

"Star Fox? HA!" Andross laughed. "By the time that I obtain the power of a Krazoa God…Star Fox won't be able to even touch me without disintegrating…"

"Trust me," Wolf said. "If I know Fox, he'll stop at nothing to defeat you…..I know his type. His blind sense of 'justice' makes his resolve strong. And as for this claim about human beings being the source of evil…I'll say this much. You're right about them….in a sense. They aren't perfect….I know what most are capable of….but I'm not going to ramble on about them. They'll meet their own ends, as they deserve. Humans _do _commit acts for which they should be punished for….but they'll answer to God. Not to you, Andross. You don't have the jurisdiction to condemn the entire galaxy to death…..no one does. You aren't all-powerful enough to be God."

"Not yet…but I once I gain control over the Krazoa Spirits….I'll be practically invincible. And you're going to help me."

Wolf froze. "What?"

"My physical condition prevents me from entering the Palace's Chamber of the Krazoa. I need a healthy life-form to go in there, store a Spirit inside himself, and-"

"What? No! No, no, I'm not going to help you!" Wolf said. "I'm not going to help you in whatever insane scheme you're concocting!"

"You will! You exist to be my servant, to act on my will! You were trained to do as _I _command!" Andross spat.

"_No!" _Wolf shouted defiantly. "I helped you bring death and destruction on innocents once….I refuse to do it again!"

"Human condition doesn't apply to you! You don't have a choice in the matter!"

"I don't care! I've been your slave long enough….I'm my own person, now. I'm no longer your pawn!"

"You will not defy me!" Andross said menacingly.

"Watch me." Wolf glared into the darkness. He turned and stormed off towards the cave's exit.

_He can't control me anymore…_

_He may have done it in the past…_

Wolf shuddered.

…_but he won't do it to me ever again…._

For a moment, Wolf felt that it was all over.

But then Andross's voice broke the silence.

"Perhaps I didn't make myself _clear," _Andross said icily, through gritted teeth.

Before Wolf could take another step, he heard a _click._

TERRCH-AAOOOZZZZ!

Wolf stumbled as another vicious shackle of blue electricity shot through him. His mouth hung open for oxygen, and for a moment, he couldn't breathe. The knife-like pain slunk under his skin and seemed to tear his bones out of their sockets like roots.

He fell to his knees. There was a blinding hue of blue and white, and then the pain stopped. Steam rose from his scorched clothes. Wolf's entire body felt sore.

"You keep forgetting who your master is….perhaps some humility will teach you some respect."

There was another electrical jolt, but this one was different. It felt heavy, and cumbersome, but at the same time was stinging and gripping at Wolf's burning muscles. It was pushing his nerves and functions for him, and suddenly, Wolf found it hard to move, and the jolt pressed his bones to close to his skin, forcing him into a bow.

It was like an invisible force had pushed his body down to bow before Andross.

Wolf, whose back was bent down painfully, raised his head with effort.

"W-What….what's happening?"

"It appears that the Nerve Bending Process I applied to that chip in your body turned out to be a successful enhancement. You think I wasn't serious when I said I can control you? Let's find out how much you can struggle under my grip, Star Wolf."

Wolf tried to move, to resist, to fight. But he remained motionless. He couldn't move….

It was like budging in a tightly squeezed tube…

Wolf looked around desperately.

_What do I do….?_

_What CAN I do….?_

"Now…." Andross continued….the cruel, cold menace staining his voice. "I command you….to rise…?"

As if pulled upward off his feet by a huge invisible hand, Wolf's feet kicked forward from under his knees.

"_Hrrggh-_AH!" Wolf grunted painfully, trying to resist.

But his shoulders lurched upwards along with the rest of his body, and he was on his feet.

"Shame…" Andross said with a cruel chuckle. "I thought you'd put up a better fight…."

Wolf bared his teeth. "You cowardly bastard! All you're doing is manipulating me! You don't have half the guts to fight me!"

"And why would I do that, when I could easily make you do whatever I want? Behold your future, Wolf….you try to oppose my orders, and you'll be forced to carry them out."

_Shit…_

Wolf panted. _I'm….his freaking…..puppet…_

_I can't…._

…_fight back…._

"You're so pathetic, Wolf….because you always fight back…..and that makes you no better than an average human being. You believe in stupid emotions….like hate, or love…..you believe that you can fight back because that is the truth you've come to believe….like all humans believe….the truth that there's good or evil….that an opponent can always be fought….so many before you followed that belief: The Black Demon….the Red Baron….James McCloud….and look where it got them. Those people that you looked up to fought with a resolve that didn't exist….because all humans are blind. They see hope on the horizon….and they can never grasp it. They see victory in the moonlight….but they can never achieve it. They all walk with an invisible veil over their faces….that is clouded with emotions…but there is no good or evil. There is no right or wrong in this galaxy….but the facts that already exist. The only reason any stupid human like you couldn't see them is simply because you refused to. You only believe what you _want _to believe….only in the facts that you want to see as facts. But the only people that can become victors are the people immune to common human emotions…people like me, Wolf. I know from experience that there are only a few facts: There's the strong, and then there's the weak….and they exist to make each other what they really are: Strong or weak. And the less facts you accept…..the weaker you will become. That's why you're as helpless as a newborn pup….because you were blind from the facts. You only believed what you hoped to be true. And the results are there before you…..you're under my control. I've done the same with the entire galaxy. Everyone in it….even Star Fox….they're blind to what I've been doing….they didn't realize that I had been pioneering the history of Lylat for years….that everything that has happened were all part of my plans….I knew what was going to happen then. And I'll always know what will happen. Nothing happens in the galaxy that doesn't serve a purpose to me. That's the way it's been for years….and that's the way it always will be…"

For a moment, Wolf was just panting. Then he got up feebly, raising his Claw into the dark shadows' direction.

"I…I don't care…even if there are just facts….they can be changed….and fought….I've changed things before…." Wolf gripped the handle of his weapon. "…and as long as I have a resolve…I'll _always _keep fighting!"

Andross sighed. "Then I have no choice but to crush your resolve…"

KRRSHH—ZZZZZ!

The bolts whizzed up Wolf's body insanely, twisting and groping with an evil flare of blue electricity. It felt like he was covered from head to toe by Aquasian jellyfish tentacles. The pain seemed to choke the life out of him…

He collapsed onto the ground.

Andross glowered in triumph at the sight of Wolf. Then he noticed…

Despite the number of times that Wolf had been shocked with the chip's Self-Infliction Lightning Enhancement, no matter how many times Wolf was electrified…

…he had never dropped his Claw once…

"Despite all this….you still wave that weapon of yours around?" Andross laughed. "By holding it, you defy my bidding and stand as a threat. You need to realize who you belong to. Drop it."

KRSSHH-ZZZZ!

Wolf shook and wriggled in the spot, screaming as the intense electricity tore through his bones.

But he wouldn't drop the Claw…

"Drop it! Give up, you stupid boy! There's no hope! You serve _me!"_

KRSSH-ZZZZ!

The horrible electrical bolts vibrated through his body mercilessly, crushing him….breaking him….

"N-Never…" Wolf choked out. He opened one purple eye feebly…it was filled with weakened pain…

"You still struggle, when you never had to escape in the first place? You fight, even when you've got nothing to fight for…you pathetic little fool…you've got nothing _to _fight for…you have nothing to live, for Wolf…"

Wolf looked up desperately, but was hacked down to the ground again by the agonizing electricity.

"You've always dreamt of a greater life….when you had no human life to begin with….you sought revenge after Star Fox….when he was never rivals with a human in the first place….you tried to get stronger….when you would always be weak from birth to death…"

Wolf panted and gasped for breath. His breath heaved painfully from his aching lungs….

_I can't…_

_I can't let him…._

…_manipulate….me…_

_But…._

_How much longer…..can I keep going….?_

"Face it, Wolf. This whole time, you've always thought you were free, when you weren't even sure who you really were. But I'll tell you what you are….you're a weakling, an experiment, a figure of my own design. That's all you'll ever be…"

_No…._

_It isn't true…._

The shocks took their toll, but Wolf refused to release his determined grip on his Claw…

"You're battles didn't make you strong….they only made you more efficient. You've always tried to grasp a life that was never possible….you know why? Because everything in your life was planned out the way I wanted it to be. There's nothing real in your life or heart….just shadows of a life you thought you had….but could never own….and the people in it….the people you thought you loved, or hated, or respected, or tried to save….they are all just false hopes that had your heart lit up for a brief moment….and the emotions you felt for them were mere tones of what you could never be capable of feeling….you're a thing….a rotten test subject….clinging on to stupid dreams of freedom and hope and avenging that worthless dead girl…."

Finally, the shocks stopped.

Wolf lay there, his grip shaky on his Claw, his muscles weak and feeble.

His flickered weakly, no hope in them now. He tried to use the Claw to hoist himself up, but he was too exhausted to keep going…

_What if…_

_What if it's all true…?_

He gazed hopelessly into the stainless-steel reflection of his Claw.

"Give it up, Wolf." Andross's voice was calm and gentle, in a horrible way. "You've got nothing left….you never had anything to start….let your stupid feelings go…."

Wolf stared hopelessly at his reflection. He saw a tired face, a desperate face...

_No matter what face I've got…._

_It won't change what I am…_

_I'm his creation…_

_What if he's right….?_

_What if….everything I fought for…._

_All these years….all these blind moments…._

_Was it all for nothing?_

_Am I really…._

…_nothing?_

_I can't keep going on…._

_I'm tired of this…._

_I'm tired of being his puppet…_

_But I don't know what to do anymore…._

_I don't know what to think…..because it's probably already been thought for me…._

_I don't know what to remember…..because all of my memories…._

_Happy…or tragic….if I can even feel them…_

_They were all lies…..fake…._

_I can't escape…._

_I've always had an alternate route….some way to fight my way out….._

_But I can't do it now…..not like this…._

_Not when every hope and grain of happiness I've ever had is all but a lie…._

_My life….is a lie…._

Wolf's eye shimmered.

Everyone…

The rivals and the opponents….

The companions and friends…

The people he had known his whole life….

….the people he had never known at all…this whole time…

The friendship he had with Leon is a lie….

The times of desperate self-achievement to James were a lie….

The child-like affection for Katt was a lie…

The burning rivalry with Fox was a lie….

The times of fighting side by side with 302nd were a lie….

And Krystal…

Wolf closed his eyes….

_I'm nothing…..it was all a lie…._

_I'm nothing but an experiment…_

_I never had friends….only props…_

_I never felt happiness….I only had experimental pleasures…_

_I never had Leadership of a Team….just a career of lies…._

_Everything I've ever known….everything that I will ever know…_

…_.that makes me exist…._

_It's all fake…._

Wolf's pain was unbearable. He had lost the will to fight….

He just couldn't take anymore….the horrible feeling that any of his next emotions might be planned out…

That the next battle he fought would be structured out perfectly…

That he would have to struggle like a trained animal….not to prove himself….

The Claw slipped from his fingers….

_I can't go on…._

_I can't keep fighting…._

_The burden is too strong…_

_And no matter how hard I try….no matter how hard I fight…._

_It won't make a difference…Andross will just manipulate my path so that I have nowhere to run…._

_Things will never change…_

The Claw fell from his grasp….

_It was never about pilots or ships…._

_About winning or losing…_

_Everything that made me who I am….it's all just a part of his scheme…._

The Claw swerved towards the floor….

_Memories…._

_Just painful reminders of things I can't change…things I can't feel….standing as what I should remember….and who I failed to save….who I thought I loved….who I thought I could protect…._

_History…_

_Just like a circle….just repeating….never changing….spinning aimlessly….and like a river, its course can't be altered….it's just what Andross wants it to be…it only exists as the events of things we've done….sins we can't undo….acts that come back in different ways….we have to make the same horrible choices again…._

_Agony….torment…._

_They're just blank spots…..they fill the gap between insanity and mortality….they exist to create boundaries….emotions inside of me that I can't feel…..that I cannot overcome…..till the boundaries cease to exist…._

_Heart…_

_Something I can't possess….something I don't have….something that beats for me….it gets ripped out and placed back in with each new horrible event….too fragile, easily broken….and as cold as the empty space I wander as an outcast….nothing I can warm….or see…._

_Misery…._

_It creeps around my soul like dark vines….ever-growing….away from the light that dwindles in an instant of serenity….like an ink stain that can't be washed out….that serves as a dark reminder of the curse that is life…._

_It's all meaningless…._

_I'm not a fighter…._

_I'm not a rival…_

_I'm not even a human…_

_I just…._

…_exist._

CLANG!

The Claw fell with an echoing clatter near Wolf's knees. He collapsed in defeat…

It was over.

There was only silence afterwards. The suspicious and rebellious streak in Wolf's eyes that would calculate the obvious threats in the room…was gone.

His eyes were empty, now. Miserable. And worst of all, discouraged.

"And at last, the great Star Wolf Leader bows down before his eternal master." There was cruel amusement in Andross's voice. "I knew it was only a matter of time that you would turn around. You shouldn't act so glum. This isn't the end for you, Wolf, oh no…._it's just the beginning."_

Wolf looked up indifferently.

_Beginning…._

_Huh…_

_Definitely a brighter beginning for him rather than me…_

…_I have no future…_

_I never did…_

"Now that you've finally succumbed to my will," Andross said with malicious satisfaction. "We have much to do. The hours grow short….Star Fox will become of my presence soon. It's a good thing that you're the only one who knows about my plan. If it is to leak out to any of the Cornerian Government's ears, then whoever is behind all the recent activity will stand as an obstacle between me and the Krazoa Palace. We must act quickly….first, you are to track down and destroy the remaining members of the Star Fox Team, but leave Fox alive….which shouldn't be a cumbersome task for you. Then, you must go to the United Nations Embassy Building on Corneria. Kill every political ambassador inside, and all witnesses. And when you have purged all possible threats against me, you will go to the Krazoa Palace, and do as I instruct to bind a Krazoa Spirit inside yourself. Once you do, remove all the SpellStones from their places. But then, I'll need bait for Fox to come….perhaps a distress call might bring him to me…"

Wolf remained motionless. His sad, unblinking purple eyes stared blandly at the shadows.

Andross laughed quietly. "I see this is a lot to take in after news of your true origin…but I expected as much from a pitiful human like you."

No shout. No typical scream of rage. Wolf just sat there.

Andross frowned. Taunting Wolf wouldn't be fun if there was no response. This was going to be a harder task than he thought.

_Tink!_

Something small slid out of Wolf's sleeve and landed near his feet.

Wolf glanced miserably towards the spot where it had landed.

A small gleam of realization returned to Wolf's eyes when he saw what it was.

The small blue sapphire glowed faintly on the ground, radiating a hopeful blue light in the miserable veil of shadows.

Wolf reached out and picked it up.

_Those eyes…_

Her _eyes…_

The sapphire gleamed in the palm of his hand.

_They're still there…._

"Hmph," Andross smirked. "Token of affection. A typical act of human stupidity. As if you could store memories or take the person's presence with you through the use of a mere object. But you know human beings….sentimentality is one of their specialties. And it makes me sick."

Wolf continued to stare at the sapphire.

_Krystal wanted me to fight for a meaningful cause…_

_Not this…_

_But what choice do I have now?_

_He knows….he always knows…._

_I can't run from him…._

_I've always gotten away, somehow, I've always been able to fight it off…_

_I've always just spat in the face of danger…._

_But….not this time…._

_Now I belong to him…._

_I serve his cause now…._

_Is this the person I was born to be?_

But then…

_What I always said to myself…_

_Was that no matter how bleak and hopeless the path looked…_

_I should always prepare be wounded in terrible places…_

_Places like my heart…_

_Like my resolve…_

_Things will always be worse before they get better…_

_But I don't know how to overcome this…_

_This feeling of being an object….a test subject…_

_Instead of a man…_

Then, for the first time in what seemed hours, he spoke.

"Andross…"

"What?" Andross barked impatiently.

"You….you really do know….everything about me…?" Wolf spoke in such a quiet voice, it was barely audible.

"Yes. Even if I didn't apply any experimental enhancements to your structural design or DNA, you still were my experiment to control from the beginning. I've planned your life out….there is nothing that you've done, felt, or thought that I didn't plan to happen or know about. Understand? You're a fake," Andross added with cruel satisfaction.

"Then….you knew about my emotions….before they happened…?"

"Of course I did! Your feelings aren't real…they're artificial! You don't have any friends….or companions. You can't feel….you only exist to kill and do my will."

Wolf didn't answer for a long time.

He turned the sapphire over in his hand.

"Then….you knew about the way I felt about her…"

There was a silence.

"You mean that girl, Krystal. Yes….I knew….I knew that you would succumb to her nature, and fall under that stupid intoxication that all human beings get possessed by. But those feelings weren't real….they were synthetic, simulated, hollow…illusions of what you could never feel for any human being. You aren't capable of feeling toward any other human being unless I deemed it necessary. But I knew that trick of emotion would play with your mind…and to be honest I was almost disgusted how well it worked."

Wolf looked up. "What worked?"

The horrible manipulative triumph seeped out of Andross's voice and into Wolf like a thousand knives.

"Isn't it obvious? I used that passion of yours for that girl to manipulate you! The revenge for Star Fox already drove you to the point of slaughter….but I was able to control you through your sad devotion to avenge her. It filled you with anguish and loss that it made you even more determined to fight harder. So….in a way, you could say that your love for Krystal was the last thing that guaranteed your position as my eternal servant."

Wolf looked down at his sapphire in his hand.

_Love…_

"Amusing, isn't it? The scourge of the Lylat Wars to be succumbed by love? Behind all the dark slaughter and lust for revenge, you turned out to be nothing but a love-struck kid, tormented and trying to avenge a girl you can't bring back to life….HA!" Andross laughed heartlessly. "It's so sad it's almost hilarious."

Wolf said nothing.

Andross rolled his eyes disappointedly.

"Hmph. Pathetic."

_**SHHARWWWW-FWOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

The air was shredded into shrieks of disorientation, as there was a savage tremor ripping from the ground's throat. A wave of purple fire the size of a hydrogen bomb explosion filled the room, blinding with an intense fierce purple light, swirling around into a devastating tornado of roaring and splitting inferno. Volcanic rock and dust disintegrated into ash in the wake of this new wave of power.

Wolf looked up, still on his knees, the fur on his forehead whipping around in the intense wind. His single purple eye had melted into a socket of blinding white light, no pupil or eye center visible. His teeth were bared and his fist clutched the sapphire firmly.

"_LIAR!" _Wolf snarled in a concrete and deathly voice that didn't seem to belong to him at all.

Andross sneered. "You cannot resist me….even now, I can punish you easily!"

Only in a moment, Wolf was again seized by the miniature storm of blue electricity that grappled him back down to the ground. But the fire surrounding Wolf didn't die down.

Wolf looked up, his expression unchanged, only slightly wincing from the pain.

"YOU LIAR! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HOW I FEEL ABOUT HER…AND IF YOU DON'T KNOW THAT MUCH, THEN YOU DON'T KNOW _ANYTHING _ABOUT ME AT ALL!"

"I created the life you know!" Andross said triumphantly. "I will always control you till the day when I have no use for you!"

"MY LIFE IS MY OWN…EVERYTHING I KNOW IS REAL, AND SO ARE THE FEELINGS I HAVE FOR OTHER PEOPLE! YOU COULD _NEVER _CONTROL THAT! YOU COULD NEVER CONTROL WHAT I CHOOSE TO FEEL!"

"You cannot do or feel anything unless I choose to….your life will always be my creation!"

_SHR-ZZZZ!_

The bolts began to crush Wolf back down to the ground, making him defenseless, weak. Every time he tried to get up, the bolts forced him back down.

"HAHA! YOU CAN NEVER ESCAPE ME!" Andross roared triumphantly.

"NO!" Wolf shouted. "I _WILL _RISE ABOVE YOU! YOU CAN'T STAND LIKE A SHADOW OVER MY LIFE ANYMORE!"

"I WILL AS I ALWAYS HAVE!"

"NOT-ANY-MORE!" Wolf screamed, as he forced himself up onto his knees.

"Let's see you try to resist! BOW BEFORE ME!"

Once again, Wolf felt the ominous weight thrust back on to him, like an anchor on his shoulders, numbing and bending his nerves to bend his body into a bow.

"RAAAARGGGHHH!" Wolf roared in effort, trying to resist, trying to push his body back into position.

_I won't bow down to him…._

_I WON'T!_

But no matter how hard Wolf tried, the crushing force made him yield. His muscles twitched and pulsed while his bones moved for him. The harder he tried to fight, the more his own body resisted…

"I CAN CRUSH YOU A HUNDRED TIMES BEFORE I'LL MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE DEAD!" howled Andross.

_I can't move…_

_I can't push back a force this strong…_

"LET GO OF THOSE STUPID DREAMS AND PATHETIC ATTEMPTS FOR FREEDOM! DROP IT!"

Suddenly, Wolf felt his hand jerk awake.

With pain and effort, Wolf looked to his right to see his hand stretching out for him. In it, he saw the sapphire…

"Let go of it….LET ALL ATTACHMENT FROM THE PAST GO, AND BECOME MY ETERNAL SERVANT!"

Wolf's hand shook and began swaying, trying to drop the sapphire…

_NO!_

Wolf's fingers curled around it stubbornly.

_BRZZZ!_

The electricity bolts moved to his hand, writhing and stabbing themselves into his knuckles and fingers.

Wolf clenched his teeth at the pain, but held the sapphire ferociously…

_I won't drop…_

_He can't make me…._

_I won't LET HIM WIN!_

The sparks and bolts shot up his arm…two forces were on his hands now: The electricity from Andross's chip, and Wolf's own will.

Wolf clutched it fiercely. The electricity caused his hand motions to swing and wriggle insanely….the force was trying to make him drop it but he wouldn't…

Suddenly, the pulsing electric impact grew to snake-sized sparks, riveting and whirling, the blue light stinging into Wolf's raw skin.

He screamed and clenched his teeth harder, not letting go….

He dug his claws into his palm…anything to keep his grip tight….

_BRRRRZZZZ-ZZZZ!_

Wolf's hand was outlined with white light, and then shot through his palm, causing blood to splatter and run down his wrist….but Wolf wouldn't let go…

The electric currents came from all sides and smashed into Wolf's body like a thousand multi-shocking white-hot wires. The electricity became energy…and the energy became lightning…it was forcing him down to his knees…

Then, one of the lights shot through his hand, its glow bouncing of the bright blue sapphire, casting its glow into Wolf's eyes….

The color of the light…

It was like….Krystal's eyes….were glowing…

Suddenly, her face flooded into his mind, and he was picturing her perfectly….

The look she gave to him….before he leapt into his ship and left Cerinia…

That face filled with a heart-purging sadness….and at the same time, hope…

Hope for him to come back…

Hope for him to keep trying….

Wolf looked up, a burning new glow in his eyes…

_Hope for me to win…_

"_!"_

Purple flames, pulsing and burning from Wolf's unstoppable resolve combined with the radiating oxygen from the heat inside the volcanic cave they were in, pushed off and disintegrated the electricity off of his body. Purple drove away the blue, and the combined energy of both the intense electrical repulse and the ripping and flaming inferno from the fire caused the energy in the air in the area to rip apart and distort.

Wolf began to dig his feet into the ground (which was smoldering into ash from the wildfire of Inner Power), and push himself up. Fighting of the nerve-controlling force of Andross's chip was devastating, even with the electricity being fought off. The combined forces made it feel like his bones were made out of lead, but with sweat and pulsing muscle-force, Wolf began to rise onto his feet.

Andross couldn't believe it. "Impossible….you cannot resist the chip's Nerve-Control Implant! NO LIVING ORGANISM CAN! YOU _WILL _BE BENT!"

The button on the remote that controlled the Chip inside Wolf's body was clicked madly. More bolts appeared and wrapped onto him like electric tentacles.

For a moment, the addition of electrical impact caused Wolf to bend slightly.

Wolf bared his teeth and looked up, forcing out words despite the struggle.

"_NO! _I WON'T! I WON'T BOW DOWN TO YOU! I DON'T ANSWER TO YOU! I ONLY ANSWER TO KRYSTAL! AND NOW THAT SHE'S GONE….I WON'T ANSWER TO _ANYONE!"_

And then, as if shaking off the weight of the sky, Wolf rose till his back was straight, his feet were firmly placed on the ground, and his head held high, his purple eyes searing through the darkness.

"NOOOOO!" Andross screamed. "HOW? IT ISN'T POSSIBLE! YOU…YOU…CANNOT STAND! EVEN WITH THE ELECTRICITY…WITH THE CHIP'S IMPLANT….HOW ARE YOU STANDING AGAINST MY WILL?"

_Click! Click! Click!_

Wolf's tall, sharp ears perked at the sound of the button-clicking.

_I hear him…_

Wolf turned around…

There he was.

Andross, the giant floating brain and eyeballs, was now visible to Wolf, now that the electricity and fire was faintly illuminating his path in the shadows of the cave. In front of the eyeballs and brain was a Conduit Panel with a button in the center, which was clicking constantly, as if an invisible hand was pressing it.

_That's the remote Andross is using to activate the electricity and the Nerve Control in the chip inside me…_

_He must be doing it with his telekinesis…he can't use his hands…_

"YOU'RE JUST A MERE HUMAN BEING! A MORTAL, WEAK, DESTRUCTABLE, EASILY VULNERABLE HUMAN LIFE-FORM! HOW COULD YOU OF ALL PEOPLE STAND AGAINST ME?"

Wolf grinded his teeth, preparing for the immense strength needed to do what he was about to do next. He stretched out his weighed-down, his bone-joints moving slow like rusted metal, and planted his foot out in front of him.

If Andross had a mouth, it would be wide open.

Wolf was _walking towards him…._

Despite the pressure, despite the fact that every nerve in his body was being forced to bend at Andross's command, Wolf was actually resisting it and moving forward, fighting off the electrical strikes with his Fire.

Wolf panted and kept moving, like every step he took was almost too devastating to do. But the fierce glint in his eyes was a sign that he wouldn't give up…

Andross clicked the button madly, desperately. But Wolf wasn't stopping…

The anger and fearlessness in Wolf's face made him almost unrecognizable. He forced himself to keep stepping forward, the pain of the electrical burns melting off….the sadness for Krystal making his hate for Andross stronger…and the burning longing to prove himself as a man fueling his resolve…

"I WON'T LOSE TO YOU, ANDROSS! YOU DON'T CONTROL MY DESTINY AND YOU NEVER HAVE!"

_SHHHHRRRRR—**PPPAAAACKKK!**_

The places where Wolf was setting his feet after taking the forced steps were starting to crack open. The combined energy tension of the chip's electro-magnetic field and the burning oxygen from Wolf's Fire was causing a devastating shockwave into the ground, ripping the volcanic rocky floor open. Green lava spat out of the cracks and burnt the rock into ash.

With the electricity and fire bouncing off of his emerging body and the ground cracking open and lava shooting out like hellish geysers, Wolf looked like a figure of unstoppable resolve and defiance.

"EVERYTHING I'VE DONE WAS BECAUSE OF MY OWN ABILITIES! MY OWN MISTAKES! MY OWN CHOICE! YOU HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT! I _CHOSE _TO KEEP THE DINOSAUR CLAW! I _CHOSE _NOT TO KILL FALCO ON THE NIGHT MY EYE WAS TORN OUT! I _CHOSE _TO BECOME FOX'S RIVAL! I _CHOSE _TO BECOME A PILOT AND START A TEAM! I _CHOSE _TO BOND WITH KRYSTAL! _I AM WHO I CHOOSE TO BE! _SURE, I MAY BE AN ORPHAN OUTCAST…I MAY BE THE MOST HATED MAN IN THE LYLAT SYSTEM! I MAY HAVE BEEN RAISED BY YOU! YOU MIGHT HAVE MADE MY LIFE INTO A NON-STOP EXPERIMENT! BUT THAT JUST TELLS ME WHAT I AM…A HUMAN BEING WHOSE LIFE HAS BEEN AFFECTED BY A MADMAN! BUT YOU CAN'T CONTROL _WHO _I AM!"

_Stomp! Stomp!_

Wolf continued to move towards Andross, his feet heavy, but still pushing forward, shaking of the shackles and boundaries that had plagued him for five years.

"AND I'LL TELL YOU WHO I AM, ANDROSS! _I AM WOLF O'DONNELL, LEADER OF STAR WOLF! _FRIEND OF LEON POWALSKI AND KRYSTAL! THE ALLY OF THE 302ND LEGION! AND, AS MUCH AS I RESENT HIM, THE SON OF MAXWELL O'DONNELL! BUT MOST OF ALL….THE PILOT WHO _WILL _TAKE STAR FOX DOWN!"

_FWOOOMM!_

Wolf's flames grew taller. He was now only a few steps away from Andross, his Claw raised in the air.

Andross sneered. "YOU CANNOT RESIST ME! I AM ALL-POWERFUL! I AM INDESTRUCTABLE! I AM THE GREATEST INTELLECT THE GALAXY HAS EVER KNOWN! I AM THE EMPEROR OF THE UNIVERSE, THE IMMORTAL ANDROOOOSSS!"

The rapidly-clicking stopped, and was replaced with a held-down pressure down on the button.

Wolf, his Claw an inch from the remote to smash it to bits, suddenly was overcome with more electricity. The surges of energy was drawing him back, pushing at his nerves again…

Wolf pushed his arm down as hard as he could.

_Smash it….your freedom is right there…_

But his arm was drawing back, away from the remote control…

_He's trying to force me not to…_

_It won't work…._

Wolf grunted and pushed his effort into his Claw arm, trying to strike….but it was like an invisible harsh wind was pushing him back….

The Nerve Control Implant was too strong….his arm was moving towards the remote, and then moving back….again, and again, as if he couldn't make up his mind…

"I KNOW ALL YOUR ATTACKS, WOLF! YOUR STRATEGIES! I CAN PREDICT THEM BEFORE THEY HAPPEN! IT ALLOWS ME TO FORCE YOU TO REPENT!"

Wolf clenched his teeth in effort. Pushing his arm down had become an impossible weight…like trying to move while inside a block of ice…

_I won't be able to…_

_Not as long as he keeps trying to pull me back…._

Wolf looked up.

_Then I'll just have to do something he can't predict…_

Suddenly, Wolf grabbed the Claw with both hands, and raised it above his head.

_BRZZZ!_

The intense blue electric bolts attacked at his arms, pounding the atmosphere…but as they reached his hands, and then riveted up the steel-like Claw, they began to split and shoot in all directions off of its tip, like a lightining rod.

Wolf took a deep breath, and then shut his eyes, preparing for the pain that was about to enter his body…

_FWOOOM!_

Fiery purple rings formed around Wolf's wrist, feeding oxygen into the electricity riding on the tip of the Claw. The intense donation of energy send a river of energy up to the blue lightning, and caused a spread of purple electricity over the blue, like a chain reaction.

Unfortunately, forcing all the Inner Power to his hands combined with the pain from resisting the blue electric charge from the chip sent an excruciating wave of pain down on Wolf's body, like a blanket of acid under his skin. His yells of resistant pain turned to screams of intense agony, until…

_**KA-!**_

The beams split in all directions, flying into test tubes and lab equipment in the dark shadows of the cave. Shattered glass and hot metal flew everywhere, impaling fragments on the wall and shards on the floor. There was a blinding flash of blue and a blur of white, and then…

The electricity disappeared.

Andross made a quick move to slam his invisible telekinetic fist onto the button on the remote, but Wolf was quicker.

He had figured out the way the remote worked. Somehow, Andross managed to weaken specific points in his body, so using his Claw to fight would be pointless, since Andross knew that it was Wolf's preferred fighting style.

So Wolf did what he knew Andross wouldn't expect. He threw his Claw aside and made a dive at the remote before Andross could press the button again, and restrict the movement of his arms and legs. He had to use the only weapon that Andross didn't expect him to use….

Not his Claw…

Not his fists…

Not his claws…

Wolf opened his mouth wide and sunk his teeth into the remote.

_BRZZZ!_

"_NOOO!"_Andross screamed.

But Wolf kept his fangs firmly placed into the remote's metal hardcover, and ripped at it, flinching at the small electric shocks from the destruction of the remote's processor. Then he ripped the cover off and ripped the wires out.

_BRZZZZ!_

Andross screamed in pain, his eyeballs swaying as the chip in _his _body (or brain to be specific), the one he used to control the remote to Wolf's chip, sparked and burned out, sending a painful green electric shock throughout the lobes of his brain.

BOOOOOOOM!

Wolf took a step back, and the ruthless flicker in his eyes faded, and became human…and exhausted. He panted hoarsely as droplets of flecked sweat swam down his hot neck and forehead. Wisps of smoke rolled and caressed off of his body. Scorched black holes, some still lined with a faint orange glow, dotted the buttoned-up chest of his black overcoat.

"I almost….I almost fell for it…" Wolf panted, looking up. "I really did believe what were you filling my head with….that you were manipulating me this whole time. I thought that I was in the ultimate cage….that you had locked me in….that you knew me too well, what I had always thought….what I was going to think next…"

He glanced at the sapphire again and pocketed it.

"But there are a few things you _don't _know about me Andross….things that make me who I am…but one of the most important things….about Krystal…" Wolf clenched his fists. "The things I felt for her….well, they aren't something you can study…and by assuming my feelings for her…by predicting me….you made your fatal flaw….and I saw through your whole act."

Andross's floating eyes swerved from side to side, as if narrowed. "What?"

"It wasn't love I felt for her, Andross. Not then…not at that moment…" Wolf's eyes took a different look to them, a deeper look, that was rarely like him. "She was beautiful….inside and out….pure….unselfish…fearless…a lot of things. But I wasn't ready. I was adolescent….afraid…I fell in love with her the moment I saw her, and it grew every moment we spent together. But one thing held me back from leaping…" He glanced at his hand. "Who I was….I came from the Academy…and over there, I was different. I was more alone there….and I knew that wherever I went, I'd be different. I wanted to be with Krystal….but I secretly held myself back….because I didn't know if I was the right one for her. She was untouchable, intoxicating….she deserved the best in the universe. She deserved better than me. And I knew it. So I held myself back….I made it so that it wasn't love that I felt when I spent time with her….it was friendship. That was all I was willing to give...and that's all there was to it. Of course, now…." Wolf's eyes became sad and pained. "…it's different. I wish, instead…" He shook his head and he resumed his stern expression. "Never mind. I guess I'm wasting my time telling you this, Andross…it's nothing you can understand."

He gave Andross one more look of distaste, turned, and walked towards the exit of the cave.

A slow rumble echoed from the ground.

"And just where do you think _you're _going?"

Wolf halted in his path.

"Do whatever you want…try to take over the galaxy, or destroy it, or whatever the hell you choose to do. Let's just see how far you get. But I'm done with you, Andross….but I was never on your side to begin with. I'm done taking sides….from now on, my destiny is my own…along with my Team's. And whatever insane heresy you plan to do, I'll have no part in it. But I will enjoy hearing your scream of defeat when Star Fox comes to torch your ass…._again."_

Andross's sneer echoed throughout the room. "A shame…you've refused my rule….I could've given you power….the freedom you've always dreamt of….you could've been the greatest warrior in the Lylat System…"

Wolf glared in Andross's direction.

_I don't share the same idea of great idea of a 'great warrior' as you do…._

_It would just be me fighting and you scheming…._

"But instead, you've chosen your fate. I can destroy you plenty of times….and bring you straight back…humans are easy to destroy…but even easier to put back together…"

Wolf shook his head, his face filled with a combination of resigned disgust and quiet anger. "You're a fool, Andross…you can't duplicate humans. What makes a human….it's not something that can be programmed….or clone….it's not something that can be dissected, or chemically altered, or genetically recreated, or technologically programmed. Fear…loneliness….the will to fight….the feel of defeat….anger….heartbreak….the feeling of being torn apart…individuality…style….the instinct to protect….to defend….friendship….courage….trust…..the sense of belonging among other people….affection….and in my case, revenge….those things are irreplaceable. They make people human. They make me who I am. And they're the things you lack."

For a while, Andross was silent.

Then, his cruel, smug voice lingered in the air.

"One doesn't necessarily need humans for galactic conquest. I'll take over the galaxy soon enough….but before that, I can single-handedly throw the Lylat System into anarchy. Go ahead and run, O'Donnell. You think you can defy me and still get away with it? The galaxy's a big place…but it's not big enough for even _you _to hide in. You think I haven't heard this sad and pathetic rant of being free and out of my control before? The Red Baron…the Black Demon….they all said the same thing, and look where they are now. Ash, chemical nutrients used for my experiments…so let me tell you this here and now, so you can get a clear idea of who you're dealing with. You're run, all right….you'll head to the edges of the galaxy, if it's in your power…you'll try to become the pilot you've always thought yourself to be, in an attempt to prove that everything I've told you is false….but in a few weeks, I can have the Cornerian forces on your heels in a heartbeat. You try to escape, and I would have already planned your next thought, your next move for you, like I've done for years and you'll be captured, along with that witless excuse for a lizard. Afterwards, I can make it so that your friend's criminal record matches that of a professional terrorist, and the current government, fearful and paranoid as they are, will have him executed. And whatever stains on your record won't matter….it'll be enough to have you moved back to your cell in Denique Fatum once it's rebuilt…whatever fame you've got, you'll lose….soon, the face of Wolf O'Donnell will fill the News Broadcast of the entire galaxy, and by the end you'd be defeated, captured, friendless _and _humiliated. You'll be right where I want you…._again. _Understand now? You have no way out."

Anger burned under Wolf's skin. He was stunned that Andross had this kind of power, and it freaked him out a little that Andross knew so much.

But soon, all that washed away…and his defiance rose back in his body.

"You don't scare me, Andross. I know how much power you've got by just looking at you. You're a wreck. A slimy, shitty, floating half-form. You can't do anything to me….you're crippled. And whatever you plan to do to Leon…" A dangerous gleam flashed into Wolf's purple eyes. "You take one step in his direction, and I'll make your screams loud enough that the whole galaxy will know you're still alive. Take over the galaxy, _ha! _You can't do shit to the galaxy in that form! You can't even move…"

"Oh, but I can, Wolf. I can do that, and so much more…." Andross said in a quiet, almost hungry voice. "Indeed yes…..I cannot do much in my current physical state…but I can a lot more in a different one….you see Wolf, you were right about one thing….humans _are _irreplaceable…I have my uses for them. But their minds are too hard to control….or at least, the functioning ones….ha…." Andross laughed maliciously. "I _do _have uses for humans now….they're _much _more useful now, in their new state….in my….ah…_collection…."_

BAM!

Wolf drew his Claw instantly there were sudden blaring of lights from all sides of the room. The whole room was lit up, now…

And when Wolf saw what took most of the space….

It made his eyes widen…

_Oh….my…_

_GOD…_

The room was fairly large….caved in by black volcanic rock. Torches dotted areas of the wall, like a dungeon. A large volcano-shaped instrument the size of a fuel barrel sat in the middle of the room. It was dotted with plastic lined with golden lines, like computer chips. The top of the 'volcano' was a chrome, flat, shining surface with a tiny black hole in it. Andross's eye-balls and brains hovered near the machine.

But that wasn't what horrified Wolf…

Hanging over, in the massive slanted church-ceiling sized ceiling, strung by hooks were…

Bodies.

_Hundreds _of them. Strung together like a massive group of bees in a hellish honeycomb…

There were all kinds of species….foxes, dogs, cats, falcons, monkeys, lizards, frogs…strung by their arms, sickly, by hooks on long chains that ran from wall to wall, nightmarishly almost like laundry hung to dry….

Some of them were still rotting, with huge greasy holes in their bodies and gruesome chunks hacked out of their yellowed flesh. Blood splattered their wounds and sides, some with sick gashes in their stomachs, their innards leaking out.

What was terrifying…bloodcurdling….unnatural….was that they weren't skeletal, or deformed, or unrecognizably decomposed.

They were fresh. Men, young and old, with their dead, empty eyes that were sunken into the back of their faces, their mouths open…

Women, their heads lurched forward in neck-breaking positions, their bony fingers outstretched before them, as if beckoning others to join their eternal sleep…

Children….girls in bloody, tattered faded dresses….boys, Academy ones, in charred jackets and flight boots…their pale, deathly eyes boring out into the firelight….

It was like they had been killed yesterday…

Wolf's breathing became heavier with every step back. The fur on his tail and back rose with fear. His blood turned to ice-water, running through his body.

Now he knew where the horrible stench had been coming from…the inside of his stomach began to crawl inside out.

"What…what the hell…._have you done?"_

"Behold, Wolf!" Andross shouted triumphantly. "This is the fate that awaits all that oppose me….to join my cause, and become a part of the greatest mortal experiment ever achieve….to make the dead walk."

"What the hell are you TALKING ABOUT?" Wolf yelled in both anger…and terror. "What is this? Have you gone insane? You _harvest _the bodies of the people you kill like some messed up spider? Have you sunken so low that you've done something this SICK?"

"Sick? I'm merely progressing…this is how I will take control of the galaxy, Wolf….this is how I will move around…"

Wolf kept stepping back, the Claw in his hand shaking, along with the rest of his body…

CLATTER!

Wolf jumped as he bumped into a steel table from behind. Bloody knives, scalpels, saws and other surgical instruments fell to the floor with metallic _clunks! _Various body parts like a disembodied hand, leg, spleen, and heart fell with a sickening mooching sound at Wolf's feet, spraying crimson liquid over the floor.

Horrified, Wolf kicked the parts away from him with his boots and stumbled back in terrified revulsion…

_Holy shit…_

_This is too freaky….too sick…_

_I've seen dead bodies before…but…_

_Not this many….not this fresh…_

He looked up at the high-strung child corpses. His eyes widened.

_Not like THIS…_

_This is….horrible….even for Andross…._

"Yes….gaze at the future of the galaxy….if you see some Venomians in this crowd, they're the results of their own disobedience. But they're much more use to me in their present state…why you might even recognize some of the 302nd in here…the ones that never made it out of the Palace's downfall, that is…"

Wolf scanned the bodies in terror, his entire body choked with invisible black thorny vines of horrible realization that there was a possibility that Galt or Brice or Aallotar or even Jimmy might be here…

_No…_

_No…._

"I even had some of the victims of the Lylat War in here….and they say you can't salvage from an empty battlefield…some of these people are civilians that _you _killed, O'Donnell….victims of that wonderful bloodbath on Kew…I'm _sure _you'd enjoy the reunion…"

The fear in Wolf's body warped into outraged disgust. "YOU COLD-BLOODED INHUMAN _FREAK! _KRYSTAL WAS RIGHT! YOU'VE REDUCED TO NOTHING BUT A …A MONSTER!"

"HA!" Andross shook off the insults with an insane laugh. _"I'm a monster, am I? you and Krystal were pathetic fools to think you can stand against me! Now, everyone in the galaxy will only exist to serve me….DEAD OR ALIVE!"_

HMMM!

The blue chips on the mountainous machine in the center of the room glowed eerily, and began to hum a vibrating robotic echo throughout the cave.

Wolf raised his Claw. "What's that?"

"My greatest invention, Wolf…a device of such devastating power that it will make all my other inventions seem like mere tinker toys! Behold….my method of functioning in the form I now possess….the form that Star Fox bestowed onto me…"

_RRRRRRREEEEEESSHHHHH!_

Wolf winced as his ears were treated with an unearthly shriek from the machine, as it began to whirr and buzz. Andross's eyes and brain hovered over the sleek top of the machine, which had started to glow green.

WHEEEEEEOOOOOOOHHHH!

A beam of unnaturally bright poison-green light shot from the top of the machine, blasting Andross's remains into a shower of energy. The eyeballs and brain began to distort, and incinerate into green flames. Suddenly, the machine began to moan, and make freakish screams that sounded both harsh and metallic. The eyeballs glowed skeletal-white before…

_PRRRAAAAAAAOOOOOWWWWWMMM!_

Wolf swatted a hand over his eyes and turned away before the blinding light could claim his good eye. He felt the volcanic rock tremble beneath his boots and the corpses rustle above in the ceiling.

Slowly, the moaning softened to metallic whirring….and became silent. The light faded, and the dominant light in the room were the torches again.

The eyeballs and brain were gone

Wolf was alone in the room, breathing steadily, Claw still raised. He felt completely creeped out with the hundred bodies staring at him.

His eyes darted around the room.

Despite the lack of presence in the room, Wolf still had an ominous feeling that Andross wasn't out of the room.

_There's no way a creep with an ego as big as his would come back to life just to incinerate himself with some machine…._

Click.

The noise made Wolf's ears prick. He spun around instantly, Claw pointed outwards in defense…

Nothing. Not a living a soul…

Wolf kept looking around…

His heart rose and fell with every movement. His feet moved him around in a circle….

"_Not so confident now, are you, Star Wolf?"_

Wolf whirled around. There was nothing…

"WHERE ARE YOU?" He bellowed into the shadows.

_Ffff…_

Wolf spun and pointed his shaky Claw at the ruffling noise he heard behind him….

Then he heard it again, only this time from above...

Wolf looked up, but there was nothing but the drifting bodies of the dead above….

But for split second, he thought he saw a shadow make a dash in the back…

"SHOW YOURSELF, YOU COWARD!" Wolf called after him.

Andross's voice echoed from somewhere….it sounded nearby, but at the same time, coming from all sides of the room…

"_Tell me…are you as afraid as you look?" _Andross hissed. He laughed quietly…he sounded so close, his voice seemed to brush past his ears…

_Crunch._

Wolf's heart jumped again as the sound of hard volcanic soil scrunched under his boot.

He spun around, teeth bared in frustration. "COME ON! COME OUT AND FIGHT LIKE A MAN!"

For a moment, there was only the dark, hollow silence.

"_Like a man? Ha-ha….what a sexist remark….how about a woman, instead?"_

Wolf looked around in confusion.

_**CLUMP!**_

Wolf whirled around, and drew out his blaster.

A cat's body had fallen from the ceiling…a woman's, her face scarred and hacked, as if by an axe, the flesh on her mouth barely hanging by some sinew….

_Click._

Blaster in his right hand, and Claw held under the pistol's butt military style, Wolf approached the body cautiously.

He peered forward.

Nothing much to see…blood, rags….nothing unearthly wrong.

_WHOOOSH!_

The body jumped upwards and made a grab at Wolf.

Wolf screamed and slid back, but the woman was too quick. She latched onto him with her bony hands and cold arms, her stench of decay filling Wolf's nostrils. Wolf wriggled, and kicked, but she only latched her slimy, cold hands around his neck.

Wolf freed his hand and sliced upwards under the woman's chest, before kicking it away.

_CLAMP!_

The body flung away to the ground wringedly like a scarecrow. Wolf scrambled back and kept the barrel of his blaster at the woman's form, breath heavy and heart racing in the aftermath of the moment.

The woman threw her head upwards, her greasy, stringy hear flying from her face, letting out an insane laugh.

"_**HUAHAHAHAHAHAHHHAAAAAA!"**_

Wolf's eyes widened with shock.

That wasn't _her _laugh…

It was deep….tyrannical….insane….

Andross's.

She rose to her feet like the dead out of a grave, her eyes glowing a nightmarish greenish-white.

With shock, Wolf remembered Andross's eyes turning the same color before disappearing.

His mouth barely moved. "Impossible…"

"Yes, Wolf, it is _I,"_ the woman said, which looked horribly wrong with Andross's voice leaking out of her mouth. "The half-form, as I recall you said. Witness, my ultimate power….the ability to suck my consciousness into a corpse," The woman pulled the strap of skin that hung from her mouth and ripped it off, revealing the fleshless jawbone underneath, bearing a freakish skeletal grin. "…and successfully control it."

A horrific chill traveled up Wolf's spine.

The ability to put your mind inside a dead body, and walk around in it…

"My…God…." Wolf breathed.

"Astounding isn't it? Almost impossible…." Andross, or at least the corpse with his voice said. "What most only believed was black magic has finally been achieved…"

"You filthy corpse-rapist," Wolf spat, despite the fear that made him tremble. "So this is what you've become….you never know when to stop playing God, do you? This is unnatural….wrong. You've dipped your hands into something to deep even for you….how the hell did you even pull this off?"

_WHOOSH!_

The light in the corpse's eyes dimmed, and fell lifeless at Wolf's feet.

Wolf glanced around cautiously.

"_Simple, really," _Andross's voice drifted around the room like a restless spirit, echoing and vibrating. _"When Star Fox defeated me….or at least attempted to…they disintegrated my body into common rubble."_

"But what ignorant little Fox didn't know," Andross's voice appeared behind Wolf. He looked back to see a young raven, a teenager, talking with Andross's voice. He had switched bodies. "Was that I injected myself with a anti-disintegration serum that would allow me to reform into any body part I'd like….I only had one restriction: I couldn't reform into a complete human body. But my machine grants me a much more succulent ability."

_WHOOSH!_

The raven's eyes became lifeless again.

"_The machine stimulates atoms through the use of undeveloped channeling of matter, opening up a way for me to enter the dimension between physical and non-physical form. I can travel to any lifeless organism in the area…"_

"…and take its body for my own, giving me the regeneration ability I've always wanted." Wolf turned to see a Venomian soldier with the same creepy greenish-white glow in his eyes.

"This isn't regeneration," Wolf said, his eyes darting from the corpse, to the exit. _I have to humor him long enough…_

"This is heresy. Sinful. What the hell could you possibly plan to do with a group of walking corpses? An undead army?"

"No…..that would grant me more attention than I'd like," the Soldier Corpse said distastefully. "What I really need for my plan are specific bodies….ones of government officials and generals….that is the only way I can function in secret within the confinement of the Cornerian Government. But what I would really like to have for my collection….is a dead specimen with Inner Power."

Wolf raised his Claw, growling dangerously.

"So that's it…..you weren't waiting for me to come to Venom…you lured me here. Your plan was to kill me…"

"Naturally…I knew you were going to turn on me eventually…but I decided to tell you the truth behind everything, just to gain the priceless look on your face, before the light leaves your eyes when you die….or, in your case, _eye…." _

The soldier corpse laughed cruelly.

_BR-ZAAAM!_

Wolf took aim and shot the corpse's hand, so that it severed from its hook to the ceiling and fell down in front of him. In his rage, Wolf jumped onto the body stabbed savagely in the chest, gushing blood all over its tattered uniform.

The corpse's head lolled back limply, its glowing, deathly eyes wide. "Fool….you cannot kill what's already dead…"

"…but I _can _kill you," Wolf heard Andross's voice continue from behind.

Wolf spun around to see a female spaniel, clutching an infant child in her hands, her hand outstretched in front of her, closing in on Wolf.

Wolf stood, Claw ready, but as soon as he did, he sensed movement on the ground next to him.

The Venomian Soldier's corpse was rising from the ground in a lifeless and emerging fashion.

Wolf looked at the two corpses walking towards him…

_Shit…_

_He can control two of these at the same time?_

"Imagine what can be accomplished once more join my army," the corpses said simultaneously in Andross's echoing, evil voice, eyes shining like demonically, luring towards him like slimy lepers…

Wolf kept stepping back, eyes wide, heart racing…

_SPLLRTCH!_

His heart jumped as he looked around to see more corpses limping and swaying towards him, ragged and greasy men, woman and children, bleeding from their mouths and from gashes in their necks, eyes wide open, like some hideous nightmare…

Wolf waved his Claw around in a desperate attempt to push them back. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

_Splrtch…Spltrch!_

Their dead feet dragged across the floor, as more and more of them came from their chained hooks from the ceiling like giant hideous insects…more and more of the luring and pulling at Wolf with their bony, cold hands…

Wolf looked around desperately; the air being sucked out of his body, looking around for a way out….there _had _to be a way out…

But more corpses just kept appearing, blocking the view, their number growing to a crowd of hundreds as they circled Wolf, surrounding, him trapping him…

_PLLRRRTCH!_

A cold, lifeless hand shot from the crowd and pulled out Wolf. In horrified disgust, Wolf slashed around him on instinct.

_Clump!_

The corpse's hand fell to the ground, blood gushing from the side of its owner, a writhing dead fox.

Suddenly, more hands shot from the crowd, latching and grabbing onto Wolf with their cold limbs, their petrified, slimy faces growing closer, some attempting to grab onto his body…

"_HARGH!" _Wolf kicked into the crowd of the dead with is foot, but they just grabbed onto that too, while others stumbled forward and aimlessly grabbed at his waste….he could smell their petrifying skin and rotting innards…

He tried to concentrate hard enough to do his Fire Wolf move, but there wasn't any room to do it, no way to concentrate….he'd just incinerate himself…

"_ARGH! _NO!" Wolf hacked and siced around him, his fur shivering from all the cold, gross touching and grabbing, his fear dominating his mind….

Andross's booming voice echoed from the mouths of the corpses all around him, as if a massive crowd of people had his voice…

"_I WILL BE UNSTOPPABLE! I'LL POSESS THE POWER TO TAKE THE GUISE OF A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL, AND MAKE THE LAWS UNDER ITS NOSE! THE SECRETS OF MY ENEMIES ON CORNERIA WILL BE MINE….I'LL SEE THEIR THOUGHTS, PLACE THEIR SCHEMES IN THEIR HEADS FOR THEM…I'LL CHANGE HISTORY FROM IN THE SHADOWS…AS THE LEADER OF CORNERIA…AS THE GENERAL OF THE ARMADA…ANY DISGUISE I WANT! ALL I NEED IS TO OBTAIN A BODY! I'LL BE ALL OVER THE GALAXY…CONTROLLING ALL HUMANS THROUGH YOUR MINDS…I'LL BE EVERYWHERE AND NOWHERE AT ONCE…AND BE ABLE TO THROW YOU ALL INTO CHAOS WITH ONE STROKE…I'LL BE IN THE ENTIRE GALAXY'S MIND WHEN IT LEAST EXPECTS IT! I CAN MAKE EVERY LIVING ORGANISM IN THE GALAXY __**ME! **__AND FINALLY….WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT…YOUR BODY SHALL ASSEMBLE THE KRAZOA SPIRITS, JUST IN TIME FOR ME TO DESTROY THE GALAXY ONCE AND FOR ALL….AND NO ONE WILL NO IT'S HAPPENING….UNTIL IT IS FAR TO LATE FOR EVEN STAR FOX TO STOP ME!"_

A pair of thin, bony, cold-fleshed arms latched around Wolf's neck from behind and pulled him under.

Wolf screamed and slashed around with his Claw. _"Ga-harr-AARRGHH! NO!"_

He was dragged down by a slimy but incredibly strong force. The bodies around him began clawing their gnarled claws and fingernails at him, preparing to choke him or rip him open…

He swung his Claw around, slicing at some rotting limbs and stabbing at some shrunken faces, but they didn't stop….he continued to be pulled under…the only thing Wolf could see were the shriveled, ghostly-eyed faces staring down at him…

He saw a familiar face, a young Corgi child, holding a knife up to kill him….

Wolf's heart almost stopped.

_Oh my God…_

It was the child he had been forced to murder, during the Massacre on Kew. The first innocent of many to die…

He remembered when the child approached him, what he had said…

"_Please…._ _If you are the Devil, and if you're here to punish us for our sins….make it quick, please? I don't like pain…"_

His face looked so beseeching then. Not afraid, or fearful….just pleading…

Before he died.

His face was nothing like that now… his eyes were wide and demonic with the hellish glow, a cruel gloat in his face, his knife raised for the kill…

He shut his eyes…

_**SLAM!**_

Just then, Wolf heard the sound of the cave's door being crashed open.

"_Wolf!"_

Wolf's eyes shot open.

_That isn't Andross's voice…_

He rolled his head to one side and saw through the cracks in the crowd…

Leon stood in the wrecked doorway. Apparently, he had gotten into his own set of troubles. His forehead had a deep gash in it, and his jacket was torn and wrinkled, as if he had just emerged from a brawl.

But when he looked around at the horrific scene, his face expression changed completely. His electric-blue eyes widened.

"WHOA!" He screamed. "How much did I freaking MISS?"

"Leon!" Wolf called from under the crowd.

"Wolf! Where are you?" Leon yelled into the crowd.

"The fool of the hour has arrived at last," The Andross drones all said in unison. "Looks like two will die tonight."

Leon's eyes gleamed ruthlessly, the way they did as before he fought in his fatal cold and calculating matter.

"You even touch my friend, you disembodied shitsack, and being blown to bits by Smart Bombs and Arwing Laser Blasts will seem like the least painful experience you've ever felt compared to what _I _can do to you."

He twirled out his switchblade and bent his legs into a fighting position.

The corpses laughed in unison. "Idiot. I've assembled an army of the dead that cannot be killed!"

Leon's mouth curled into his infamous 'classy-killer' grin.

"True….but I can still cut you up into little pieces….and for a guy like me…" He flipped his knife to palm reinforced-grip, with the blade in the enemies' direction. "That's a fun task to do on victims dead _or_ alive."

In the next second, Leon dashed into the crowd, his agile reptilian body moving quickly and lucidly, swinging his deadly blade out with expert accuracy, slicing and jabbing at the corpses' weak points in their necks and eyes with blazing speed.

_SLICK!_

Leon flipped his blade into the air and dodged a coming grab from a maggot-eaten pine marten, before catching the blade, slamming the butt down on the corpse's neck and bringing it down for the finishing hack.

_Whi-CHAAK!_

Leon didn't twitch as blood flew an inch in front of his face and the head rolled near his feet.

A young Akita ran forward, and Leon swung his blade upwards, slicing her body up the middle to her neck. He tossed the blade to his left hand and slashed her body in half with a horizontal slice.

Wolf couldn't see much from where he was….just Leon jumping and a flash of silver every time he swung the knife.

_STOMP! STOMP!_

Leon back-flipped into the air as a dead Venomian Scout ran for him from behind with a machete.

Still in the air, Leon laughed. "Ha! Cut me down!"

_PLRTCCHHH!_

Like stabbing a sword into a stone, Leon plunged his blade into the Venomian's thick skull, and landed on the ground swiftly.

"…if you can."

_SLICE!_

Leon twirled once, knife held out in front of him, and resumed his recent spot.

"…which you _can't." _

He laughed cunningly. Leaping into a mid-air somersault, he landed on another corpse, a cougar with a hole in his stomach.

Hooking his blade around the corpse's neck and flung him into a crowd, knocking them over.

Leon dashed through a new wave of the dead, and made his way to Wolf.

"_Hua-HA!"_

Leon twirled the blade in his hands like a poker dealer with an Ace, he swept in front of the corpses that held onto Wolf, slashing their arms off of him.

Wolf wasted no time. "Give me your grappling chord, _quickly!"_

Leon, whose experience was not to question Wolf's orders in situations like this (since he got out of tight situations all the time), ruffled through his jacket and tossed him the grapple gun.

Wolf grabbed Leon's arm and fired at one of the room's stalactites.

_PWEEEEOOW!_

The small sliver chord shot at the nearest one and they were both hoisted off of their feet. They flew over the crowd of corpses and landed in an inhabited area of the cave.

The corpses loomed over to where Wolf and Leon were, beginning to surround them.

Back to back, the Star Wolf Team drew their weapons and faced the army.

"What the hell took you so long?" Wolf said irritably.

"I tried to get inside," Leon said reproachfully. "I heard you screaming, I tried to get the door open, but it auto-locked on me. When I tried to force my way in, those Stealth Scouts we met on our way here attacked me. I killed most of them, but one injected me with something that made me pass out. When I came to, I picked the lock and came in to see you with all these zombies. What's up with you?"

Wolf gripped his Claw. "Just the usual."

The 'zombies' kept circling them.

"Did you find what you were looking for here?" Leon's eyes darted around the crowd.

"More or less," Wolf said with distaste.

"Well, we're gonna end up sounding just like Andross if we don't get out of here."

Wolf's eyes darted around. "Still working on that…"

The Andross drones leered closer. "Fools! You can't escape your inevitable deaths! Your bodies will never leave this planet, let alone this room!"

Wolf looked around desperately.

_Their blocking the way out…_

_Fighting our way out of here will be pointless if they just keep coming back…besides there's too many of them…_

_There has to be a way to..._

Then it struck Wolf. He dared not look at it, otherwise Andross would know…

_The machine…_

_I gotta destroy it…_

Wolf muttered to Leon. "I need to get on the opposite side of the room. But I need to draw them away first. Try my left pocket."

Leon nodded, catching the drift. "I'm on it."

He marched up towards the zombies.

Wolf cocked his head.

_That isn't what I told him to do…_

_What the hell is he doing?_

Leon stuck his knife into the ground. "Okay…Andross. You win." He spread his arms wide. "Go ahead. Do your worst."

Andross's army shifted suspiciously. He suspected something. "Don't try to play games with me, boy. I don't know what you're planning, but the outcome is predictable: you won't leave alive."

Leon smiled. "If that's your predicted outcome….then you really _don't _know what I'm planning."

In an agile flash of movement before either Andross or even Wolf could blink, Leon snatched a round object from Wolf's pocket and tossed it into the crowd, before turning his head to yell to him: _"Go!"_

The silver orb hit the ground at the corpses' feet. _Tink!_

_KRSH-ABOOOOOOOOOOOOM!_

Wolf backed off, with a hand over his face to repel the blast.

In the smoke, he saw Leon dive into the fray, digging his boot onto the handle of the knife so that ripped through the boot's toe, fashioning a quick foot knife. Balancing with incredible acrobatic skill, Leon ripped his legs into scissor kicks and strikes, the blade protruding out of his boot, slicing and ripping at the corpses, one by one.

Wolf took a moment to smile. _Man, Leon…_

_One thing that hasn't changed about you…._

_Even I can't predict what you do next…_

Then, he took his chance to whip out the grapple chord while the army of corpses were lost in the grenade smoke.

"_GAH! _You filthy reptilian scum! I will dissect your innards once I get a hold of you!" Andross spluttered. But one corpse looked around, eyes wide. _"O'Donnell! _Where are you? Come out, you insufferable coward!"

Leon back-flipped back, luring the zombies over to where he was. Nothing but a dead end and a lab table.

He watched the corpses lumber towards him. He kicked his foot against the ground and the knife flew back into his hand.

Then he saw a new scheme weave itself. The table he stood in front of held racks with multiple test tubes….each filled with bubbling liquid.

Leon's blue eyes glinted with newfound insane demonic mischief. _So many to choose from…_

"DON'T TOUCH THOSE, you scaly freak!" Andross spat (multiple times from multiple mouths). "My life's work is on that table, and if you think I'm going to let you-"

_SHATTER!_

Leon had already picked up a jug of chemicals and hurled it at a zombie's face. The voice of Andross screamed in anger, as the corpse's ugly face broke out into giant blue acne the size of tennis balls, sprouting and swelling, like fast-motion growing vegetables.

Leon stroked his face in a mock scientific manner. "Interesting reaction. But not quite satisfying." His finger hovered over some more chemicals.

"YOU SHIT-FILLED GREEN PSYCHOPATH!" Andross roared. "I'LL SEND YOU TO HELL-"

_KER-SHATTRA!_

Red liquid exploded from the shards of yet another thrown test-tube, this time hitting a cougar corpse straight in the face, causing orange flames to explode all over his head and flaming out of his eye-sockets. The charred body collapsed…only to rise again in a matter of minutes.

"HAHAHA!" Andross laughed. "Pathetic imbecile….my army cannot die….they are not mortal like you. They can go on and fight in my stead for a thousand years if I wish it…but your body will only take a minute to wipe out."

For a moment, Leon said nothing, the roguish grin gone from his face.

"I can see you finally understand that you're dealing with a genius. Surrender, Powalski….I can make your death painless in your favor if you cooperate. I wouldn't have the excuse to mutate you into something….unrecognizable."

Then, as if some new demon possessed him, Leon started laughing queitly.

"HA! _Excellent. _I'm sorry but this is too good to be true…the only thing I enjoy in combat is making my enemies suffer...but the toll of the torture usually kills them…but _now…" _He twirled his blade in his hands so it gave off a wicked glint. "I can torture you as much as I like….and you all keep coming back for more! It's like an endless joyride! But unfortunately, it won't last long."

The expression on the soldiers looked confused at first. But they all shifted around to see Wolf running towards the machine.

All of their eyes widened. _"NO!"_

Wolf drew his Claw and brought it down on the volcano-shaped machine.

_CLANG!_

The minute steel met metal, the entire machine lit up with an electric blue counter-shock. Wolf jumped back to avoid the shock just in time.

The electricity sizzled for a moment, and then stopped.

Wolf glared at this new frustration.

"_What?" _he muttered under his breath.

"Did you really think it would be that easy? Not likely," Andross smirked on a hundred faces. "I wouldn't dare leave my machine unguarded and vulnerable to your destructive abilities, so I programmed the router to auto-lock an impenetrable shield, which your foolish attacks cannot even pierce. You overestimated yourself…but then again, that's nothing new for you, is it, Wolf?"

"_HARGH!" _Wolf stabbed his Claw in rage into the machine, again and again and again…

_SHWU-PANG!_

_TING!_

But the result was the same, no matter the force, no matter the number of blows.

"You're a fool to resist me, O'Donnell. Now you will take your rightful place, as a mindless servant in my army, along with your friend!"

The corpses moved closer, taking out knives and other decaying weapons from their rotting belts.

Wolf stepped back, backing up against the machine…

_Shit…_

_There's no way out…._

_For either of us…. _

He glanced at where Leon was. He was fighting the incoming corpses with ease, but he couldn't fight forever. Neither of them could….

Wolf closed his eyes trying to concentrate…

_There isn't any way to destroy the machine…_

_I can't destroy it from the outside…_

His eyes opened.

_But…_

_There has to be a way to shut it down…ALL machines have an off-switch….even Andross's demonic ones…._

_The only way to destroy it manually is to get into its wires…_

He looked at the ground hopelessly…

_With shields like those….it must be powered by a power source, running under ground…._

_But there's no way I can reach it…._

Wolf looked at the corpses, which were less than fifty feet away, and closing in…

He gritted his teeth. He felt like a trapped animal, with no way out…

He slammed his fist into the machine with frustration. It shook, causing the ground to rumble slightly.

That's when Wolf heard it: _Tinkle-tinkle…_

He looked around.

Right behind the machine was a lab counter, with experimental equipment on it. He recognized the radioactive symbol on a few of them…the glass test tubes tinkered as they were moved from the noise.

Wolf gritted his teeth.

_This is crazy…_

_I can endanger myself…but I might get Leon caught in the mess…._

_It's the only way…_

Wolf glanced at the rack. He knew from experience that Andross kept the more fragile and dangerous chemicals in the smaller test tubes…

Noticing the sudden change in Wolf's direction of attention, the corpses controlled by Andross paused.

"What are you doing?"

Wolf's eyes were fixed on the smallest test tube: a vial the size of his thumb, with glittering golden liquid in it.

Andross shouted all of a sudden. "STOP! _NO!"_

"Leon! _Get away!" _Wolf shouted, before he hurled the little vial at the ground near the machine.

The corpses all screamed simultaneously, charging instantly for Wolf, gnarled claws and knives flailing.

"_NOOO! _YOU STUPID BOY! THAT'S-"

Wolf backed up as far as he could against the wall and yelled. _"FIIIIRRREEE!"_

The little vial hit the floor.

_Tink._

_**KER-!**_

A storm-cloud of exploding inferno hurled in destruction in all directions, sweeping a fiery phantom the size of a skyscraper. It swept an abnormally large cloud of orange spark-studded black smoke over a flooding circulating ring of fire. The impact of the blast shook the entire cave, uprooting giant black obsidian from the ground, ripping stalactites out of their ashy sockets. The impact of the following shockwave tore the equipment in the room apart. Tables were upturned and blown to splinters and their test tubes exploding with the combined impact of the shockwave and the brush of heat against their chemical surfaces.

Leon ran from the direction of the blast, the ground underneath him crumbling with the explosions impact. He dove under a firmly placed boulder and huddled behind it, panting, the shockwave wind blasting his face so hard that he kept his eyes shut, the explosive impact bashing and shrieking against his hiding spot.

Wolf had nowhere to hide. He was only a hundred feet from the explosion, but the purple fire he generated as a weak shield managed to give him some protection. But only just enough to keep him from disintegrating from the blast. He shut his eyes, keeping his feet firm in the ground, the destructive and shrieking waves of wind ripping at his ears. Test tube shards, rocks, and table splinters flew into him mercilessly. Soon, the blast caused a wave of dust to soar over him.

He doused the effort to keep his Fire going and sprinted away from the blast, but the impounding wave of stormlike shocks of wind pushed so hard on him that it literally lifted Wolf off of his feet and threw him across the cave.

_CRAAAAASHH!_

_KRAAASH!_

The entrance to the cave was blasted open into a bigger one as the shockwave blasted the weak structure of black rocks that made up the entrance, like water breaking a dam. The inferno swept out through the cave, devouring all the rock and glass in its path. The corpses were lost in the shockwave, some exploding into flames, or torn apart by the intense exploding winds, or simply just disintegrating into bloody ash and fur. The machine itself started to twist and bend and dent, like a tin can under the pressure of a metal compactor, until it cracked and exploded in a minor buzz of electricity and sparks.

_WHOOOOOOOOOSHHHHHHH!_

The dust storm came to a halt. The fire died.

The explosion was over.

Leon lifted himself from his cover, brushing rubble and soot off of his jacket.

He looked around, almost stunned at how much damage the chemical had caused.

The good news was that the cave hadn't caved in on them.

The bad news was that it ripped out most of the floor. Almost all the rocky floor had been demolished. It made a deep concave chasm into the middle of the room. It was warmer in the room now, primarily because the sheet of thick rock that separated itself from the volcano's lava was gone. A giant, exposed pond of green lava stood before Leon, bubbling and frothing intensely, causing heat to rise.

Small flecks of dark ash rained from above, and dusty smog was still present in the room. Flames roared in various spots.

Charred bodies lay scattered around the room, some only blackened skeletons now, others with grisly injuries like giant molten holes in their bodies or raw smoldered red muscle hanging off of them.

But none were standing. The room had gone silent.

Wolf pushed a rocky heap off of him, coughing as he inhaled dusty ash while he rose to his feet. He breathed heavily. The cuts and bruises all over his body proved that his feeble shield of Fire hadn't lasted as long as he'd liked. He winced as he pulled a deeply dug-in shard of glass from his arm. Crushing it into sand, Wolf walked over and pulled his Claw from the ground, and sheathed it into his belt.

He heard a slow breath.

Wolf drew his blaster on instinct

He looked over to see Andross, or at least his brain and eyeballs, fully back to their physical form, lying on the ground (so to speak).

The eyes rolled over hatefully into Wolf's direction.

"_Stupid…._ignorant…crazy…" Andross panted. "…lousy…half-seeing….fatherless….little…SHIT! Do you have any idea what it was in that vial? _Nitroglycerin! _Do you have any idea what the impact of that kind of explosion will do?"

"More damage to you than me," Wolf said, blaster locked onto Andross.

"You fool….don't you understand? This volcano is still active! An explosion like that could trigger…"

_RRRRRRR!_

The slow rumble caused them all to look up. The giant noise sounded like the growl of some enormous animal, churning deep below the ground.

"…an eruption." Andross spoke in irritated resignation.

The ground began to shake, like a falling star cruiser. The stalactites on the ceiling and break off into the lava pit with a _hissss. _Black rock began to emerge with ash from the walls like miniature avalanches. The green lava began to resin and froth, its heat growing, brimming up the chasm's charred rock walls like rising tides.

Leon looked around anxiously.

"Wolf, we've got to get out of here.Now!"

"Yes, Wolf run!" Andross yelled lividly. "You cowardly little whelp….run like weakling you are. It won't change the fact that your body will rot here where it was trained to do my will! I know what you really are and always will be, even if you refused to believe it! You will not live to see another day….I promise you….you will die my creation, and awake a slave in my new army…."

"ENOUGH!" Wolf spat. "Your words don't do shit to me any more, don't you get it? You've lost, Andross….you've failed…"

Andross low, evil voice rang through the room, sounding more menacing than the rumble of the eruption going on around them.

"I have not failed…"

"_You've failed!" _Wolf growled. "You're a failure and you know it. You've been defeated by a mere human…._thrice. _You don't affect me anymore….your manipulating murmurs pierce my soul no longer…no longer will you break me down with dark reminders of my past….I've overcome your influence over me. I've broken free. I'm done…and you can't barge me from doing anything I'm capable of. You don't influence my battles, my decisions, my every move…._you never have! _I fight because I choose to, because I choose to spill the blood of the veins of those who oppose me….to defend the ones I will die to protect….and even if you did manipulate some of the things I've done….I don't give a shit if you did. It only means I'm capable of doing them. I'll do bigger and better things….feats that make taking down a warship with my bare hands seem like child's play….things even _you _won't be able to predict! You think you have the answers to everything….a scheme to break down everyone….but deep down, you're weak. You sit upon a throne of lies and deceit, forged from the bones of the lives of people you've destroyed. You're so weak, that even Fox was able to mop the floor with your miserable floating ass. You keep telling me that I'm an experiment, that I'm artificial…..well, even _you _can't copy human genes, Andross. I'm not a mutate, or some test-tube bred spawn. I'm the son of two people….and even if I don't want it, their blood was flowing inside of me long before you could touch me….my Inner Power is my own….my choice is my own….my fate is my own!"

"Your pathetic attempts for freedom will only make you fall harder to the ground!" Andross said triumphantly, but Wolf could hear the waning defeat in his voice. "The galaxy will never accept you as an equal…not after your past…..not after you chose to side with me…they will track you down….like a hunted animal…"

A dangerous and rebellious streak glinted in Wolf's eyes. "Let them try. I've cheated the government, the galaxy, the truth and death a thousand times over! I don't care. As long as I'm the leader of Star Wolf, I will always fight to the death! I don't need the galaxy to pity me….being an outcast, a slave to fate has made me powerful enough to endure. I only need to see the difference between people like Fox, and evil Satan spawn like you. I don't need to pick a side….I don't need to serve anyone but myself and my Team! I'll watch the galaxy pick sides…I'll let them determine what's good and evil. I'll watch them all fall, one by one….and I will remain my own. Whether they see me as a cold-hearted murderer, or a sickening hero like Fox (and I'll make sure they _won't_), I will always answer to only one person: _me. _And if anyone tries to come against me….if anyone dares to try and see through my weaknesses and bring me down…." _SHING! _Wolf flexed his Claws. "…then all who oppose me better prepare for the wrath that is Wolf O'Donnell! And as for Star Fox….well…he'd just better be ready to hold on for dear life in preparation for what's coming to him! You tried to grab a hold of me…and use my past against me….but after tonight…in every inch of this galaxy, all will know that no matter how many you make me kill…no matter how you try to kill me…no matter how terrible your fury is…no matter when you decide to destroy me….that I overcame your grip, and used it against you!"

"Then do it!" spat Andross. "Kill me…in this state, I am vulnerable…but remember, Wolf….if I die, my knowledge about your father dies with me."

The angry light in Wolf's eyes faltered. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't you see, Wolf?" Andross said in his sly, manipulative voice. "I know about your father…both your parents. I know what became of both of them….imagine, Wolf….what you could gain, by letting me live….to access the knowledge that thousands have only guessed at….everything that you've ever wanted to know about your parentage…the people you never knew… the dark history that lies in the shadows where you cannot grasp it…."

Wolf's eyes turned wide.

_All the answers…to everything…_

_Everything I've ever wondered about…_

"Yes…" Andross said silkily, catching the mysterious glow in Wolf's expression. "Just do as I say, Wolf….we can explore the secrets of your father together….who he was….how he really felt about you….why he left you at all….the answers you've always yearned for….it's the only way to know them…if I die….they die with me…"

Wolf was silent for a long time.

Everything he had always wondered about….the dark, endless mysteries surrounding his man he never knew…

The answers that remained in the shadows of his mind…

He was so close to them….what if this was the only way….?

_This may be the only chance to find out about where I come from…_

Wolf looked at the palm of his hand.

_About _who _I come from…_

_I may never have this chance for the rest of my life…_

Wolf looked up.

"No."

Andross looked confused. "No? What do you mean, 'no'?"

"I don't need to know anything about him. He's gone from my life now…to be honest, he was never a part of it to begin with. If I wanted answers about him, then I would have gone hunting for them years ago. So you can keep them." Wolf raised his blaster, his expression focused. "The name Maxwell O'Donnell means nothing to me now. It didn't make a difference when he left me on this hell-forsaken rock." Wolf's expression glowered with dark embers of hate, but also with pain. "I want nothing to do with him."

_RRRR!_

More rocks were falling into the lava….

Judging by how quickly the room was falling apart, the volcano was most likely going to erupt in an hour…

Andross's eyeballs glared at Wolf. "Go on, then….prove that you're as merciless as you say you are….finish me off….become the hated scum that I knew you were from the beginning….pull the trigger!"

Wolf raised his blaster, a murderous glare burning in his purple eyes.

In front of him, was the hateful, scum-filled broken shell of a scientist that had ruined everything in the world as he knew it. He had belittled him his whole life…made him feel unequal to human beings…a freak, an outcast…he had told Wolf that he was nothing, the ape that had closed corners around him for eternity, been the obstacle that he couldn't overcome, like everything else. The dark shadow over his life, his soul, pulling him into a cumbersome pit of despair and anguish. He had taken everything from him….his Team…his reputation…his revenge….his allies….the people he trusted….this was the foul creature that had taken Wolf's identity, stripping him of his old face. This was the loathsome insect that plagued every waking moment of his existence. He had been so close to killing Leon, the only friend he had left in the galaxy…

He had destroyed Cerinia…took Krystal from him….

Wolf gripped his blaster. He fingered the trigger…

He would do it…

He could end it, right here…right now….

His hand curled around the trigger…

Wolf looked at the hateful thing that had caused so much death…so much pain…

And not just to him…..but the whole galaxy…

His finger pressed the trigger harder…

Leon watched, eyes wide. _Do it, Wolf! What're you waiting for?_

_Click._

Wolf clenched his fist. He opened his eye.

Slowly, he lowered his blaster…

Andross looked at him coldly. "What's the matter, Wolf? Too weak to do it? Not man enough to take a life? Ha." He laughed cruelly. "Pathetic."

Wolf stared long and hard at Andross, not saying a word, his single purple eye fixed on him.

"You're not worth it," he said quietly. "You're not worth me doing it. You're not worth anything. It would go against my morals to kill you."

Andross laughed maniacally. _"HAHAHAHA! _Oh, you….you are _so _predictable, it's almost disgusting! Let me guess….you don't want to take the life of someone weaker than you? Strong opponents only? The usual load of bull? Or perhaps you're saving your rage for Fox and company, is that it?"

"Shut your ass up," Wolf said, pocketing his blaster, his attitude picking up. "It's got nothing to do with that. It's _because _of my revenge to settle with Star Fox that I won't kill you."

Andross narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"I know better than anyone about revenge, Andross. And the only thing worse than having the person you despise most defeat you in combat….is having him killed by someone else other than you. Revenge isn't something you can have multiple times. You can only have it once. That's why I won't kill you. True…you've done a lot more to me in terms of making me suffer…but…" Wolf opened his eyes. "You've taken more from him than you have from me. You killed his father…not mine. And James McCloud was nothing special to me, so it's not worth me killing you. If I killed you here, now….I'd take the revenge away from Fox. Despite our rivalry…I'm not one to do something like that…not after I know how much revenge means to a person. You're his prey…not mine. And to be honest, you're the last living thing in the galaxy that I would stay in a room with…let alone hunt. You're insignificant."

Wolf turned and walked towards the lava pit, where the exit was.

Andross sat there, watching Wolf walk away, a heated, intense, dangerous fire burning in his eyes.

"Then it appears…" Andross said quietly, but in darker, more clamorous voice of deep, insane demeanor. "That I have no further excuses….to let you live."

Before Wolf could take another step, a familiar wave of pain attacked his body….inside and out.

His eyes widened.

_Wh-?_

BRRRRZZZZZZZ!

The blue electric shots plunged in and out of his body all over again, spinning rapidly around him, only this time, they were sharper, hotter, and more painful than before, almost preventing him from feeling the oxygen touch his scorching skin.

"_AAARGHH-**ARRRGHH!"**_

Wolf screamed as the electric shocks gripped him instantly, sending him back onto the ground in a painful thrust of heavy, aggravating pain. It was like someone was wrapping barbed wire over his bones and under his fur, if the wires were white-hot and energized by lightning. His legs became numb again…his brain tore open with agony….everything was becoming blurry…

"_WOLF!" _Leon shouted and charged forward, but….

It wasn't Andross. He was just floating nearby, observing the scene. All the machines in the room were broken from the blast…

How was this happening?

Leon turned at the sound of footsteps coming through the wrecked entrance…

His eyes become filled with hatred and disgust.

Pigma.

He was walking from the entrance, his big, rotten grin smugly placed on his fat face. In his hands was a flat panel device, which his grimy fingers were working at rapidly.

Wolf, despite the pain that was ensuing, looked up.

_Another remote….?_

Pigma grinned nastily. "Think you're so tough, eh, O'Donnell? See your giant claws and teeth and Inner Power can help you against electric repulse on HIGH PRESSURE!"

Leon ripped out his blade and charged forward. "Damn you, Pigma, _you foul traitorous son of a-"_

Then, Pigma did the cheapest and dirtiest trick he knew to wriggle out of a fight.

_BR-ZAAAM!_

Swapping the remote to his left hand, Pigma pulled out his blaster and fired.

"_Arrghh!" _Leon clutched his leg, and fell to the ground.

Pigma laughed harshly and threw a swift but not nearly athletic enough kick at Leon's face, causing his crippled body to drag over the rocky floor.

Pigma spat on the ground near Leon. "Psh. Scaly freak."

He smirked in Wolf's direction and pressed his grubby thumb harder on the button.

Wolf gasped in pain as the bolts increased in size and devastation, their snake-like blue neuron bolts sinking deeper into Wolf's skin, like a wave of untreatable wounds that were infecting at a rate of seconds.

Andross hovered higher, as if regaining footing. "If you think that I'm just going to let another experiment make a fool out of me and just walk off then you're wrong." The insane charisma shone in his murderous eyes. "Not again…._never again…._no specimen I trained is going to become smarter than me….I'm going to end this for good…now, finally….I will finally bring the punishment an animal that escapes deserves….now, I will finally complete the circle, of something I started….you will not escape from this place….you think you're special, don't you? Well, you're NOT! You will die, just like all the others in your place who tried to oppose me….here, in the place where I trained you to speak and walk….I won't have it anymore….no one can outsmart me….not you or her or ANYONE! I don't care who it is….man, child, dumb, deaf, blind, young, old, weak, strong…._no one _can oppose me! MY POWER IS THE ULTIMATE! NOT YOURS! I am invincible, all-powerful, dominant upon all races….smarter than any living thing….I AM! NO ONE ELSE! You think you're so powerful…..that you can somehow win….but you'll only die like the rest. And when your flesh has rotted…your bones turn to ash….you will not be remembered….you will be a shadow of mystery and myth. When they will speak of the New Venomian Era…they will tremble beneath me….all living things will shudder at the very mention of my name….I WILL BE INVINCIBLE…and no experiment of mine will resist my rule….all who exist only live to serve _me…._and your corpse will be the first shred of proof of that undying fact!"

"_AAAAAARGGHHHHH!"_

Wolf wriggled and writhed on the floor, as he received the electrifying impulse that could power a generator. He screams of agony were drowned out by the buzzing and hissing of the electric bolts, that were churning under his skin like acid freezing the blood from flowing in his body, wrapping their deadly currents around his skull….

Andross looked down at Wolf's weakened body with cruel content.

"Farewell, Wolf O'Donnell. You made a fine specimen….but not a perfect one. You've opposed me for the last time….and you will join the rest of my failed experimental pilots. I only hope you manage to see Fox's father and your own on the other side as well. But one thing's for sure…" The insane, bloodthirsty red and yellow eyes shone. "I will enjoy looking into your dying eyes and listening to your agonized screams as you die. That sound never gets old…..no matter who I destroy. Dengar!" he barked in Pigma's direction. "Dispose of him."

Pigma smiled cruelly. "Huaheheh, don't mind if I do."

_Click!_

Wolf felt the horrible rush down to his legs, the nerves in his body shutting down and opening up with more blistering pain. The invisible force driving the bottom portion of his body caused him to rise, with his hands hanging down lifelessly by his sides…

His feet moved forward, an electrifying force of gravity pushing him forward, making him walk against his will….

…towards the edge of the pit of lava.

Wolf struggled and shook, trying to shake himself out of the control of the chip, trying to resist…

He looked up with painful effort, his burning glare fixed on Pigma.

"YOU LYING, POISONOUS, LOATHSOME SACK OF SHIT!" Wolf yelled in rage, wishing his arms were free so that he could shred that stupid grin of Pigma's face with his claws. "You _never _miss a trick to betray people for your own personal gain at the last minute, do you?"

Pigma frowned. "At the last minute? Don't load that crap on me…..I planned this from the start."

Wolf's eyes widened. "What?"

Pigma's tiny eyes flashed greedily. "This was _my _plan, you stupid kid. I lured you to the Orbital Station over Corneria so you could find me. And you did….sure, the pain I endured when you almost beat me to death as a result of our 'reunion' was tough to go through….but it was worth it for the amount Andross paid me!"

Wolf bared his teeth. "F-F-_gasp_-ck…._you…"_

Pigma smiled hatefully. "Aww, that's not very respectful. How's about we change that insufferable attitude?"

He turned up the notch on his remote.

Wolf's painfully forced pace became faster, going to the very edge of the pit. The lava had risen extremely high….the heat and carbon dioxide building up in the air in front of him was burning his eyes and making him sputter. The intense heat churning from the bubbling lava caused the air around Wolf to get hotter and hotter, and a bead of sweat rolled down the fur on the side of his neck.

"A shit-sucking coward…a diseased weak shitpile…_quite the snake…_wasn't that what you said I was?" Pigma gloated, enjoying seeing Wolf in this weakened state. "Well I'll tell you what, _Wolf…_I'm gonna enjoy watching you turn golden brown down there…almost as much as I'm gonna enjoy hearin' ya scream! Because I always get what I want in the end….my beautiful reward…."

Wolf gritted his teeth and looked up weakly. "You…_traitor…._you've betrayed Star Fox…Star Wolf….how many more will you deceive till you're satisfied…?"

"As many as I want!" Pigma snorted. "And more….you'll see. Just remember…._no one_ gets a step ahead of me….poor ol' Peppy thought he was a step ahead of me…and now, he's a sick old coot wanderin' around in a battered star freighter! And me…well…" He smiled, showing off his brown, broken teeth. "I'm livin' large…because it isn't about pilots or ships…..it's only about survivin'…and havin' the money to survive in style! But don't worry! I'll have the fame, too….once yer dead, I'll go back and spread the word, that I, Pigma Dengar, the last lone member of Star Wolf, returned after defeating the weak puppy, Wolf O'Donnell!"

Wolf was about to shout the worst curse he could think of, but his feet betrayed the rest of his body. He slipped and fell over the edge, the lava about to crash into him…

_CRACCCK!_

One of Wolf's arms shot back to life and clawed at the edge of the cliff-like rock that hung over the bubbling volcanic pit. He hung on for dear life, drenched in sweat, the steam from the fatal lava below beating against him his legs dangling over, his eyes fixed upwards, determined not to look down…

All he heard was Pigma's sickening laugh.

"_Huauahhahahehergeggh!" _He snorted, revolting spit flying from his mouth. "Haaaah, you should see yourself, right now, O'Donnell! You look so pathetic! Just like an insect dangling over a bathtub!"

"Enough of this. Dengar, get on with it! Release his hands!" Andross barked, in an irritated but somewhat anxious tone.

Pigma's tiny eyes darted from Wolf to Andross. "Yeah, yeah, I'll do it, but just let me enjoy myself first!"

Andross rolled his eyes. "Hurry up!"

The cracked obsidian started to crumble under Wolf's claws. Only four of his fingers were latched onto the edge….he was going to fall…

Pigma bent down to look at Wolf from his perch. "Heheh…pathetic. Too bad Dad's not here to see you DIE!"

He stabbed the button with his grimy index finger.

Wolf's heart jumped as his grip was becoming weaker….._he was letting go…_

_No…_ he thought desperately.

_No! NO!_

_NO!_

Andross was getting impatient. _"Do it!"_

Pigma grinned stinker-like. "Stubborn fingers you got there…let me give you a boost…" He pressed the button again.

_CRACK! CRACK!_

Two fingers unlatched themselves by force, and Wolf's grip got weaker…

_No…NO…._

"That's one…" Pigma counted mockingly. "That's two….and hell, I never learned the rest. Bottom line is…"

His stubby finger hovered over the button. His tiny black eyes gleamed evilly…

"I've got two words for you…."

SLAM!

Leon smashed into Pigma, his arms locked around his throat from behind, gagging the traitorous hog, wincing and grinding his teeth as his broken leg was stepped on and twisted in the struggle. Pigma wriggled like a greased pig, but it was useless.

"NO! _I _have two words for _you!_" Leon winced. _"SMOKED-BACON!"_

_WHAM!_

Leon kneed Pigma in the crotch so hard that the smelly hog's teeth rattled, sending him practically flying in the other direction.

_CLATTER!_

The remote fell with a thump onto the rocky floor from Pigma's grip.

"_NO!" _Andross screamed in disbelief.

Leon dragged his body weakly across the floor, using his three-fingered hand to claw his way. The remote was only a few inches away…

Pigma got up, mouth twitching, blood trickling down his triple twins, now in real rage. He pulled out his blaster and shot at Leon.

Leon winced and groaned as the shots pounded on his shoulder, causing the back of his jacket to explode with blood. With his last ounce of energy, he pushed the remote over the edge…

Andross's eyes bulged. _"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

_PLOP!_

The steel remote hit the lava with a small heated splash, causing it to whizz in the bubbles before disappearing under the green, glowing molten heat.

Wolf looked up, the pain in his body melting away instantly, the nerves in his body returning….the heat from the lava filling him with an intense new rage, his entire body flowing with burning impulse of no mercy…

He was free.

Wolf sprinted up the cliff, back-flipped off of it over the entire lava lake and landed in front of Leon's weak body, trembling with rage, fists clenched, jagged teeth bared and spiky fur raised. His single purple eye looked ruthless and fearsome in the fiery glow of the lava, showing steely and merciless will to protect….

He flexed his arms and flung them by his sides into position, a glowing purple aura in the atmosphere around him, swirling into purple fire, whirling and glowing with an unnaturally hot ember in a storm of hellish roaring blaze….

"_!"_

_**!**_

A giant wave of towering purple flames sprang from the heated oxygen around them, glowing and burning with a hot, churning devestation that consumed everything within a foot and turning it into ash. The swirling waves of fiery inferno blasted a chute of energy, penetrating the rock on the walls to shake and crumble, for the magma underneath their feet to churn in its slumber, and send a pinnacle of destruction down into the giant pool of lava in front of him. The lava was shot forward from the impact of this sudden pressurizing force, like an invisible fist bringing itself down on the molten current, causng a splash large enough to touch the ceiling and hurl itself forward like a giant, blazing green tsunami, splashing its giant gripping hands and heaping them onto the opposite shore, right on top of….

"_!" _Andross screamed, right before it consumed him under its inescapable green jaws…

FWOOOOOOSH!

The heap of green lava pounded on the black rock, making a mountain of burning inferno, hissing and whirling. The rest of the lava poured back into the chasm, making a flowing and bubbling waterfall…

"_!"_

Andross wasn't visible from the mountain of lava, but his blood-curdling screams of agony from the lava burning and ripping at his hissing brain and eye-balls was being carried over the echoing rock-structure of the falling-apart cave.

"RAAAAAAURGGGGHHHH! LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME! YOU SELFISH, IGNORANT BRAT! I WILL CRUSH YOUR BONES TO ASH IF IT'S THE LAST THING I-_AUUUUGGGHHH!_

The rest of his sentence was drowned out by his own screams of pain, as he was engulfed in the flaming lava, being scorched and burnt alive.

Wolf panted in that spot, the rage faltering from his eyes. Then he stood straight and looked directly at where Andross probably was burning.

"You had me burned in a fiery pit till I was no longer recognizable, and then left me to die…." He released his clenched fists, staring into the glowing green lava. "Now….we're even."

Wolf turned and started to walk away.

"_FUUUUCKKK YOOOOU, STAR WOLF!" _Andross screamed. _"YOU WILL DIIIIIEEEEE! YOU ARE MY PROPERTY! MINE! MIIINNNNNNEEE!"_

Wolf halted in his footsteps, his face still away from Andross.

"You have nothing to do with my life anymore, Andross. You never controlled me, or ever had any over influence me. I was…am…and always will be my own person. And there's not a damn thing you can do about it. You can sit here and rot for all I care. I'm done with you. I'd say that I'm resigning, but….I was never on your side to begin with."

"_YOU PATHETIC, WEAK, FATHERLESS SPAWN OF HELL! YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE! YOU WON'T JUST COME IN HERE AND DESTROY ME, AND JUST LEAVE!"_

Wolf paused, and turned around. "That reminds me. I _did _come to Venom to do this."

He walked over to the pit of the lava. He tore a chunk from the red sash that served him as a belt. He then ripped off his eye-patch.

In a moment, Wolf was wearing the sash fragment as a hastily-forged substitute patch.

He glanced down at the black leather eye-patch. Andross had made it for him, years ago….he had worn it for so long….it now served as dark reminder of his previous allegiance…..his days in the Venomian Army….as Andross's slave…

It was Andross's shackles on him.

Wolf tossed the eye-patch into the lava, where it landed with a small ripple into the pond, before dissolving into flames.

"You have no more hold over me, Andross. We're finished."

He helped Leon to his feet and headed towards the crumbling exit.

Andross continued to scream. _"FOOOOL! YOU ARE NOTHING! YOU WERE ALWAYS NOTHING! YOU'RE A PATHETIC FAILURE! A FAILED EXPERIMENT! A LIVING LIE! YOU WERE BORN WITH A FALSE LIFE AND WILL DIE A FALSE DEATH! YOU ARE A CONFUSED, PATHETIC WASTE!"_

"No, Andross," Wolf turned to face him one last time, his purple eye gleaming with immortal defiance. "I'm just the living proof," he pointed to his eye-patch. "That vengeance alone triumphs."

And with that, Wolf marched towards the exit of the cave, leaving everything he had to do with Andross behind forever, along with the horrors and doubts of his dark past.

As he left, the cave continued to come down, crumbling and vibrating as stalactites came down, dusty walls came apart and crashed into each other, and the shelves and tables of experimental equipment were buried under the heavy and unstoppable rubble….along with Andross.

"_DAAAAAAAAAMNNNN YOOOOU, WOOOOOLF! YOOOOU WILL DIE, LIKE ALL THE REST! YOU WILL NEVER BE FREE OF ME! DO YOU HEAR ME? YOOOOOOUU WIIIILLL NEEEVER BEEE RIIIID OOOOOF MEEEEEEEEEEEE!"_

The cave began to crumble away and blow down to a heap of rubble. Andross's screams of revenge were drowned out by the low rumbling vibrations of the churning volcano. Dust and ash exploded from all sides, and the heat began to rise in the air. As Wolf and Leon made their way out of the cave, the black rock that was holding the weakened structure finally gave in to the pressure of the eruption. The giant carving of Andross's face that had once served as a giant entrance finally crumbled down. Opened fissures cracked open, and dusty waves collapsed over the once fearsome-looking face sculpture. Finally, as the cracks all over the massive face gave in to the destruction. The massive face split in two, bringing down the columns down with it.

_CRAAAAAAAAAAAAASHH!_

Both Leon and Wolf looked shielded their faces from the ash and rubble, as the ground around them shook and trembled from the falling architecture.

Finally, there was silence. They both looked up as the dust began to rise from the collapse, panting and dazed from the crumbled stone tomb that they had just escaped from.

Leon breathed heavily. "It's over."

Wolf looked at his friend's wounded leg painfully. "Leon….I…."

"Meh, I'll be fine," Leon smiled weakly. "Besides, having an injured leg is probably less painful than being controlled like you were."

Wolf clasped his shoulder. "I owe you…so much...after all you went through…you still saved my skin. I could never repay that." After hearing everything Andross told him about false friends and being a loner, Wolf felt relieved and a rush of gratitude towards Leon. He was glad….at least….he hadn't lost him.

Andross could never influence his friendship with Leon. Never.

Leon raised his eyebrows. "Seriously, dude, I'm fine. You're acting pretty emotional…" He cocked his head with concern. "Something happen in there before I got there?"

Wolf hesitated. "Nothing important." He looked away uncomfortably. "Let's just get out of here."

Leon glanced around the falling-apart interior. "No objections to that. Come on!"

They ran back to through the way they came, down the tunnels and rocky steps, dodging falling stalactites and crumbling rock walls as they made their way to the River Styx.

The River itself was bubbling in anticipation to the occurring eruption. Its green eerie appearance looked twice as dangerous with the volcano coming apart around it.

Leon looked around. "Where's the raft?"

Wolf's eyes darted around in sudden panic.

It was gone-the giant obsidian rock they had used to get across the river before….it was nowhere to be found.

Leon looked up. He froze.

"You have _got _to be shitting me."

Wolf looked at the end of the river to see that someone had already taken the raft and was half-way up the river.

"Huahahahahargh!" Pigma laughed. "Looks like you're too late, Star Wolf! I finally got the upper hand, this time! Don't ya just love a happy ending? I take off, unscathed and well-rewarded, and the Great Star Wolf Team gets buried under lava and ash! But thanks for providing me means to escape! Very generous of you, hauaharagheh!"

"_Pigma!" _Wolf roared. "YOU STINKING , COWARDLY BASTARD! GET YOUR FILTHY ASS BACK HERE SO I CAN SEND YOU STRAIGHT TO HELL!"

"Now, why would I want that when I'm a few feet from the exit with my reward in my pocket? NOT A CHANCE! Besides, if I helped you, I'd never get the fame for defeating Star Wolf? You think I won't pass the chance for fame and glory? Just the view of you both shrinkin' in the distance is rewarding enough for me! But don't worry…I'll be sure to close off the exit before you get there…just as a parting gift!"

"Pigma, you traitorous bastard!" Wolf pointed a claw in the filthy hog's direction. "I swear, I'll rip your innards out and string them from your fat nose _if it's the last thing I do!"_

Pigma laughed. "Go ahead and try, then! Oh, what's the matter? No transport? HA! You were always so good at escaping bad situations back on the Team, Wolf! You even rose from the dead just to see me! Come on, get yourself out of this one! But you better be quick about it…this volcano looks like its gonna blow any second now! Then you can say hi to daddy! Huahergeraheh-ha-_cough-!"_

He began to spit and cough in a rasped voice….probably a result of all the tobacco he'd been chewing lately.

Wolf stared long and hard at Pigma, his eye fixed on him. There was no way he catch up to him using another raft….not with all the lava that Pigma had covered by now.

_There's always another way…_

"Leon," He said instantly. "Can you make a raft of your own?"

Leon remembered how Wolf tore some of the rock from the wall with his claws. "No, probably not."

CRUNCH!

Using both hands, Wolf heaved a large, flat hunk of rock from the wall.

"Start paddling."

Leon looked confused. "Why? Where are you going?"

Wolf didn't answer.

_FSSSHHH!_

Leon only saw a blur of violet light, and Wolf was gone.

Pigma looked around in confusion. "Wh-?"

Then, Wolf reappeared…._on the walls of the tunnel…_sprinting down the rocky surface at blazing speed, disappearing in a blinding flash of violet and appearing a foot away…

He was using Wolf Flash to scale the walls. And he was drawing dangerously close to Pigma…

Pigma snarled and pulled out his blaster.

_Pa-CHAOW! Pa-CHAOW!_

The red blasts ripped at the crumbling black walls, but Wolf was already fast enough to dodge them easily. The shots spat holes in the wall, just inches from Wolf's gliding, jagged tail, as he sprinted closer and closer to Pigma…

Pigma yelled in frustration and pulled out his last, desperate cheap trick. A grenade.

"_RAH!" _He hurled it desperately at where Wolf was…

_Tch._

Wolf jumped into mid-air somersault, catching the grenade. He swept himself up to the stalactite-filled ceiling and tossed the grenade back.

_PRSHHHHHOOOOM!_

Pigma screamed in terror, even though the grenade missed and fell into the lava next to him, causing a blinding orange blast that caused an uproar in the river. Flaming green waves smashed against Pigma's raft, sending his fat body soaring in the air for a second. Arms flailing and yelling hoarsely through the top of his lungs, Pigma landed with a crash on his fat bottom.

Pigma cursed and rubbed his fat romp.

_Thunk. _SHING!

Drawing his Claw, Wolf landed on the rock lightly, and rose to face Pigma. There was no mercy in his eyes this time.

Pigma yelled and pulled out yet another trick from the greasy folds of his jacket: a steel knuckle.

He swiped it at Wolf's face and stomach, both of which Wolf dodged easily.

_CLANG!_

Steel met steel, and suddenly-

_BRZZZZ!_

Blue bolts of electricity shot from the knuckle's edge. Wolf quickly drew his Claw away as Pigma's electrically-charged steel knuckle flared with electricity.

"Haghagh!" Pigma laughed triumphantly and swung his humming steel knuckle in Wolf's direction.

Wolf swung his Claw above Pigma's head and blocked more blows from the knuckle.

_SHING! CLANG!_

Wolf jumped up and slammed the butt of his Claw into Pigma's fat face, causing him to stumble back slightly.

Pigma yelled and charged, swinging his knuckle at Wolf's chest and then snagging Wolf in the neck.

_BRZZZ!_

Wolf felt a lock of pain surge into a burn onto his neck from the electric shock. It was nothing close to the pain Andross used with the remote, but it was still painful, like a bee sting.

Wolf snarled and jabbed his Claw between the wrist guard of the steel knuckle and Pigma's own knuckle.

Pigma shrieked in pain, as the edge of the Claw dug brutally between his fingers.

_SHRR-ING!_

Wolf turned the edge of the Claw up and wrenched it off Pigma's hand. The knuckle landed with a sizzle into the lava, while Pigma grasped his bleeding hand.

_SLAM!_

Wolf switched the Claw to his left hand and delivered a swift punch in the face to Pigma.

The hog stumbled on his back on the ground, and Wolf slammed his foot onto Pigma's neck, planting him into the spot. He raised his Claw for the final blow…

_FWING!_

Wolf gasped in pain, as a sharp surge of agony seeped out of his ankle, along with blood.

Pigma jumped out of Wolf's grip and raked him on the leg with his new weapon, a fat, rusty combat knife. Slamming his stubby leg into Wolf's stomach and sending him on the ground on his back, Pigma bent over him.

_Cling!_

The Claw slipped from Wolf's grip and dug its blade into the ground. He slid near the edge of the raft, dangerously close to the green lava.

Grinning his brown-toothed look of triumph, he brought his knife down onto Wolf's face.

_Thwap!_

Wolf grabbed onto Pigma's wrist, trying to push the knife away from him.

The two wrestled the knife, away and near, Wolf struggling under Pigma's cumbersome weight. Pigma threw a punch at Wolf's face with a meaty hand, causing Wolf to lose grip of the incoming knife.

The blade flashed as it came down, and Wolf attempted to block it again…but Pigma swatted his hand away and plunged the knife into his palm.

"_ARGH!" _Wolf yelped in pain, as the red blade protruded from the back of his hand, all the painful nerves surrounding his bloody hand. Pigma, pushed the knife point towards Wolf's face, but Wolf did all he could to push his bloody hand away…

As they struggled, the raft began to tilt…

Wolf's side dipped more and more to the lava from the sudden increase of weight…his head lowered closer and closer to the rushing lava….now fighting both the danger of being stabbed in the face, or being burned by the lava…

Pigma laughed. "Hahahrghh! Stupid punk! You can't win….you don't know how much of a _loser_ you are…after all the fame and stories….you're gonna lose to me….and I can't believe you didn't kill me when you had the chance….you're just like the rest….James…Peppy…you think that betrayal gets dealt with eventually….that somehow I'll get caught…but I'll just keep running….because that sad stupid face that they all make when they realize the truth…it's something not even money can buy…."

"_RRRGH!" _Wolf struggled as he pushed his own impaled hand out of his face. He tried to reach for his Claw, but it was too far away….and the lava was getting closer to the back of his head…the warm heat beating against the fur on the back of his neck…

"Well, I'll tell ya a little secret, O'Donnell," Pigma leaned down, close enough to make Wolf's nose wrinkle from his rancid breath that stunk of rotten food and tobacco. "Teams come….and Teams go….but one thing will remain the same…._me. _You learned that too late….so tell me….how does it feel to die in the same hell-hole your bastard father dumped you?"

Wolf stared up at Pigma with a new singe of hate. Pigma didn't care about anyone….not James…or Peppy…or anyone he betrayed….he just kept on leaving people to die….and leapt at the chance to fill his greedy needs….

_But he's betrayed me for the last time!_

Wolf's claws curled around Pigma's enforcing knuckles, digging their razor-sharp points into his greasy stubby fingers.

He howled with pain and tried to force his hand down, pushing Wolf's impaled hand back down, but Wolf began to crush his hand around the handle of the knife, along with Pigma's fingers, pushing them under his chin.

Wolf swiped his hand out of Pigma's grip and swatted it upwards under his chin, slicing with the knife protruding from his hand.

Pigma yelled hoarsely as blood spurted from his triple-chins, and Wolf swung a merciless kick upwards, sending Pigma toppling off of him.

Painfully yanking the blade from his palm, Wolf grabbed his Claw. Pigma got up and grabbed the knife desperately, but Wolf was too quick.

He back-flipped off of the opposite wall behind him, and propelled upwards.

"_FIIIIIRRREEE!"_

The purple flames surrounded Wolf and sent him smashing as an impenetrable projectile.

"_HUUUUAAARGGHH!"_

Wolf smashed into the massive, jagged stalactites that covered the ceiling, the impact of his slam sending hundreds of missile sized rocky spikes from their black roots.

_CRRRAAAAAAASSSHHHH!_

Wolf twirled and slammed the broken-off stalactites with his foot in mid-air sending them smashing down onto Pigma, burying him under their deadly stone will, crushing him and the rock raft. Wolf plummeted down onto the giant rockpile, igniting on his way down and smashing on his feet into the black mound.

He jabbed his hand into the rocks and grabbed Pigma by the collar. The pig was now bruised and blistered from head to toe, clothes in tatters, blood streaming from his jaw. Wolf threw him into the air, before jumping after him, slicing and slashing at him with pounding and merciless blows from his razor-sharp Claw. Then, both of them in mid-air, he tossed Pigma up. When he came down, Wolf drew his arm back into a purple fiery fist and…

_SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASHHHHH!_

Pigma's mangled body smashed through the tunnel's wall causing him to fly back into a concave cave that had been forged from the crash.

Wolf jumped in after him, but missed, landing in the lava….

_FWOOOOOOM!_

A barrier of purple fire caused the lava to split away from Wolf's feet as he hit the ground of the river. The green lava currents spewed away, like the parted Red Sea, making a path for Wolf. He looked like such a terrifying image, with the lava churning around him, his path ablaze with purple fire, his teeth bared, holding his bloody Claw, his merciless eyes grazing everything in front of him…

Pigma, his eyes wide with terror, staggered back, attempting to make a run for it-

_THWAM!_

Wolf seized Pigma by the head and dragged his face against the rocky shore, which was now blazing hot and molten from the lava washing over it, so it was basically as hot as molten metal. Pigma screamed and wailed in agony as his face blistered and tore against the jagged, blazing rock.

_CRAAASH!_

Wolf threw Pigma against the wall.

_TRCH! _

_SLAM! _

_WHAM!_

_CRUMP!_

Wolf threw devastating punches at Pigma's face, so fast that his fists became blurry objects smashing into Pigma's fat cheek.

_CRWAP!_

_THWUNK!_

_SMAKK!_

Pigma didn't have the time to splutter or scream. The punches came faster and faster, each harder and more mightier than the first. And the heavier the punches got, the harder Pigma's skull smashed against rocky wall, the giant chunk imprint made by Pigma's body getting bigger and bigger…

Until finally…

_THWAP!_

Wolf slammed his hand against Pigma's throat, pinning him to the wall.

Pigma himself was so battered and bashed up, he looked like he had been thrown into a machine. His clothes were in burnt or bloody tatters, his face with gashes and bruises and cuts and fist-shaped dents. He had barely any teeth left in his bleeding mouth, and he had several gashes and slashes in his chest. His tiny eyes were huge with horror.

"P-Please…don't…_please…_I'm begging you…show mercy…." He garbled in terror.

"You betray my Team….you shot me with a missile while my back was turned….you left me to rot in a prison for _five years…._you hurt Leon….you tried to leave us here to die…._why the hell should I show mercy to your filthy hide?" _Wolf roared. "So you can come back and betray me again? No, Pigma….it ends now….you betray everyone….Star Fox….Star Wolf….you leave a trail of murders and betrayals wherever you go….and for what? _This?" _

He stuffed his hand in Pigma's smelly pocket and pulled out wads of Lylatines.

"How can you live with yourself? How far will you keep going for just money, Pigma…..how many more will die because of you? I should rip out your bones and stab you with them! I should express you to every painful death you've left others….but I can only kill you once…."

Pigma whimpered under his grip.

Wolf's eyes gleamed. "But I won't kill you. I'm sorry to say it….but you're too filthy for anyone to kill….like a diseased creature. I know what will practically kill you, though…"

Throwing Pigma on the ground, Wolf stormed over to the river and flung the bills into the lava.

"_What are you doing?" _Pigma screamed. "NO!"

But the bills rotted away into fiery crumples….slowly disappearing under the lava's green glow….

"_My reward! My beautiful reward!" _Pigma's eyes burned at Wolf with hate. _"RRAAAAAAAARGH! I'LL KILL YOU!"_

He charged clumsily at him.

_SKRACK!_

Wolf delivered another punch at Pigma, causing him to stagger back.

"Don't worry. I saved some for you."

He flicked some pitiful One Lylatine Bills at Pigma's feet, who picked them up desperately.

_SHING!_

Pigma screamed in pain, as Wolf plunged Pigma's own knife down into his hand, pinning it down to the ground, and through the bills, so that he was forcibly pinned down clutching his money.

Pigma pulled and yanked at the handle, but it was in too deep. He was locked to the ground. He looked up hatefully at Wolf.

"_YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! I'M APART OF STAR WOLF! I AM! I-"_

THRAAASH!

Wolf moved so quickly that Pigma didn't even see him budge from his spot. Wolf dug his long, jagged claws into his forehead, sinking them deeply and painfully, and then dragging his claws across into a fast and deadly swipe.

Pigma screamed to the top of his lungs and clasped the bleeding claw-marks on his face.

"No, Pigma," Wolf said in a firm, concrete voice. "You're not part of Star Wolf. To be honest, you never really were. You're a disgrace to all pilots, a plague on all Teams. Your greed overpowers the decisions you make. And betrayal isn't welcome on the Star Wolf Team. If it's not obvious already, you're off the Team. You're cast out…an enemy of Star Wolf, never to receive mercy from me on pain of the long and seemingly endless death I could make you endure. So make sure that I never find you, Pigma…..because if I ever see your filthy face again…it'll be the last moment your cowardly presence stinks up the galaxy. You wanna tell stories? That wound on your forehead will do the job. It's deep enough so that it will never heal, and will become an untreatable scar. It will mark you, so that the whole galaxy will know that you're an outcast, an exile. They will all know….just by looking at that scar….what the consequences are for crossing me. You want a reward? That is how I reward filthy traitors like you."

Pigma stared up at Wolf in disbelief. He had always run away from every betrayal he committed….every crime he did….this had never happened. Nothing ever caught up with him… He never had to live with his decisions…or be dealt with by the people he betrayed.

_CRUNCH!_

Wolf turned to see Leon pulled up by another raft, leaning on a long, narrow chunk of black rock that served as an oar and, in his case, a crutch.

"Sorry to cut the fun short, but this rockpile's coming down!" Leon yelled over the rumbling. "Do whatever you want, but make it quick!"

Wolf sheathed his Claw and walked towards him.

Pigma looked up in alarm. "H-Hey! Where are you going?"

Wolf, not looking back, stepped onto the raft. "Out of the volcano."

Pigma tugged uselessly at his hand, which was dug forcibly on through the bills by a knife on the ground. _"But what about me? _You can't….just leave me here!"

Wolf turned to face him. "I can….and I will. You've got your reward, Pigma. Use it….buy yourself a life." His face showed no mercy. "See if it can save you."

Pigma pulled and wrenched at the handle embedded through his hand. _"You can't just leave me here! _I'll get you for this, Star Wolf! I WILL! You won't be so smug then!"

Wolf glanced at Leon. "Let's go."

Leon nodded and paddled away.

Pigma's shape grew fainter and fainter as they got to the exit.

"_NOOOOO! DAMN YOU, STAR WOLF! DAMN YOU TO HELL! DOOON'T LEAVE ME HEEERE!"_

But his screams soon grew quieter under the loud and overwhelming drumming all around them.

As they reached the opening to the surface, Leon looked at Wolf with slight confusion.

"Why didn't you just kill him?"

"I thought about why you made me spare him the first time….and I also realized that death was too generous for someone like him. I gave him what he deserved…he chose a traitor's life, so now he faces the punishment."

Leon nodded with satisfaction. "Give the coward no way to escape. Clever."

But Wolf's thoughts were elsewhere. He knew that Pigma would get away…he always did. But he also knew that he would never cross paths with him again…not after tonight. Not with that painful reminder on his forehead.

_Besides, _he thought. _He'll die one day…_

_But not by my hands…_

_He'll be the cause of his own deaths…._

_One day…his own greed will consume him…._

_Just like Andross's hunger consumed him…._

_Fifteen minutes later…._

At first, there was nothing.

Just the dreary, typical, lifeless silence that always inhabited Venom's surface.

Nothing to suggest the destruction to come…

And then….

_**!**_

The sound tension shook every inch of the black rocky wasteland shook, breaking sound waves and blasting all the rock and ash in thousands of directions. Mountains surrounding the mighty volcano shook and collapsed, as the base created a ground fissure that practically divided the black badlands into two.

The first thing to escape the mighty mouth of Mt. Hecate was a giant mushroom cloud the size of a mountain itself, burning and howling, glowing bright yellow and horrifying green all at the same time. A dark and ominous fortress of black smoke surrounded the entire explosion, growing taller and taller. Flaming rock fragments, molten magma, and colossal mounds of glowing lava rained all over, some followed by paths of black smoke like missiles. Green lava dripped and oozed over the black mountain's face, like a massive bleeding wound, avalanches of blazing lava shooting down, consuming all in their path.

Then, the explosions reached the hem and the base, exploding with new wafts of black smoke and green lava. The giant smoking and molten boulders crumbled off of the top, causing even more magma to trickle off the sides. Green rivers slithered down the hill, slowly, sinking their essence into the cracked and barren ground.

Andross's Lab, a place where hundreds of sins and unspeakable evils had been concocted since before anyone could remember….was gone forever. The Lab….and hopefully….everything in it.

Meanwhile, past the lifeless atmosphere of the planet, a small stolen Cornerian Crusier zoomed away, unscathed.

Inside, Leon, resting his injured leg on a mesh pad, steered the ship off towards the endless path of stars. Wolf sat in the passenger's seat, gazing out the cockpit window at the giant green and forbidding planet getting smaller behind them.

Wolf stared down at the dark, endless gloom that blanketed the planet.

Just looking at it, horrible memories returned to his mind…

Days of struggle, horror, misery….

Pain….distraught….

A life of loneliness in those horrible dark caves….

Without a warm comfort in the world…being stuck with that seemingly endless feeling of coldness….

Wolf closed his eyes.

And now, he knew the horrifying truth behind it all…

Those terrifying truths Andross unveiled….that feeling that swept over him….

The feeling of being trapped….without a way out…like every next move was planned…..that fate was a lie…

Those heart-stabbing rewinds of his past….right before his eyes….

The taunts…the pain….

Even though he was leaving it all behind….it still stood as a dark shadow over his heart….

The things he had heard….the things he felt….

They would never leave him.

Leon looked at Wolf, whose anguished but calm reflection was visible from the pilot's seat.

"Wolf?"

Wolf opened his eyes. "What?"

"Are you alright?" His electric blue eyes sparked with concern.

Wolf looked away. "I'll be fine."

Leon was silent for a long time.

"Something….something happened back there, didn't it?"

Wolf didn't return his gaze. "Leon…"

"Andross said things to you in there….I didn't hear them, but….they did something to you. They made you….like this."

Wolf, his expression in stone, didn't answer.

"What happened?"

He looked even harder out the window. "Terrible things….nightmarish things….things I never knew…things…that I didn't think possible. It was scary…he knew so much…._too _much….he recited everything….like he knew it would happen….like he planned the whole thing….things…I hope you never have to see….things I want to forget."

Leon's expression became one of pity. "Things that manipulated you? Does….that mean….you've changed your mind?"

He remembered the determined gleam in Wolf's eyes….after telling him, on the way to Venom….the things that had changed Lylat forever, and that he didn't care….that he'd fight anyway.

"Does any of that change, Wolf? What you set out to do….what you do from now on…?"

Wolf was silent for a long time. Everything flashed in front of him:

The floating ashes of Cerinia…

The pain in his left eye when he swore revenge against Fox…

The dead expressions of the men he saw fall in the 302nd Legion…

Dark Wolf's bloodthirsty grin…

The frightened, innocent faces of the Kewan civilians he cut down…

…Krystal's last look before he left her…

He opened his eyes, a new determined, but now realized look in them.

"No." Wolf spoke in a firm voice, almost like he was assuring himself. "This doesn't change anything. This doesn't change anything at all….I know now more than ever what I have to do." He set the coordinates onto the navigational galaxy map and resumed his look outside, only this time, forward, onto the starry horizon. "Let's just stay on course."

Leon nodded, assured from the tone in Wolf's voice. He jerked the steering device lightly and proceeded onto the stream of stars.

Wolf lowered himself back into his thoughts.

_Nothing I heard down there…._

_Nothing I've learned…affects what I do from here on._

_There's nothing left for me back there. Only forward…_

_One thing's for sure…_

…_I'm never coming back to this place._

And the Cruiser drifted off into the endless stream of space, facing any dangers or obstacles ahead with a cautious but reestablished sense of confidence.

But their journey was only beginning…

_End of Chapter_

Good God, that was a bucket-load off my chest.

But all of this should serve as answers to some of the questions in the back of your minds. Was the zombie scene necessary? No, but it was an addition that came to me in the process of writing this chapter…

But I must say, I'm surprised that I've made it all the way to Chapter 5, and have accomplished so little. The main storyline hasn't even started yet!

This story's plot begins in the next chapter, so stay alert, Star Wolf fans!


	6. Chapter 6

**NOTICE:**

Hey, guys, it's me again! Yeah, I know what you're all thinking: "What took so God damn long?"

Heheh, well, that's kind of a funny story…

You see, I just got done with that ludicrous Andross chapter back in January (yeah, you're not the only one who thought it was tedious), when I was starting on my next chapter and started thinking on what the future of the plotline was gonna be like. So I laid out my overall plot in front of me, and well….

It sucked. It was HORRIBLE. I'm not even going to bother showing it to you. So, I scrapped it. I started all over, and I spent the last few months researching and brainstorming to make the story exactly as I promised: full of new characters, development, and relationships that would carry the story along.

So that's why it took so long. Hopefully, I'll be updating more frequently because school's almost over, so expect more chapters in the long run.

_Chapter 6: Justified Injustice: The Price of Peace_

_Unknown Vessel, 5 ALW _

"Ow…ouch! _GARGH! _DAMN IT!"

"Look, Wolf," Leon said for was probably the billionth time. "Squirming around like an insane Z-gull trapped under a net won't make it less painful!"

"AGH! Sorry," grumbled Wolf, wincing. "I don't know what's worse….the fact that I'm this battered up, or the fact that you putting on these bandages feels like I'm being mauled by a Venomian Dragoon with a saw!"

They were sitting near the observatory window in the traveler's quarters aboard a passenger ship. Their previous ship, the one that they had stolen before their trip to Venom, had been boarded by Cornerian Troops. In an attempt to escape attention from the authorities, they snuck on to an escape pod and found transport on Katina. It was a public cruiser, filled with passengers, so they could blend in easy.

So here Wolf was, wincing and shouting as Leon attempted to bandage him up.

But he was doing it roughly and without gentle attention, like he was healing Wolf at the tick of a time bomb.

"Ok, that's the last one!" Leon backed off reproachfully. "Besides, don't diss my healing skills. Shooting fire all over the place like a lunatic might look awesome, but it's not worth two Lylatines if you can't even patch yourself afterwards."

Wolf rubbed at his bandages gingerly, and sat down on his bunk. "When did _you _of all people get so good at healing? You're Leon Powalski! Your specialty is dismembering people, not putting them back together!"

"True," Leon stretched back into an egg-shaped chair. "But I took an advanced class in Human Anatomy back at the Flight Academy." _Snick! _He flicked out his switchblade and started shining its lethal edge with a strip of cloth. "I thought it would come in useful later on."

"Human anatomy, huh?" Wolf said, his eyebrows, raised somewhat. "That never seemed like your kind of thing."

"The more you know about the human body, the better you'll be at taking it down. Knowing all the weak spots. Assassin Rule #2….right after 'give enemies the most painful death possible.' And anyway," his tone became irritable. "It's your own fault you're not good at healing. You never did take any of the important classes…all you ever did was brag about how _awesome _the Team was gonna be-"

"Okay, you've made your point," Wolf snapped. "Jeez….you almost sound like Katt…"

Wolf sat back, his head out in space again.

_The academy….I wonder what's become of it now…._

He examined his bandaged hands wearily.

_And what's become of me…_

_But I guess Andross did a lot less damage on the outside…._

His eyes became pained.

He was still in recovery from the horrible events that had just taken place back on Venom. It wasn't something he could get over quickly…

The things that he had heard down there would haunt him forever. It filled him with a sense of fear and anguish that he never wanted to feel again. He had never felt so…so…

_Helpless._

He just stood there, in that dark cave, and listened to Andross manipulate him with self-afflicting truths…about him being nothing but an experiment…the feeling of being trapped without a way out. It was that precise feeling that made him feel helpless.

And on top of everything, Andross had almost broken his resolve. He had made Wolf cross the one boundary he drew when he fought…

His emotions.

_I can't let my emotions drive me into letting my enemies finding a weak point... _He told himself firmly. _If they see me give any additional emotion, they'll be able to predict what I do next…_

_Just like Andross…_

He remembered how corrupt the Lylat Wars had made him. How hungry for revenge he was back then…for battle…

How he almost lost himself…to that _thing _inside him…

_That's how this mess started in the first place…_

_My arrogance and bloodlust got a hold of me…I almost fell in…._

_I almost let everything important slip away…_

He looked at Leon.

Leon looked up, catching Wolf's expression. "Still thinking about what you heard back there?"

Wolf looked away. "No…that's behind me now. It's nothing."

Leon's eyebrows furrowed concernedly.

Wolf had told him everything. Andross's plans….his schemes….how he had let everything, including the War, fall into place…

Everything about Wolf's past, and how he controlled it…

_Well…_

Wolf thought about the sapphire in his pocket.

_Almost everything…I guess I just don't feel ready mentioning that yet…_

Leon broke the tense silence. "Look, Wolf, I can tell you haven't forgotten it. Just let it go…I mean….you can't really believe everything he said…"

Wolf looked at the ground sullenly. "I don't know, Leon….you weren't there. You weren't there in the room when he was describing everything…everything that had happened…." He clenched his fists. "Everything that was going to happen….like he knew it all…"

"I don't believe it," Leon said stubbornly. "And neither should you. I mean….I know Andross was a schemer from the beginning, but he can't have planned every single damn thing that's happened so far. No one can do that, least of all that ape. It's just…" His eyes searched around the room, desperately trying to find the right word. "..just…just not possible! Come on….the Red Baron? The Black Demon? Ricky Bang? Immelmann? Doolittle? He can't have overpowered all of them…they're the most famous pilots in history!"

"But what if it's true?" Wolf asked miserably. "What if….what if he's right? What if everything we know….about those legends, about flying itself….what if it's all just a sham? What if it's….just what he wants?"

"Oh, come on!" Leon said with an eye roll. "Why wouldn't he say something like that? He's just trying to get under your skin. Oldest trick in the book…trying to shake you off balance so that he can ruin your confidence. He tried the same thing with Fox, and you don't see him pouting like he's in a soap opera. The Academy….the Pilots…Flying…it's not in his control. It's a way of fighting that's existed for years…it's what's inside you and me, and it's not something he can touch!"

"I want to believe you, Leon….but…" He looked down in discouragement. "I can't help but feel that it's the truth…maybe I am just his experiment…maybe all those battles….all the things I've done…that have gotten me this far…are nothing but a sad veil over the truth….that the life I knew wasn't real. That I'm…." He looked at his hands. "…nothing." He rubbed the area on his forearm where he had seen the scan.

It wasn't there now. It would only show when exposed to specific heat…the lava of Venom. _One more reason not to go back there…._

He hadn't shown Leon yet. He didn't want to… He wanted it to vanish, disappear…but the lack of its visibility on Wolf's arm didn't wipe the knowledge of its existence from his mind.

Leon looked at him, the stubborn look in his face fading to a sad understanding look. For a moment, he looked just as melancholy as Wolf.

Then, as if shaking himself out of it, he straightened up.

_Thunk!_

The stuck his knife into the table next to him and pulled his chair up to Wolf, his eyes shifting into a down-to-business mode.

"Listen, Wolf," Leon said in a determined voice. "Because I won't say this again…there is nothing…_nothing _inhuman about you. What you do, who you are….who you are to me….it has nothing to do with that disembodied shitpile of an Emperor. I've known you practically my whole life, and I know that you're never a quitter. Nothing gets in your way….not Star Fox, not Andross, nothing in the galaxy. I know what he said down there…and guess what? It doesn't mean shit to me. I know who you are…even if you don't. Remember our first missions back at the academy, how we were on the run from the opposing Team, and you took them all out, nineteen to one?"

Wolf smiled at the memory. Both of them, as cocky teenagers fighting the odds without a care in the world, with nothing to stop them…. "How could I forget? That was our first victory…as a Team."

"Whatever Andross has done to you or taken from you, that doesn't change who you are…you're the best pilot in the galaxy….you know, I know, hell, the whole galaxy knows…and so does Fox. He remembers who you are, every time you throw each other around in your ships and cross each other's hulls with bolt after bolt of laser fire….at that moment, he knows who he's dealing with. And every time I watch you in the cockpit, pounding fighters, blasting incoming missiles right before they reach you…it reminds me why you're the Leader of Star Wolf. Every time I fought next to you, or flew with you on the brink of another battle, I knew by the way you dove into the fray without a second thought, the way you topple ships and send them flying….it's inspiring….legendary…the kind of flying that people will tell the next generation for years to come….you're a true pilot, Wolf. Sure, you can be an ass sometimes," his light blue eyes rolled, and he smiled mischievously. "And you can be quite the hotheaded bastard when you want to be….but you're also tough. Strong…capable….fearless….everything a Leader should be…and no one can take that from you. Andross didn't give you that, Wolf, or any of your traits or emotions. You're the way you are because you choose to be, not because he wants you to be. You weren't made a pilot by Andross….you were born one. And whatever messes we get into, no matter how hard it gets….never forget that. It doesn't matter how hopeless things get, or even if the entire galaxy's against us. What matters…is if you let that change who you are. Never forget who you are, Wolf….and don't _ever _let anyone try to tell you what you aren't. Because no matter what anyone says, I know that you're the best…and that no matter what happens, I'll always be right next to you, taken all the shots right to you, and will always fight the odds with you. I'll always be a part of your Team….because you're my best friend. Got that?"

All of Wolf's affection and warm friendship for Leon rushed forward. All this time, he'd been thinking about his own selfish moping….and not once had he thought about the person who had stuck with him through everything.

_And I almost left it all behind…_

_Back on Venom…when I went after Fox…_

_I was so desperate for revenge….I left him behind….I didn't go back for him went he got shot down…_

_After all he had done for me…_

_I almost lost him…_

Leon held out his hand. The weary, tired look that had washed away all of his style and class as an assassin that he had obtained as Pigma's associate, after all these years, was gone. The familiar spark that Wolf knew as the Great Leon Powalski, Right Wing Man of the Star Wolf Team, was back in his eyes.

Wolf smiled and clasped his hand. "Thanks, Leon. For everything."

_At least…_

_If the galaxy is against me….and all is lost…_

_No matter what…_

_Leon's still here for me…._

_And that's all I really need…_

Leon sat back in his chair, his voice returning to its usual sarcastic tone. "Okay, no need to get sentimental. Hearing someone you get all discouraged and whiny is just annoying. Besides, I don't want to have to take down Star Fox all by myself. Sure, the annoying bird's on my list, but the fox is on the top of yours."

Wolf laughed. "Yeah, you got that right. Still….you almost had me there for a second. You seemed mushy enough to pass off for Peppy or someone…. That's why I never let my emotions take control of-"

He stopped in mid-sentence, his eyes wide.

_Oh shit…._

_I completely forgot….how the hell did I forget…?_

Leon sat up. "What's wrong?"

"The chip!" Wolf's heart was pounding rapidly. "It's still inside me!"

Leon's eyes darted around in confusion. "Chip? What chip?"

"_Andross's chip!" _Wolf said, now in a real panic. "The one he used to control me, the one he used to spy on me ever since I went to the academy! He watches our every move, plans our next, makes the path for it…" The color drained from his face. "HE COULD BE WATCHING US RIGHT NOW!"

The horrible closed-in-a-cage feeling overcame Wolf again. It wasn't over…even _now, _Andross was still a part of him.

_I won't let him manipulate my fate anymore…_

_Not this time…_

He looked around desperately. _I CAN'T let him!_

"Wait," Leon said, attempting to keep his breath steady, but even he was getting a little scared. "Just a second…we destroyed the remote, threw it in the lava….he can't control its functions now, can he? Besides….Andross went down with that mountain….he can't be still alive….can he?" He didn't look so assured.

"I don't know…" Wolf said pacing the room. "It can't be that simple…with Andross, it never is!"

"But if you're right, and Andross _is _still using that chip….to spy on you, and to spy on us…"

Wolf stopped. "…then we could be going straight into a trap. Our next move, off this ship….out that door…._anywhere…_he'll know how to catch up to us….he'll always be watching…"

Leon's green scales started to pale. _"We have to get that chip out."_

"_How?" _Wolf asked desperately. "Leon, it's _inside my body! _He said that he hid it somewhere, and no matter what surgery was adopted on it, its cloaking device would disguise it from any modern x-ray!"

Leon got to his feet. _"What? _But it could be anywhere inside you!"

"I know!" Wolf rummaged his hands all over his stomach rapidly, as if trying feel for a metallic feel or _something. _Anything. "I don't care where it is or how I get it out! _I need this thing out of my body!"_

"And how the hell are we supposed to do that?" Leon shouted, both desperate and frustrated at the same time. "We can't just poke holes in you like a Swiss cheese until we find it! There has to be a way to do it!"

"You're the anatomy expert!" Wolf said in an irritated voice.

"I took a _class," _Leon said through gritted teeth. "That doesn't make me a freaking _expert!"_

Wolf looked around frantically. "Then do _something! _I don't know….just…." _He doesn't know what it's like to have a chip in his body! _He thought. _How could he know how creepy this is?_

Leon took a deep breath. "Okay….look, this isn't going to get us anywhere." He placed a hand on Wolf's shoulder. "What we really need to do now is to-"

He stopped in mid-sentence. His eyes fell on Wolf's shoulder, some new realization in them.

Wolf looked around awkwardly. "Um…is there something….wrong….?"

_SLAM!_

Leon threw Wolf against the wall roughly.

"HEY! What the hell are you-?"

Leon pressed ear against Wolf's shoulder.

Wolf looked down, eyebrows raised. "Um…."

"SHH!" Leon hissed. "Just shut up for a second!"

Wolf scowled. It didn't hurt being thrown against the wall, but he did stumble over his tail in the sudden process, which was really irritating (Leon couldn't understand. He didn't even have _fur_)

Leon placed his index finger on Wolf's shoulder. "Something isn't right…"

Wolf looked at his ruffled-up tail reproachfully. "Really?"

"No, I mean…" Leon placed his index finger on his arm. "When I place my finger hear, all I can feel is your constant bloodstream. But over here…" He placed it back on Wolf's shoulder. "There's something else."

The irritancy went out of Wolf's eyes. "Wait-how can you even feel that?"

Leon held up his three-fingered hand. "Scales, man. Really easy to pick up sensitivity of any kind bouncing off of them. It's pretty easy to feel with all this…." He scowled. "…warm-blood."

Wolf rolled his eyes. "Well, we can't all be as cold-blooded as you are."

"I don't find that amusing…not one bit." Leon went back to Wolf's shoulder. "Anyway, there's something different here….it's not the movement of your cells….or the pulsing of your muscles over your bone marrow….it's more like….whirring."

"Whirring?" Wolf cocked his head.

"Metallic buzzing. Like a machine."

They looked at each other, eyes wide.

"Looks like we found your chip."

Wolf looked down. "It's in my shoulder?"

Leon shrugged. "Well, that's a relief. I guess…"

Wolf looked up. "What do you mean?"

"It could be worse. Andross could have put that chip anywhere in your body, and he put it in your shoulder instead of something like your-"

He froze.

"What's wrong now?" Wolf asked (he had a feeling he didn't want Leon to finish that sentence).

"Shh!" Leon held up his hand. His bright blue eyes darted around for a moment. "You hear that?"

Wolf's ears perked up, but didn't pick anything up.

"Wh-?"

_BUZZZ._

All of a sudden, a faint voice-a monotone female voice-echoed in the air….and it was coming from Wolf's shoulder.

"_Location of Observation Chip discovered. Subject cannot be allowed to remove chip. Shutting down of subject sequence initiated-"_

"WHAT?" Wolf yelled.

"_Chip will self-destruct in 59….58….57…"_

Wolf and Leon looked at each other, eyes huge, both thinking the same thing.

Wolf looked down, almost laughing at their luck. "Oh no."

Then, all hell broke loose.

"WE HAVE TO GET THIS THING OUT!" Wolf yelled. "SELF-DESTRUCT…WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Leon screamed, his eyes darting around desperately. "ALL MACHINES EXPLODE WHEN THEY SELF-DESTRUCT, THAT'S ABOUT ALL I KNOW!"

"I DON'T WANT TO EXPLODE!" Wolf stated the obvious, but the state of panic they were both locked in seemed to make them both lose grip. "I JUST BROKE OUT OF JAIL! I HAVE MY WHOLE LIFE AHEAD OF ME! I DON'T NEED THIS!"

"_Okay! Okay!" _Leon said loudly, trying to grasp hold of the situation, but his voice didn't meet the franticness in his eyes. "WE HAVE TO-TO-_AGH! I DON'T KNOW…I don't know…I don't know…" _He began to mumble to himself desperately.

"_50….49….48…."_

Wolf ran his hands through his head-fur. "GOD DAMMIT! THIS THING'S ON A FUCKING TIMER! _WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?_

"_I DON'T KNOW!" _Leon said desperately. "I….I…"

"WAIT!" Wolf's eyes lit up with a desperate hope. "We….we could get it out…you know anatomy…._you know surgery, right? _CAN YOU GET IT OUT?"

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO SURGERY ON _YOU?" _Leon shouted desperately. "I DON'T EVEN HAVE THE TOOLS!"

"YOU HAVE A KNIFE…JUST DO IT!"

Leon folded his arms. "OH YEAH, REAL ORIGINAL…AND WHO'S GONNA PUT YOU ON ANNESTHESIA, EINSTEIN, _YOU? _YOU WANNA DO A SURGERY WHILE YOU'RE _FULLY_ _CONSCIOUS?"_

"_43…42….41…."_

"OH MY GOD….OH MY GOD…." Wolf moaned over and over hopelessly. "LOOK, I DON'T CARE _HOW _YOU DO IT! _JUST GET IT OUT! _DO IT WHILE I'M CONSCIOUS, I DON'T CARE!"

"YOU IDIOT! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'RE _SAYING?" _Leon tried to scream some sense into him.

"_39…38…"_

"SHUT UP!" Leon told it. Then his rage died down when he realized he was talking to a machine. "OOOH…._NEVER MIND." _He looked around desperately, trying to find an alternative. Then, with a painfully resigned look, he rummaged through his coat. "_Damn…this is gonna hurt…"_

_Snick!_

He took out his switchblade and plunged it into Wolf's shoulder.

"_OOOOOUUUUCHHH!" _Wolf howled, the fur on his face and tail bristling.

"Sorry!" Leon said in a pained voice. "Oh _damn…_this isn't going to work…."

"_36….35…34…."_

Leon backed up and started to pace madly. He kept on looking painfully at Wolf and then away, as if trying to come to a decision that he knew he'd regret.

Then, as if triggered by some insane thought or emotion…

…Leon pushed him against the wall, balled his fists, and started _punching _him.

_SLAM! WHAP!_

Wolf attempted to block the punches in confusion. "GAH! _ARGH-what the hell's wrong with you?"_

"HOLD STILL!" Leon yelled. He wasn't being merciless at all-he was beating Wolf like a sack of meat. He may have seemed better with a knife, but his punches were extremely hard and painful.

"_OW!" _Wolf yelled. "WILL YOU-_just stop? _THIS ISN'T HELPING!"

"_32…31…"_

"You're right!" Leon stopped punching Wolf automatically, and took off in the opposite direction.

Wolf sat down, rubbing the bruises on his body, both angry and confused.

Leon looked around. "I need something heavier…"

Wolf's ears shot up. "Something-_what? _What's gotten into y-?"

Leon looked around, and then grabbed a vase filled with orange-flecked lavender colored Eldardian Malaticasia Lilies, dumped the flowers out, and ran back.

Wolf looked up, eyes widening. "What're yo-?"

_SMAAASH!_

Before he had time to yell (or curse), Leon swung the vase onto Wolf's head, the thick and rigid, rock-like shards ramming into his skull, almost making his body swing backwards in nerve reaction.

An intense anchor of heavy pain began to weigh Wolf's consciousness down. His sight became blurry, and his reflexes became sleepy enough to make his collapsing on the floor seem like nothing.

The last thing he heard before getting lost in the thoughtless waves of unconsciousness was the clattering of shards near his feet, and Leon's voice.

"Sorry about this…but you'll thank me later…."

_..._

…_.._

_What seems like a short time later for Wolf (but was really about 2 hours later)…_

The foggy shapes came into view and lobbed together to form recognizable objects.

Wolf's head felt like a sack of bricks. His shoulder ached with a feeling similar to the aftermath of having a hive of bees sting him repeatedly in the same, swollen spot.

"Ugh…"

Leon, who was sitting on the stool nearby, removing blood-flecked rubber gloves and setting them down on the table near a tray of scissors, Healing Kit, and a blood-stained switch blade.

He looked up in relief. "Good…you're awake…"

"Ahh…" Wolf rubbed his sore head. "What….what happened…?"

"I hit you," Leon said as-a-matter-of-factly. "With a vase. It was the heaviest thing I could find in the room, so I…um, put you to sleep for a while. I only had a matter of seconds to get the chip out."

Wolf jolted forward, the sore, tired feeling shaking off instantly. "The chip! Is it…?" He looked down with a wince at his bandaged up shoulder.

"I got it out….just at the nick of time, too….it was playing that Operation game, only the patient was going to explode. But it was easy to spot once I dug deeper. It shut off automatically when I took it out…it must only be active while it's under your skin."

Wolf looked around. "So….where is it?"

Leon's face hardened. "Gone. I threw it into the garbage chute. It's lost in space now…and good riddance."

Wolf sat back and took a deep breath. "Haaah…thanks…" He glanced at his messily bandaged shoulder. "Did you, uh…patch me up, too?"

Leon smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I ran down to the Passenger Infirmary when I got the chip out. It would've been better if we'd just taken you there, but….well, that would've raised some questions about who you are….and why there's a chip in you."

"So I guess that's four I owe you, now." Wolf sat back guiltily. "Getting me through that crowd of corpses…helping me out of the lava mess….patching me up…and now this….I wish I could make it up…"

"Hey, hey!" Leon threw his hands in the air. "What're you keeping count for? We're a Team! It's part of the allegiance….I'm your Right Wing Man, remember? Besides…I'll save your life a million times to make up getting me out of Pigma's ass."

Wolf smiled. "Yeah…I guess. Five years in prison must be a vacation next to five years trailing after that lard sack."

"And anyway," Leon continued. "I've been in worse situations than this. Like the time…"

He trailed off, as if he had too much about something.

Wolf sat up. "What?"

"Nothing." Leon turned away, but Wolf caught a glint of pain in his eyes before he wiped his expression clean. "Never mind…"

Before Wolf could dwell on this, a sudden booming voice almost made him jump out of his fur.

"_Good evening, Passengers, this is your Lead Pilot up in the Command Deck…we're just passing Aquas at the moment, so feel free to check out the view in orbit from our observation deck."_

Wolf glanced irritably from the TeleComm. Loudspeaker above the door. "Seriously? The whole point of us having rooms on a passenger ship is to give us privacy!"

Leon rolled his eyes. "Quit complaining, this was the best Transport I could find…"

Wolf didn't remember much about who was driving or who were the other passengers. "Care to enlighten me on the people in command of this ship?"

Leon got up from his chair and stretched, arcing his body in a curved lizard-like way. "Let's go to the Observation Deck and I'll tell you." He walked over to the door and hit the switch.

_Sh-thunk!_

The slide door opened, and Leon stood near the entrance, out to the ship's hallway.

"Come on! Stretching those wounds will do you good. They'll get used to movement a little easier….besides," His nose wrinkled. "Healing wounds stink up a room really easily… I've already spent five years with one smelly person, I'd prefer not to share a room with one."

Wolf's ears flattened in annoyance. "I don't smell!"

"No, you don't," Leon assured him, but before he turned, Wolf saw his eyes become small and sarcastic like they did when he was laughing quietly about a private joke. "Most of the time."

Wolf rolled his eyes.

_Yeah… Things are definitely back to normal again._

_It's like I didn't even leave._

_Observatory Deck_

Wolf and Leon walked over to the platform that looked over the massive window of the ship, gazing into the stars.

The deck was packed with people: dogs, felines, frogs, lizards, leopards, cheetahs, typical species. Some wore old uniforms that looked pretty recent to Wolf, since the only uniforms he was used to were the ones in the Lylat Wars. Others looked like grizzled, retired pilots, conversing with each other.

A few wore the trademark Mystarr Trading scarves around their necks. _Space merchants, _Wolf thought.

But the majority of the people on deck looked like families: middle-aged parents, hunched elders, young couples, and children of every age, playing and chasing each other, or being scolded by their parents.

Just normal people….

…which is why Wolf felt out of place.

He shuffled uncomfortably. "Um…Do you really think it's a good idea to be up here? You know…among….these people?"

Leon walked around casually. "Relax, Wolf. No one's gonna arrest you."

This both relieved Wolf and filled him with uneasiness. "Why not? Don't they recognize us?"

"No….they've never seen us before….they don't know who we are….or what Star Wolf really looked like. We don't exist, remember?"

Wolf's ears drooped in sad realization. "Oh yeah….right."

He looked down sullenly, remembering what Leon had told him.

"_Once the rumor had spread around the Lylat System of you being dead, years of telling and retelling put us outside of Lylat's timeline. In short….you're nothing but a myth, now. We're nothing but tales told to keep young children awake before bed. No one knows about us anymore."_

Wolf looked sullenly at a crowd of Cornerian-looking people conversing nearby.

_If they knew who I was, they'd all get terrified…_

_Hell….I'd take that over everyone forgetting about me…_

He closed his eyes.

Was he really just a myth, now?

Was Star Wolf really something no one believed in anymore?

_I'm not famous…._

_I'm not even infamous…_

_I'm nobody…._

He sighed.

Leon nudged him. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Wolf looked at him. "It's just….I can't believe it. I broke out of prison, so I could get my honor back, my freedom….but, that also meant getting my notoriety back too….and now this? No one knows who we are? What we were, during the Lylat Wars?"

Leon's eyes became sad. "Maybe it's better that way, Wolf."

Wolf sat up in shock. "Better? What's better? Walking around like strangers, when people should know who we are?"

"It isn't like the old times, Wolf," Leon said gloomily. "The galaxy's changed….along with the people in it….look." He pointed at a nearby family.

Now that Wolf was closer, he noticed some features he hadn't noticed before. Like the fact that the family, consisting of five echidnas, looked extremely miserable. Their clothes looked grubby and outdated, and the children were small, even for children, because of lack of food.

_Jesus...That's…_

_No…_

Wolf looked away.

_It's none of my business….I shouldn't get involved…_

But the more he looked around….the less individual everyone seemed to this family…

Practically everyone was coughing and miserable looking, with ragged clothes and worn-out expressions….

Everyone's _like this?_

Wolf turned to Leon. "What….happened to them?"

Leon shrugged indifferently. "That's the way people look, these days, Wolf. They're refugees."

"Refugees? But, we aren't in a war…"

"People don't have to be in a war to search for a better life, Wolf," Leon said. "Look around….this is Lylat…and too be honest, these are some of the luckier upper-class people."

Wolf looked at the wretched crowd of people "What's the difference between this and the normal people?"

"They made it on a ship. That's pretty much the only sense of hope they've got left….to pack their things and make a living somewhere else."

"Why don't they just take normal transport?"

"Taxes shook everyone's incomes until there was practically nothing. Transport across the galaxy became expensive….and more of a privilege. That's why these people snuck onto this ship. It's being driven by mercenaries."

Wolf's face lit up with interest. "Mercenaries? Like-"

"No, not criminals like you and me," Leon said regretfully. "Just Cornerians turned outlaws…not professionals from the old days. They're not much, but they're the only people outside the stinking government that are good with a blaster."

"Oh," Wolf sunk back, crestfallen. "So these people…" he glanced around again. "They're travelling….illegally?"

"What choice do they have?" Leon said, like it was completely obvious. "Becoming illegal aliens is better than living like they were before…besides," His eyes flickered with fear. "If the government finds them, then there's gonna be a lot more than stars littering the galaxy."

"But….the government wouldn't punish people like them too harshly…would they?"

"Wolf, remember that battleground in Area 6? That's how the Cornerian Government deals with any criminals. What do you think they do to anyone else who breaks the law?"

Wolf was silent. Leon was right…

He remembered some of the people he saw locked up in Denique Fatum…the innocents, just civilians….normal people, who didn't look like they should be in prison at all….

"I'm sorry about all this, Wolf," Leon lowered his head, as if everything they were talking about was his fault.

"No…there's nothing to regret," Wolf cleared his throat, trying to sound more confident. "This just…puts me a little off track, that's all."

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

They turned and walked back towards their quarters.

"So what do you think we should do now?"

"I'm not sure," Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "We…we're this far out in the galaxy, with it all in front of us, but….I feel more secluded than ever…like I'm in a cage again. I was hoping that we could get lost for while until this all settled, but that won't happen if the situation's the same everywhere. I just wish…." Then he stopped.

Leon cocked his head. "What?"

Wolf looked up, his eyes torn with heated frustration. "I wish there was something we could do! This just isn't right! I mean….how could this even happen? It's not supposed to be this way….there's always a balance of things. Justice and crime are supposed to coexist….neither can exist without the other…and neither side is supposed to be dominant! It's not natural….that's why the galaxy is like...like this!" He kicked his foot at a nearby wall. "I mean, how could it have come to this? Where there's profit and government, there's also supposed to be crime and survival! It doesn't make sense that one force reigns supreme, and it's a government of a power-hungry pricks! Without injustice, there is no justice! That's why things are like this….the flow has stopped….the balance has toppled…." He sighed. "And we can't do anything."

Leon folded his arms. "If only we knew who was behind all this…."

"Do you have any idea who?" Wolf looked at him.

"No….not a clue…" Leon rubbed his three fingers on his forehead. "I mean….Corneria has the power. That much is certain… their government is the one holding the galaxy in its grasp. But…I don't think it's them. Cornerians can be annoying shitbags, but even they're not bad enough to control everything. There has to be some kind of puppet master at hand. Someone holding the strings…."

Wolf stopped. "Wait….earlier, you said that the Cornerian Government gained power by scaring the rest of the planetary governments with a threat…a weapon of some kind. Any idea what that might be?"

"No…" Leon's electric blue eyes traveled around the room in thought. "I'd have heard of something that big… but what could be deadly enough to scare the rest of the galaxy into making Corneria the lead power? It'd have to be something as bad as something Andross could come up with….or worse…"

Wolf sat back. "Well….if there's an enemy out there….who are we not to act?"

Leon looked up. "What?"

Wolf sighed. "I don't know…I mean…just think: if someone really is behind all this, then he could be fought. Someone could stand up to them."

Leon's eyebrows fell. "No, Wolf….I know where you're going with this-"

"Look, I know it sounds nuts, but-think about it: the government can't control everyone, right? There has to be some place in the galaxy where they don't have a lot of power…we could organize….rise against them…crime could return to the galaxy….injustice…freedom…."

"Oh come on, Wolf, that's impossible," Leon said skeptically. "That's treason…rebellion…"

"But when have we been strangers to rebellion, Leon?" Wolf said, eyebrows raised. "Remember what it was like to be enemies of Corneria? Remember defying the law, living by our own rules?"

"Yeah, but…" For a moment, Leon's face lit up hopefully. "No…we can't. There's just….no way. It's just us! Just the two of us! We can't make a difference!"

"I know, but we could spread, couldn't we? We could find people to join our cause! There has to be _someone_ who can help us out…." Wolf was pacing around now, the anticipating excitement filling him up. "We can't be the only ones who want to make to take these people down! The entire galaxy isn't just going to sit around while the government's making everybody's lives hell…just think…we could spread our cause... get people to join us….break the rules, rush against the oppressing…and who knows? Maybe in a few years…with all the crime spreading across the galaxy, the government will have its hands full again! The galaxy will be in balance again! We can change the tide…get things back to normal! We could survive again…be on the top! Be free!"

Leon looked at Wolf sadly. "Look, it sounds great, but….I don't know. It won't be that easy…it never is…" He looked down glumly.

"But we have to at least try!" Wolf insisted.

"Wolf, come on!" Leon stood up, trying to knock some sense into him. "I know it won't be that easy, and you do too! It's not like we have people to ally with, we're all alone! We can't just turn the tide of things with some blaster bolts and Smart Bombs! It would take an army to….no, half the galaxy to make crime return to the galaxy again. There isn't anyone who's gonna help us…. We're on our own! We're the last mercenaries from the old times, Wolf! There isn't anyone out there that's like us….and besides….we're Star Wolf! How many people are going to even be happy to see our faces even if they _do_ recognize us?"

Wolf said nothing.

Leon was right…..he was practical, but he was right.

There was no way…

Wolf looked down sadly. "You're right…it's stupid….it….it would never work."

Leon, realizing how discouraged he'd made Wolf feel, put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, Wolf…I'm sorry to break the facts to you, but…that's just the way things are. I wish it was like in the old days, but…."

"No, you're right… it's just…" Wolf looked back in the direction of the Observatory Deck. "I've been tried and sentenced to death as Corneria's Most Wanted….twice. And even I don't think this is right…"

Leon sighed. "Me neither, Wolf…."

They both walked towards their quarters drearily.

Leon nudged Wolf with a brave attempt for a smile. "Hey, cheer up, Wolf….things will be fine….one way or another. Besides… you could have way worse luck than you have now. You had to have your face reconstructed…. and you're not even grateful that you didn't end up with an ugly mug equivalent to Slippy's ass!"

Wolf laughed, despite his lack of hope. "Haha, yeah, it could be worse."

"Don't worry about how things will turn out…we'll be on Easy Sector in no time, just like you said! You know… nice girls, booze…the works!"

Wolf smiled. "Yeah, we will. If Falco hasn't made them go bad first."

Leon raised his eyebrows. "What, the booze?"

"No, the girls."

They both laughed.

_Shh-thunk!_

Wolf walked over to his bunk and stretched his arms.

"By the way, Wolf…" Leon set his jacket on a chair. "I've been wondering for a while, now…"

Wolf set his Claw and blaster on the table with the medical tools. "What?"

"Well….you know how your face got reconstructed, right? Well…the thing is…you…you don't look like you've gotten any older."

Wolf turned around "What do you mean?"

"Well, for instance-look at my face. It's been five years-I mean I haven't gotten any wrinkles, or anything, but it shows, right?"

Wolf looked hard at Leon's face. He looked the same…but he still wasn't that teenaged pilot he remembered from the Lylat Wars…he was more of an adult, now… "Yeah…"

"Well, it isn't the same for you…I don't know why, but it looks like you haven't gotten more than two or three years older. How old are you now?"

"Well….it's been five years…so that's….24."

"Yeah, same with me, except _you _look like you're 21 or something…"

"What? No….that's…" Wolf walked over to the mirror. Then he realized what Leon meant. "Wait….you're right…" He touched his face. "Huh. Must be a side effect of the surgery…"

"What, this?" Leon cocked his head.

"No…I mean….when my face was healed, they put a mask-thing on me….some kind of machinery that acted like a constant set of bandages….and I didn't get it off until I broke out…which was five years later…"

"So you're saying…that this thing they put on you did some kind of damage?"

"I don't think so…" Wolf cocked his head and examined his cheek structure. "I guess…. The healing underneath the mask-thing must've prevented it from changing after all those years…I remember they took it off to do a check once in a while, but that was only annually…only then would my face get exposed to air again….so the lack of exposure after years of being in the mask….it must've knocked a few years off my face…"

"So…" Leon looked to the ceiling, trying to put the pieces together. "No matter how old you get….you're gonna look three years younger?"

They looked at each other.

"I guess that's a good thing." Leon said with a grin. "Now the ladies are gonna be all over you."

"Oh, be quiet," Wolf snapped. "It only matters if I look older than Fox. If I looked younger than _him, _that would be really weird."

Leon nodded. "Yeah…imagine being stuck as the younger rival of an annoying preachy egomaniac for the rest of your life. That would really suck."

Wolf laughed. "What about you? What if you got stuck looking younger than Falco?"

Leon's eyes became dead serious. "Hey, no matter how old I get, I'll always be more mature than that feathered-ass annoying bird."

Wolf chuckled and emptied the pockets of his overcoat. A plasteel container pouch of his old badges and trinkets, $400 in Lylatines,and a Cornerian CRUNCH bar wrapper fell onto his bunk.

_Thunk!_

Something small and metallic fell with the pile on the cloth blanket.

_What the…_

He picked it up. It was a small, rectangular object, made of gleaming silver metal, and a large gap in the center.

_Oh yeah…the Cyberscope thing…_

_I completely forgot about it…_

"Hey, Leon…you're the black market expert right?"

"The one and only."

"How's about a look at some merchandise I picked up?" Wolf held up the Scope.

Leon walked over and examined it. "Hmm…. Looks like a pilot's sight enhancer…"

Wolf handed it to him. "Take a closer look."

Leon turned it over in his hands, running his fingers down its steel surface. _"Whoa…_ what is this thing?"

"Cyberscope," Wolf said, putting his hands in his pockets. "Some kind of military research experiment. I found it in a Security Vault back on the prison…."

"Wolf…do you know what this _is?" _Leon's ecstatic blue eyes were huge. "This is amazing….the cutting-edge design….the advanced structure….I've never seen anything of this depth before….this is way before our time, too….this metallic alloy should be water-proof, fire-proof….practically indestructible…I wonder what these buttons do…?" He fingered the sleek buttons on the side.

Wolf smiled. "Do you think one of its functions is a cup holder?"

Leon looked up, annoyed. "This isn't funny, Wolf… this is something else…if it really is this advanced….I wonder what else it does…too bad it doesn't have a lens…"

He looked around, and walked over to the glass of water. Picking it up, he smashed it against the table. Picking up one of the fatter shards, he layed the scope onto the table.

"Give me some light here, would ya?"

Wolf walked over and flicked on the energy lamp above the table.

"This may be a bit clumsy…" Leon placed the shard very delicately into the Scope's lens fixture. "But it'll give me an idea of what this thing's capable of…"

_Click!_

The shard fell into place, and Leon held it up. He fingered some of the buttons.

_Whrr! Whiiir!_

The scope made metallic whirring noises as the side of it sprouted a triangular closure attachment, making it look like a rectangular pentagon. The bottom sprouted out metallic overlays that overlapped each other, and the side-buttons edged out slightly.

Leon looked at Wolf, with a smile that was equivalent to a nine-year-old with a set of matches. "This thing is really cool."

Wolf, interested despite his lack of interest in technology, edged closer. "Try it out!"

Leon held the scope in front of his eye, and tapped the top button experimentally.

Nothing.

Wolf leaned forward. "Anything?"

"No…" Leon spoke with a little bit of disappointment in his voice. "Maybe if I tried the others…"

He tapped and held the other buttons one at a time, but only got the same result.

Leon lowered it. "Huh. I guess it just needs a better lens….one more durable…" He tapped the glass shard out of the fixture.

Wolf shrugged. "Maybe we should take to a tech specialist. If we do run into someone, I'm sure that they could give us the details on it…"

"Yeah…" Leon studied it with interest again, and held it out to Wolf.

Wolf shook his head. "No, you keep it."

Leon looked taken aback. "What?"

"The only reason I took it was because I thought you'd want it for something."

"No, no! Wolf, I can't do that…" Leon looked at the Scope doubtfully. "I mean…you found it…besides, I figure if it's good for anything, it'll benefit you more…you'll find some better uses for it…" He handed it to Wolf. "You take it."

"No, seriously, you should just keep it. You could sell it, or-" Wolf started.

"Nah, man," Leon insisted. "Honestly…that thing's way to advanced and priceless for the black market. You keep it."

Wolf glanced at the Scope, not knowing at all what someone like him could possibly do with machinery of this kind, and pocketed it. "Alright…whatever you say…"

He swept the other objects off his bunk and sat on it.

Leon lied back on the one on the opposite side of the room, and removed his boots. "Well, I don't know about you, but I could use some sleep. Running around with disembodied scientists and zombies has its perks, but it's still tiring."

Wolf, feeling wide awake, stretched his neck. "You sleep…I'll stay up. Tomorrow we need a fresh start. I need to…think about a few things."

Leon didn't need to oblige. He stretched and fell face-forward into his pillow.

Wolf folded his arms behind his head and rested it on a pillow, closing his eyes. He sat listening to the soft hum of the ship engines that gently vibrated the room.

"Hey, Wolf."

His purple eye opened partially. "Mmm?"

"You know what this galaxy really needs?"

Wolf opened his eye all the way with interest. Just moments ago, Leon had been wording out against his idea of change in the galaxy, so this might be worth hearing. "What?"

"Well…" He raised his head. "Remember during the Lylat Wars…how hopeless the rest of the galaxy was? I mean….they'd lost all hope of winning…most didn't think they'd endure the harsh times of the war…and….everyone was certain that the war would tear the galaxy apart, and that death was the only option in those desperate times….well, something made them change their minds. Something filled their hearts with hope again…and they saw victory flash before them…and they didn't feel discouraged anymore…"

Wolf's eyes traveled back to the wall skeptically…

_I know exactly what he's talking about…_

"Star Fox," He said distastefully. "That's what you're talking about…that's what filled them all up with hope."

"Look, I know how you feel about them…" Leon reasoned. "I hate them too. But like it or not….their presence…_changed _the galaxy, you know? The Cornerians were more confident that they'd win…and, they were more sure with Star Fox at their side that they'd keep going…they were inspired by them….because they knew how legendary they were, what they stood for….and they sort of acted as their guiding light down the road of victory…and it helped them become stronger…"

_Ugh.._

"Is this going somewhere, or are you gonna keep praising Star Fox to the point where I start puking?" Wolf asked, a little annoyed at the topic.

"Look, all I'm saying is that that's all it took for the galaxy to get on its feet again. It helped them get through…and that's what I think the galaxy really needs now. Hope. They need something equivalent…no, greater than Star Fox to act as a guide. Someone…someone legendary, and strong, a symbol of freedom…someone that could teach them to hold on in times like this….someone that they could tell stories about for generations. That would really set the stage for change…people would really start believing in change again."

Wolf raised an eyebrow. "Someone like…?"

Leon looked up like it was obvious. "Oh, come on, Wolf! _You, _of course!"

Wolf stared at him. "Wha—_me? _I…no, Leon, that's crazy. Of course not _me…."_

"But you're Star Wolf!" Leon rose, getting all excited. "You're a legend! And no one believes in you anymore, and-"

"Gee, thanks." Wolf scowled and lowered himself back down.

"No, let me finish…I mean, you're _you! _People used to say all kinds of things about you! That you were Star Fox's equal adversary, the only one capable of fighting Fox McCloud! You're a freaking legend, Wolf! Mercenaries back in the day would give up their ships just to _see _you! To watch you in action and see if all the things they've heard you do are all true!"

Wolf sat up. "Look, Leon, snap out of it. I'm no hero, and you know it. I could never be…I'm…I'm just not! I'm just-"

"Just a guy who's done it all! Who's fought a T-Rex! Who raided a Cornerian Military fleet in an hour, unscathed! Who led an army into the murkiest storm in Zoness outnumbered, ten to one! Who-"

"Listen!" Wolf said, exasperated. "Yeah, it sounds awesome when you say it like that, absolutely beast! Just one problem…those were mercenaries I inspired, okay? The 302nd told those stories and all that because I was like them…a criminal! But we're the last ones alive, now! And I'll tell you this much…_no one _ is going to believe that we're who we say we are, and if they do, they won't join us! I was the most hated pilot on Corneria, and I doubt that's changed now! And what's more, there's no way I could inspire anyone! I'm not like Fox, Leon…I don't have the guts or the glory, and I've never been credited with anything noble or chivalrous! All I've ever done is fight to survive, never fight someone else's idea of justice! I'm no hero…I never was, and I never will be…there's nothing great about being one, and I wouldn't be able to be one even if I wanted to! So just drop it, alright?"

Leon shrank down sadly. "Oh…okay. Well, I'm just saying….never mind. You're right…"

Wolf realized how discouraging he must have sounded. "Look, it's not that it isn't a good idea, but…I'm me, remember? And anyway, who am I gonna inspire now? I'm in a galaxy full of hopeless people, without a single decent criminal within ten light-years of here. I'm nothing special…I'm not heroic, or awe-inspiring…I'm just…" He glanced at his hand. "…me."

Leon sat up. "That isn't true, Wolf. You're probably the most legendary pilot out there…you're the Leader of Star Wolf. You've done more things than most people come up with in whole fantasies. You're fearless, a born leader…I think a whole army of people would be honored to stand with you if they had the chance."

Wolf smiled. But he knew the last part was too good to be true. "Thanks, Leon. But I wouldn't be half as legendary if I didn't have the galaxy's greatest assassin at my side."

"Yeah, whatever…" Leon looked away to hide the pleasure lighting up his face. "…Just don't lose confidence so often. These little heart-to-hearts feel weird. I'm supposed to come off as cold-blooded to people, not as a freakin' therapist…" He shut his eyes.

Wolf leaned back. "Yeah well…good night…"

He sighed as he looked up against the ceiling, his eyelids slowly beckoning downwards with the seductive lure of slumber.

But the last thoughts on his mind were…

_Tch…_

_Me….a hero…_

_What a joke…_

_Command Deck of the Cruiser (the _Anatarres)

Even though things were nice and comfortable down in the passenger's quarters, the situation didn't really equal that of the ship's mercenaries, who were piloting and navigating the _Anatarres. _

"All I'm saying," a young Husky mercenary with a battered pilot's jacket said, looking laid-back in his control chair. "Is that making a few stops isn't the end of the galaxy. I mean…come on….would a side-trip to Papetoon be so much to ask for? We've been wandering around for months!"

"Maybe these trips would seem less boring if you didn't sit on your ass and actually do some work, Bernard," a rugged-looking Rottweiler in an armored flight-suit said in distaste, looking up from his Navigational Monitor Screen.

He glared at him. "Way to be a kill-joy, Ayxal. You're telling me you _want _to spend another day on this massive floating scrap-pile? I mean, at least they have Casinos down on Papetoon."

Ayxal turned around to face him. "Who are you trying to fool, man? You can't gamble to save yo mamma's life! You just wanna go down there to gawk at the showgirls!"

All the other mercenaries in the room laughed as Bernard's cheek-fur brightened.

"Quiet! All of you!" an older voice barked.

Everyone became silent instantly, as the Captain rose from his chair. He was a muscular, robust Doberman, in his late thirties, with an unshaven five o' clock shadow. His faded and wrinkled Cornerian Officer's uniform was strapped with a belt of plasma bolts for his blaster, and all of the badges had been torn out.

"This isn't some kind of Entertainment Cruiser. This is a serious mission. We're carrying at least fifteen-hundred passengers…all civilians, and its crucial we get them safely to their destination. We're all the hope they've got left, and if a Cornerian ship as much as suspects what we're doing, then it's the end for all of them! That's why we can't waste time thinking about ourselves," he eyed the Husky, Bernard, coldly. "Not if we don't want to be captured by any government officials."

Bernard looked down humbly. "I know….Captain Nelson. I'm sorry."

Nelson sighed wearily. "It's alright…just….plug in the destination into the ship's Navicomputer." He nodded assuringly. "We can relax once we're on course."

Everyone resumed their work on their panels without another word.

They all knew why they were here. Most of them didn't need a second reminder about the harsh times they were in. A lot of the men in the room were once Cornerian pilots or soldiers during the Lylat Wars, but had dropped out of the army and turned to mercenary work in the wake of the cruel and corrupt government. Nelson himself was decommissioned from the Katinese Defense Unit because he had turned from the current duties of the Army: to be cold and heartless.

So as outlaws, they had stolen a military privateering vessel, the _Anatarres, _and was providing the only escape for desperate refugees: cheap transport to get to a less oppressed planet…illegally, of course. That was all they could do to help this sorry galaxy in the times it was enduring…

_Zeep! Zeep!_

The Main Terminal flashed as Nelson's gaze shifted from the window display of stars whizzing by as they scoured space.

"What's up, now?" He said in confusion. "We can't be at our destination already…"

Bernard tapped at the touch-keyboard quizzically. "I'm picking up a signal on the radar…looks like another ship."

Nelson nodded. "That should be our contact….look sharp. I already contacted the Captain of that vessel a while ago…he's with us. He said he'd meet us here, with more passengers to board our ship, so expect a boarding shuttle."

Bernard groaned. "Great…as if we didn't have enough people taking up room on the ship already…"

"Well, at least they get to sleep." Ayxal rubbed his eyes drowsily. "We gotta stay up and pilot this thing. And I don't even remember the last time I had a Fortunan Frappachino…"

_Fwooosh!_

The _Aantarres _drifted farther, as the glowing sea of star-lit space began to slow down somewhat around them.

"Hey, is that it?"

Everyone's attention turned to the speaker, a Sheepdog, pointing at a white object in the distance.

Nelson squinted at it. "Should be…huh…."

"Something up, Captain?"

He blinked. "No…nothing. Tap into the comm.'s channel and await transmission." But as he turned back to the window, he felt something was wrong.

They grew closer and closer to the Cornerian Frigate in the distance, and the outlines of its large hull and sleek wings began to form.

_Wait…_

_We didn't beam them any kind of message in the last few hours…._

_And yet they're stationed there…._

_They're supposed to be, of course….that was the plan…_

_I don't remember receiving any message of anxiety….we _are _pretty late…._

The Sheepdog looked up from the flickering comm.'s screen. "Sir….we aren't receiving any transmissions."

Nelson glanced at him. "What? But we're practically in front of them…don't they know we're here?"

Ayxal cocked his head. "They should….unless their radar system had malfunctioned somehow…if it did, they'd definitely give us a heads up."

Nelson's gaze returned to the upcoming ship. "Send a reminder transmission via comm."

Bernard's fingers danced rapidly over his glowing touch-screen keyboard, the buttons flashing under his fingertips.

"Wait….there's no frequency."

Nelson whirled around. "What?"

He pointed at the screen. "We're not picking up any frequency on the comm. Network….no transmissions, no energy readings….nothing. It's almost like they aren't even there…"

"That's impossible…" Nelson insisted. "No readings of any kind? Something's wrong here…" He peered harder at the ship.

As they edged closer and closer, Nelson began to see it more clearly. There was something orange on the ship's flank and hulls….

_Wait a minute….what's that….?_

Then, something flew in front of the window, momentarily distracting him.

_Wha-?_

It was a small, glowing, ember-orange dot. Soon, it was followed by another, and then a larger group, until it was a colony of little orange specks.

Then Nelson realized what they were:

_Sparks…_

And they were coming from the ship's direction.

That orange on the opposite ship was fire.

Bernard's eyes widened. "Holy hell….it's on fire! That ship's burning!"

Everyone turned in shocked disbelief to share the Husky's gaze. He was right.

"God….it _is _burning!"

"But how? Did the engines blow out on them?"

"Wait a minute…are there people still _on _that thing?"

Nelson's eyes grew huge. _The captain said that he was transporting more passengers…._

_And their ship's burning?_

He began to act quickly. "Ayxal!" he turned to the Rottweiler, who snapped to attention. "Send an emergency transmission to that ship requesting status on crew and passengers! The rest of you, prepare the shuttles for boarding and rescue!"

Ayxal hooked on his headset and microphone. "Comm. Signal 31334560: This is the Cornerian Battle Cruiser BV-987, Armada-class _Arrantes, _requesting contact! Repeat, this is _Arrantes, _do you copy?"

He listened into the microphone. Then he looked up worriedly. "Sir, we aren't picking up any communication lines at all. What's more…there aren't any life readings."

Everyone rose from their chairs.

Nelson stared at the ship. "No one…..is alive aboard?"

"None, sir." Ayxal looked grave.

Bernard shivered. "So it's like a ghost ship….the entire crew and passengers…annihilated?"

The other mercenaries stared at each other.

"All of them dead…?"

"Impossible….what could have killed an entire ship's passengers and crew?"

"Well, they're dead…that doesn't necessarily mean that they were killed. It could have been…"

"An accident? Not likely…it's on _fire. _What could possibly have done that? We're in the middle of empty space…"

"That's enough!" Nelson's voice rose in an attempt to take charge, but even he getting nervous. "This isn't the time to…"

_WHRRR!_

Everyone's attention drew to the window, as they passed the ship's massive form.

With a better view, the damage looked much more distinguishable. It was without a doubt: something had inflicted intentional damage on the ship. The ship itself was practically falling apart, breaking into flaming chunks of debris with floating fragments of charcoal and steel wafting off of it. Valley-sized scorch marks were embedded into the once-sleek hull, along with giant scorched dents. Some portions of the ship, or at least the portions that were still intact, were sizzling with blue electricity, as the back of the ship opened like a gaping mouth, exposing its inner engines surrounding the energy-protected proton core.

Even Ayxal was stunned. "Good…._God…" _He rose from his chair, followed by everyone else.

Bernard pressed his hands against the window. "Look at the size of those dents….even turbo-laser cannons can't do that kind of damage to a ship of that size….what the hell did _this? _Cornerian Warbirds?"

"No…" Nelson said, gazing at what was left of the ship. "Something bigger…"

Everyone turned to him, shocked.

He turned to them, a sudden, determined look on his face. "We need to turn this ship around."

A Dachshund rose. "Turn it around? But sir-"

"Listen to me, all of you!" Nelson commanded, sounding both angry and worried. "There's only one explanation for this….that ship didn't run afoul of some galactic mishap. Someone knows we're here…and they knew we would come. That's why they took care of this ship first….it was a trap."

The Sheepdog that had spoken before looked around nervously. "So…where did they go…?"

"My guess…." Nelson's face became grim. "That they're waiting for us….like hungry Bacoon sitting for its prey…..and that's why we have no time to lose. We can't alert any of the passengers about this….the panic would bring this ship down from the inside. What we need to do now is to turn this ship back…we have to protect the passengers at all cost….we can only imagine what the people after us will do to them if they get a hold of them."

"Alright," Ayxal nodded, tapping into the communications. "I'll set the auto-lock on the passenger's quarters. They'll be safer that way….now all we need is-" He stopped. "Wait…." He pressed the headset harder against his ears. "What the-?"

Nelson turned to him. "What's the matter?"

"I'm picking something up….some kind of…gravitational distortion…."

Bernard cocked his head. "Supernova?"

"No….this is different….it's…hard to make out….it's like, riveting and expanding….I've never seen anything like it….it doesn't even have a proper energy source….it doesn't feel natural…"

Nelson's eyes dimmed, and paced back to his command panel. "It's probably nothing more than a neighboring nova signal…"

"I don't think so, Captain….I mean….a supernova, or any kind of astronomical phantasm….it isn't mobile…"

Nelson stopped in his tracks. "What?"

Ayxal looked up, his eyes huge. "This thing is moving. Traveling across star fields at increasing light year speed…"

Nelson's blood turned cold.

A flaming shipwreck…

A trap set up like this…

A gravitational distortion….that was moving rapidly toward them….

There was only one explanation. The only horrible cause for all this….that he had heard about in several haunting stories across the galaxy…and witnessed himself….

He knew _exactly _who was behind this…his worst fears had been realized.

"Turn this ship around."

Bernard looked up. "Sir?"

"_Turn it around now!" _Nelson shouted. "QUICKLY! Do it, _if you value your lives!"_

Bernard fearfully jabbed his fingers at the buttons, trying to get a signal, while everyone else at their station worked frantically, trying to maneuver the ship in time-

_!_

Everyone's eyes turned to the window, only to be practically blinded by the incoming light.

Before the moment had happened, all the stars began to hum, almost glowing brighter with a hellish glow. And then, almost out of nowhere, melting out of the black of space, came a giant vortex of collapsing energy. A searing bolt of violet light struck the dark pit of space, and the stars themselves almost parted as a dark black-hole-like gap ripped through the energy field, bordered with intense strands of wicked black and purple lightning. The lightning began to twist and coil around the black gap, like giant intergalactic snakes around a massive, black mouth, some jagged strands piercing from the top and bottom like teeth. The hole began to expand, its lighting glowing brighter and crackling even more fiercely.

Then, a huge dark shape seemed to tear straight out of it, sending out a shockwave of impact along with sizzle of more lightning, as if emerging from a galactic maelstrom. As the huge dark shape emerged, it seemed to emit a vibrating and loud noise, like a giant roar or moan, that shook the _Anatarres_ as it proceeded out. And with a giant shudder, the giant tidal wave of hellish energy began to curl up, its giant lightning bolts curling up like giant, long fingers. The middle of the dark pit of endless emptiness began to glow with the same eerie aura that it arrived with, shining and spiraling with its chords of black energy, encasing all light within its grasp, until…

It was gone. There was nothing there, but their own ship, drifting onwards. The stars drifted by as they always did, and the usual silence of space resumed, as if nothing had taken place.

But there was no such reaction aboard the _Anatarres._

Everyone began whispering fearful murmurs amongst themselves.

"What the _hell _was that?"

"No idea…it looked like a hurricane…in space!"

"Naw, man I've _seen _a freakin' hurricane….it don't look like that!"

"Well, what was it then?"

"It looked like something came out of it…"

"Like a ship, coming out of a Warp Zone? Not likely…it doesn't have that kind of transmission signature…"

"It didn't look like a Gate Transmission either….that thing's green…and it doesn't do all that…energy stuff…"

"Yeah, and did you hear that noise? It was _moaning…"_

Everyone turned to the Captain, who was still remaining silent.

"Sir?"

Nelson's eyes were still fixed on the spot where the giant vortex had erupted from.

"It isn't over yet."

They all stared at him. "What?"

"Whoever came out of that thing is still here…"

All of the mercenaries looked at each other. "You mean….a ship?"

Nelson's eyes focused on the spot harder. "Yes…we may not see anything now…but that doesn't mean that they're not out here…"

"So…you know who's on it?"

"Let's just hope that I'm wrong…." He turned to them instantly. "We have to get this ship out of here. NOW!"

As everyone scrambled for their controls again, he looked back into the sea of stars.

One thing was certain…

They weren't alone in this desolate area of space anymore.

_Passenger Quarters, 300 decks below…_

The huge fusion sound made Wolf's eyes shoot open. He sat up in the dark on to of his bed, reaching for the blaster under his pillow, and cocking it.

_Click._

He looked outside the window. But there was nothing out of the ordinary…nothing but some stars floating by…

But Wolf was no fool. Months of sleeping aboard gunships and frigates during the Lylat Wars and hearing these kinds of noises only meant one thing: a) That they'd crashed into something big, or b) They had been _shot _at by something big.

Either way, it didn't sound good.

Pulling on his black overcoat, he walked over and nudged Leon. "Hey!"

Leon muttered something about marijuana and rolled over.

Wolf was starting to get impatient. "Wake up, lazyscales." He snatched his pillow and swatted him with it.

"_Oomphfffshrmph!"_

A muffled grunt came from under the pillow. Leon looked up, blinking his electric-blue eyes drowsily. "What the hell?" he said in an irritated voice. "You want a pillow-fight at four in the morning?"

Wolf tossed his pillow aside and pointed his blaster at the ceiling. "Look, did you just hear that noise?"

Leon sat up confusedly. "What noise?"

"That exploding sound." Wolf's eye darted outside. "It sounded big…and destructive. Like a supernova."

Leon stifled a yawn. "We're not far enough into space for something like that…it's probably nothing."

"I don't know…I'll just check to see what's going on." Wolf walked over to the door and pressed the switch.

CLUNK.

The door didn't budge.

He pressed the button repeatedly. _What?_

_Tack! Tack!_

His finger jabbed impatiently at the switch, but the door wouldn't open.

"The door's locked itself."

Leon sat up. "What?"

"Look!" Wolf pressed the button, and looked at Leon in confusion.

Leon walked over. "Huh…these doors are automatic sliders….they're only supposed to auto-lock when there's an emergency…" He glanced at Wolf uneasily. "It may have something to do with your 'noise'."

Wolf clenched his fist around his blaster.

_Something's going on…_

_Have we been found already...?_

For a scary moment, Wolf thought about the possibility of the Cornerian Army finding them all of a sudden, catching him and Leon…

They would be tried…and imprisoned…

In prison…again…

_No…_

He shook the thought out of his head.

_I've put too much blood and sweat escaping one hell-hole…_

_I'm not gonna do it again!_

"Well, it can't be just our door," Leon said, as he fished his switch-blade out of his jacket, which hung on a chair. "These sliders usually lock simultaneously…which means everybody on this ship is locked in…"

_SLAM!_

Wolf kicked the door so hard that it ripped off of its hinges and clanked with a thud into the hallway.

"Not anymore. Come on!" Wolf cocked his blaster and ran down the hallway.

As they both charged down the hall, Leon shifted his knife under his bottom-hand grip around his blaster. "Where are we going? Escape pods?"

"No. If these are Cornerians, then they'll be able to pick off escape pods and lure them in easily. Besides, once these civilians get out of their rooms, which they will, they'll head for the pods too, all of them….like people heading to the life-boats of a sinking ship."

"So then where do we go?"

Wolf slid to a stop, his back to a cornered wall. "There should be a hangar bay at the bottom of this cruiser…we should be able to find a ship there."

Leon sighed. "We just keep changing ships to fit the occasion, huh? I wish we still had the Wolfens."

Wolf's mind became sad as he remembered his old ship. "Yeah…I could use some time in the cockpit right about now…"

_Meanwhile, at the Command Deck…_

"All Deck Commanders! Proceed with maneuvering to stern side! Ayxal, plug in emergency transmission to all available frequencies! We're gonna need all the help we can get…Bernard, set the radar to Energy Seeking Mode. If you pick up signs of a ship or any kind of spacecraft, report it immediately!"

Bernard furrowed his eyebrows. "But sir…there's nothing out there…."

Nelson nodded impatiently. "Yes, yes…I know we don't see anything yet, but that doesn't mean that they aren't out th-"

"No, sir, I mean there's nothing showing up."

"What?"

Bernard pointed at his screen. "Nothing, sir. No life-signs or fuel signatures of any kind."

Nelson looked at the Husky with disbelief. "That's impossible…no ship that large could be able to hide under a cloaking device, not with the scans capable on this ship…"

"That's not all sir…" The worried look started to grow in Benard's eyes. "I'm not picking up anything else, either…"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean there's nothing being picked up on the radar…no star frequencies, no typical lack of oxygen…not even our ship's sensory signature! It's like…we aren't even in space! Like we aren't even here!"

"It must be malfunctioning…" Nelson reasoned. "The stars and lack of oxygen is easy to see even without a radar…and our signature should show up. Are you sure it's even on radar function?"

Ayxal looked up from his screen. "Bernard isn't the only one who's having weird readings…look at this! No communication signals in any direction!"

_HMMMMMM!_

Suddenly, the entire deck started to vibrate, as the keyboard panels and screens began to shake under the mercenaries' hands. Everyone shouted startled yells as one by one, all screens, flashing buttons, and indicator lights on every table began to dim and shut off.

"What's happening? Are we losing power?"

"The controls! The shields! Everything's shutting off!"

"Something's making this ship malfunction!"

Nelson grabbed at the comm. "Mayday! Mayday! This is _Anatarres, _requesting emergency procedure!"

_KRRRRRSSSSHHHHZZZZZ!_

The lights in the entire deck shut off, and the mercenaries were standing in the dark, looking around in fear.

Nelson dropped the silent comm. "Somebody, get a light!"

There was an echoing bump as Ayxal bumped his head under a table as he reached for the Emergency Supplies.

"_Ouch! _Gaagh…goddamn it…"

_Klikkr!_

A clear stream of light glowed from under the table, and Ayxal emerged from under the table, his face glowing from the Illumitorch cylinder's light.

Nelson took the light. "Thanks, Ayxal…alright, men! Remain at your stations this ship is on emergency autopilot, otherwise we wouldn't still be flying….but we've also stopped. I don't know what's caused this power drain, but we need to act quickly. Hopefully, with most of our passengers being asleep, none of them will notice the power shortage. What we need to do now is try to plug at all computers and terminals to make sure we don't miss any opportunities to get the power online."

"Captain," A Retriever spoke up. "Shouldn't we prepare for some kind of emergency? What if that other ship you were talking about earlier is behind this?"

"They most definitely are," Nelson confirmed, with a cold look in his face. "There nearby…somewhere…but with all of our external lights off, we can't see an inch in front of this ship's front. We need to get the power back online…"

"Sir!" A Corgi waved in his direction. "My terminal's working!"

Nelson worked his way past the crowd of mercenaries and sat himself to the terminal, which glowed faintly in the dark.

"Thanks, Colin. Now… I think I can read some kind of signature on this thing…" His fingers dotted the keyboard rapidly. "If I can just…"

_RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!_

Everyone's attention turned to the ceiling, hushed voices rising with startled murmurs. The entire room vibrated in unison with the rising rumble, as if some fissure buried deep below the ship had come alive and started to shift all of a sudden. There was a lurch, as if a giant finger was tipping the ship, ever so slighty. The mercenaries staggered and tumbled over each other. Then, as everyone regained footing, the rumbling came to an abrupt halt, and the room was stationary again.

"What was that?" a voice called out. "Did we hit something?"

Nelson's ears twitched as he glanced at the dark ceiling. "Wait a minute…I've felt that kind of vibration before…"

Ayxal glanced at him in confusion. "Sir?"

Nelson fixed his intent glare back at the blaring-in-the-darkness screen. "That kinds of tension….the only cause likely enough to cause that must have been some imbalance with gravity…that only happens when a starship comes to close to another starship….they're both carrying an energy shield, so the friction tightens whenever they come within a few kilometers of each other…" His eyes darted to the dark ceiling, which he illuminated with his light-source cylinder. "The ceiling wires and structure is still intact….so it must have had more impact on the outside…on the hull of the ship…"

Then, his eyes lit up. He went back to the terminal screen.

"What I need…is pair of eyes on the hull….hey, Bernard, are the built-in Security Drones on top of the ship still operational?"

Bernard shrugged. "Should be… they're fusing-powered, so they probably didn't black out with the rest of the ship."

"Good…I need a clear view on the top of the ship…"

He tapped more buttons, and the screen started to flicker.

The screen opened up into a dark display, and started to rivet in different directions according to Nelson's directional control on the touch-pad. This showed the view from the center-eye camera feature attached to the Drone. It was like his own personal mini-sub, in outer space.

But the view that the mercenaries got was anything but clear.

The surface of the ship was dark, and lightless, usually twinkling with the lights from the ship's windows or functional lights. But now, it was as dark and eerie as a starless night.

Nelson scanned the area around him. It wouldn't be smart to switch on the Drone's head-light. If there was a ship nearby, the light would serve as a perfect signal to blast them into space-adrift oblivion.

"That's odd…" He looked at the sky in confusion. "It's pitch-black….not a star in sight…"

_It's almost like…a shadow passed over our ship…._

The other mercenaries, apparently thinking the same thing, shifted uncomfortably.

"Hey…what's that thing?"

Breaking out of a trance of wandering eyes, Nelson's attention drew to where the mercenary next to him was pointing.

At the very far edge of the screen, he could just make out an object which appeared suspended in mid-air, in the dark. But the lack of light made it too vague to identify…

_What the…?_

Ayxal nodded towards the others assuringly. "Probably some discarded debris from the other shipwreck…nothing to worry about…"

"But objects like that float away eventually…look-" Nelson pointed at the dark object. "That one remains rooted in the same spot…"

Bernard shrugged. "Get a closer look."

Nelson thumbed forward on the Drone's camera control to zoom in on the dark object. But it was still too dark…

He needed some light right about now…

So he turned on the center-camera's headlight.

_Flick!_

"_Aiiiiiigggghhh_!"

Somebody made a noise that sounded like a combination of a gasp and a scream, as everybody's heart leapt in horror at what they saw.

It was a skull. Some kind of mammal's skull, grinning hellishly at them with typical Canidae fangs. It was bleached white and shone like an eerie light in the dark atmosphere from the light. It's dark, empty, lifeless eyes seemed to creep into the back of the minds of all who were present.

"Is that…?" Someone breathed in terror.

"There's no way…"

"Look…" Bernard pointed a shaky finger at some dots on the screen. "There are more of them…"

Nelson, amid in his own horror, turned the light around to expose more disembodied skulls, some yellowed or brown, as if they were only days old. They varied in species too. Some had long beaks, while others bore more of a reptilian resemblance. But there's was one thing they had in common….they all dangled horrifically from long, swaying, rusty chains, hooked into the top of each skull's cranium area, giving them the look of gruesome ornaments. The chains extended upwards and creeped into the darkness above, not showing completely where they were hanging from…

Everyone backed up in terror. What new, hell-forsaken danger had they come across?

_What kind of sick creature would do something like this to any living thing?_

Nelson shown the light around. _These things aren't just floating around…_

_They're attached to something…_

Then he shown it upward…

And this time, it was his heart that almost stopped.

Nelson's eyes widened in horrified disbelief. There was no way he could really be seeing this…his blood ran cold in ominous fear…

His hands gripped the controls so hard, that his veins began to line the surface of the back of them.

The only thing that could possibly have doomed…

Of all the things to have happened to them…

Of all the people to have found them…

His worst fears, that lingered like a nightmarish possibility in the back of his mind, had been confirmed.

"Oh my God…"

It turned out that the giant shadow that served as a starless sky, looming over them…

…was a _ship._

No….not even that…

….just _part _of a ship….

The size alone made the strongest mercenaries in the room feel like helpless infants trapped in a fire…

The surface of the giant ship loomed like a huge, awakened beast, stretching for miles in every direction, blocking out any light of hope from the stars. The Great Fox itself would be a mere _flea _compared to this giant thing. Some of these mercenaries had seen entire cities smaller than this ship.

The ship was huge and black as obsidian, as if it had been forged in a lava-pit that could rival Solar itself. Each rivet and extension of technology was large enough to be a skyscraper, and the black steel surface seemed to engulf the ship below like a giant mouth. Each plate of metal that made up the ship's massive exterior was the size of battleship, and where there wasn't a gleaming window-light that lit up the rest of the ship's seemingly endless surface, there was a line of merciless Ion-Armored Turbolaser Cannons, capable of ripping whole ships apart. But there were so _many…_ they seemed to dot the ship in lined rows. But what made them so terrifying was the fact that they were all shaped like huge spines with laser barrels. And with rows and rows of these jagged cannons, they gave the ship the ominous look of some spiney monster. In the wake of this giant, drifting vessel, the energy seemed to be sucked into its interior, making the atmosphere moan under the tension of this colossal monstrosity.

With the skulls dangling from chains on the bottom of this giant ship, it sent the clear and undeniable message of the height of mercy of the commander of the ship, if it was to chain the heads of his victims to the bottom of his ship.

The huge, valley-sized wings that stood attached to the sides of this dreaded ship were enormous, but their most obvious feature was their obvious burns and dents, not to mention the massive jagged chunks ripped out of them, giving them the Satanistic appearance of huge demonic wings.

But everyone's attention was focused on one terrible feature on this ship:

In the space where the ship's insignia would be, was neither the symbol of the Cornerian Army, or the flag of the now-lost Venomian Fleet. It didn't belong to any military organization, of any planet, of any army, or mercenary guild of any kind. And it definitely wasn't the red, winged fox insignia of Star Fox either.

It was a huge and ominous looking "C", only the concave side of the letter had three pointed spines jutting out of it, like vicious teeth. It was black and lined with gold, and inside the "C"'s gapped front, was a steel cross, embroidered with engravings and trappings, like those seen in a church. Vertically written down the cross was a message or motto of some kind, written in old Cornerian:

_Judicium necessaria _

Translated, it meant "Judgment is inevitable".

Everyone's terrified gazes were fixed on the insignia, which had undoubtedly confirmed their fates for good.

Bernard whimpered. "Please tell me….that isn't what I think it is…"

"It's over…" Nelson murmured in terror, his eyes fixed on the ship above. "_They _have found us…"

_Meanwhile, back in the Passenger Deck_

Wolf felt it too.

That sudden, drawing, cold incense of raw fear, tearing into his awakening instincts was rising.

It started with the echoing noise of the entire ship rumbling, as it creaked and groaned, as if under some kind of grueling pressure from the outside.

Leon looked at the ceiling, a cautious glint in his eyes. "What was that?"

Wolf's tall ears twitched at the recovery of the sound. "I don't know….we might have hit something."

"One more reason to get off this ship," Leon muttered. "Don't get me wrong, the rooms are nice and all, but it's not worth it if the scenery changes into a prison cell…"

Wolf grimaced uncomfortably. "Don't remind me. 5 years are enough for me… let's just keep going."

As they proceeded down the unlit corridor, Wolf was beginning to feel more and more anxious. If Leon was right (and he had an ominous anchoring feeling that he was) and they _were _the last mercenaries aboard this ship…

…not to mention the entire system…

…escaping wouldn't be easy as it used to be. Escaping the prison was one thing, because he managed to catch the entire island off guard with releasing the other prisoners.

_There had to be survivors after that breakout…_

_No one remembers who I am…but I hope that there was not too much word out about my escape…_

His eyes rose from the depths of thought to reality, as he spotted a huddled figure up ahead.

_Skkthh!_

Wolf's boots scraped against the smooth floor as he came to a halt.

Leon, catching Wolf's drift, stopped quietly, with his knife gripped in preparation for any entertainment.

But it was just cat-a cougar, sitting in a scrunched-up position on the ground, as if he was trying to maintain warmth through a blizzard. His teeth chattered, and his fur was spiked up and paranoid, as all cats do when they're terrified. His eyes were wide with horrified terror, clutching a small Cross on a chain. His glance darted around fearfully, and his whiskers twitched as his mouth whimpered some rushed and barely audible prayer.

Wolf pocketed his blaster. "Hey!"

The cougar fixed fear-struck gaze at Wolf for a moment, and then resumed his blank stare forward, like Wolf's appearance was perfectly normal.

Wolf sighed. _Well, it's official…_

_Nobody remembers me…_

_That look of fear people get when they see me is gone…_

He shuffled his feet. _I kind of miss that…_

_But why is he even out here?_

_I thought all the passengers went to sleep….and even so…everyone's door got auto-locked…._

_..so, how'd he get out?_

The cougar continued to murmur fearfully. "…and a loud voice from the throne….ring out this is God's dwelling among men….he shall dwell with them and they shall be his people…" The cougar swallowed. He shut his eyes and gripped his cross in fear, his voice shaking. "..and He shall be their God who is always with them."

Wolf glanced around awkwardly. "Um…hello?"

The cougar continued to talk to himself. "No use…no use….he can't hear me…"

Wolf knelt down. "How'd you get here?"

"I don't like flying…" The cougar opened his eyes in timid terror. "I never did…this is my first time…and I still didn't like it….but looking at the stars makes me feel a little better….so I went out to look at the stars, to ease my mind a little before I sleep….but the door to my room was locked from the outside….I couldn't get it open…." His voice began to tremble frantically. "And I began to wander the hallway….praying that the ship didn't go down….like that other one outside…"

"Other ship?" Wolf's attention became clear as he leaned forward. "What other ship?"

"Flames….up in flames…." The cougar shivered. "Blackened and dented….like a rotting corpse…adrift in space…it wasn't an accident…it got attacked….it was boarded….destroyed…blasted…_to pieces…"_

_What ship is he talking about? A Cornerian ship?_

"Blasted by what?" Wolf urged an answer out of him.

"They didn't stand a chance…_no one _stands a chance against…_him…."_

Wolf and Leon looked at each other, both sharing the same look.

"Andross?"

The cougar shook his head. "He isn't like anything the galaxy has ever seen...he's the reason the galaxy's like this…he made it cold, unbearable…he took over everything, like a massive shadow….he consumed everything…he killed off the mercenaries one by one…."

Wolf's expression froze with realization.

_He must mean the one who put the galaxy in its state of misery…_

_The one who scared all the other planets into obeying Corneria…_

_The one with the weapon…._

_The one responsible for all this…_

"Who is he?" Wolf said instantly. "Who? Tell me!"

"It wasn't always like this…" The cougar trailed off again, ignoring Wolf. "The galaxy was free once….it was flourishing, in the ashes of the War…things were going to be fine….freedom was going to be restored to Lylat again…but…" He shook in fear. _"He _came….him, and his armies…"

"Army? Whose army?" Wolf cut in sharply. "The Cornerian Army?"

"The peace, the hope….it all withered and died when he arrived….it burnt up and disintegrated into ash when he arrived in that horrible ship….he….he…"

Wolf shook the cougar by his shoulders. "Who? Tell me, who, God dammit!"

But the cougar stared past him, his eyes wild with insane fear.

Leon frowned. "Wolf…I think this guy's off his rocker…or just retarded...we should leave him alone…before he urinates or something…"

"He's a monster…he's the devil, I tell you….the devil himself, in flesh and blood…he's evil, murderous, cold…he doesn't care for anyone…he doesn't pity any living thing…he consumes all…he takes everything that life feeds on…his blood runs cold….cold as drifting ice from the deepest and darkest shadow of space…wherever he wanders , with his army at command….death is sure to follow. He's callous…heartless….soulless….he has no passion, or guilt for the horrible things he does…."

For a moment, even Wolf was a bit concerned. Just who _was _this guy?

"What…kind of things?"

"He commits unspeakable sins….he murders, twists, demolishes, obliterates, incinerates, destroys….anything. Everything….everything he sees as a sinner. He rules this galaxy like no other…whatever his will….whatever he wants….he always takes it in the end. He owns everyone's lives…all for the sake of power. _He_ is the horrible shadow that controls the strings of the government….he controls the people that make the decisions….his will is unstoppable…and so is his mighty weapon. No one knows how he found it….or if it was he who forged it…the weapon….the symbol of his power….he burns all life with it and grinds the remains under his foot…there's no way that he's human…there's no way that he's from this world….he sees too much…he knows too much….he can _do _too much. He travels the galaxy in a massive ship…the biggest in the galaxy…bigger than the Great Fox…bigger than this ship…almost half as big as Corneria City. He destroys all who oppose him…in the most painful way possible….he subjects every victim to an endless array of torture and suffering and despair…and finally ends them." At this, the cougar shuddered. "He can destroy a man without taking a step forward…he's that powerful…and he never takes prisoners…only victims…and whoever he doesn't leave to rot…he hangs their heads from the bottom his ship…nothing….no one….there isn't a thing that exists that can stop him….he enforces the harsh and merciless laws….because…his horrible will means law. And his law….means death."

Wolf didn't know how much more he could hear about this person. "Look…who _is _the guy you're talking about? _What _is he?"

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

The cougar gasped and jolted his finger behind Wolf.

Wolf turned his head at the loud, ominous rumbling noise.

_What the f-?_

Outside the window, both Wolf and Leon were fixing their gaze on the massive shape that slunk over the starry sky like a shadow. As the star bits drifted by the surface of this massive thing…it seemed to send out an impact shockwave….that sounded like the combined pained and tortured moans of a thousand bodies being massacred alive. Both Star Wolf members looked on in shock as they made out the huge rivets and dents of metallic fixtures, the spiny and aligned rows of toothy laser-cannons, the hundreds of illuminating lights that served as observatory windows, and a huge name plastered on the side of the ship in red, which read: the _Peacekeeper._

Wolf realized, with astonished and feverishly amazed disbelief, that this gargantuan thing….was a _ship._

"No way…" Leon breathed, his eyes wide with incredulity.

"God _damn…" _Wolf said in a hushed voice. "It can't be….no ship with today's technology can be that size….and look at those guns….I've seen big cruisers with maybe a twenty or so of those…..and those were _flagships_….this thing is blazing with them…has to be at least half a million….can a ship like this even _exist?"_

"Well, it's either a big-ass ship," Leon cleared his throat. "Or some kind of spaceborne leviathan….either way, I don't wanna meet who…or what…is on that thing."

"It's him…" The cougar was trembling all over, his insane eyes growing huge with terror. "Him…._he's found us! _We're all doomed….he'll show no mercy on our souls…he'll kill us all….he'll destroy everything that breathes….he can't be stopped!"

Wolf drew his Claw. "Whoever he is…I'll find out just how terrifying he is…."

The cougar shook his head frantically. "You don't stand a chance against him! He can kill a hundred men without taking a step forward! You'll be dead before you hit the floor….if you're lucky. But if you're not…" His eyes bulged insanely. "…there'll be nothing left to find…"

Wolf sneered. "Tch…typical…a figure surrounded by impossible rumors and horrible stories….just like Andross. Those kind of people don't spread their names with deeds…just power and infamy. They're weaklings underneath….I've seen it all before…"

"Wait a minute…Wolf…." Leon spoke up in an unsteadily concerned voice. "I think we should listen to him…"

Eyebrows furrowed, he turned to him. "What's with you? Just a minute ago you said he was off his rocker!"

"I know…" Leon glanced at the paranoid cougar with somewhat of an amused look. "And I still think he is…but you've been in prison for five years. You've…you haven't really heard about what's going on, or who this guy might be….and I certainly don't know what's been going on lately…I was with Pigma on the far reaches of the Lylat System. But this guy….what if he's as bad as this person says? You don't know what he's capable of…"

Wolf glared at Leon. "What are you saying…?"

"I think…he might outmatch you, Wolf."

Wolf looked at him. "What, you think this guy could beat me? Leon…don't be ridiculous…Andross was one thing…he had Inner Power, of a sort….but this guy's just….a human. He can't be stronger than I am…"

"People can be strong without Inner Power, Wolf," Leon said. "I've seen it before….but anyway…you've always fought people you knew about. Soldiers, mercenaries, bounty hunters, pilots….but we know nothing about this guy….and my instincts are telling me that we shouldn't meet him yet…"

"Follow your instincts," Wolf repeated. _Am I really hearing this?_ "Great. It was bad enough Fox always told me I was weak because I didn't follow all this James McCloud horseshit, and now _you're _on my case too?"

"Stop acting like an idiot for five minutes and just listen to me, okay!" Leon cut in angrily. "You're rushing to fight this guy. Rushing into battle like a hotheaded rookie is just about the worst mistake you can make on the battlefield. You've done it before. You rushed after Fox on Venom, with absolutely no hope of winning. And look where that got you!"

Wolf was at a loss for words. He hadn't thought about that…

_He's right…_

_That's how this whole mess started…_

_Me jumping into situations that I knew I couldn't handle…_

_I let my emotions get the better of me…_

_And…_ he clutched his Claw. _..I almost lost Leon...I turned my back on him…_

_Because I was obsessed….with bloodlust…._

…_Like _him_…._

"Okay…" Wolf said slowly. "You're right. Besides…." He turned to the cougar. "He mentioned an army…" He grimaced towards his bandages. "I'm not exactly in one-man-takes-down-a-whole-army condition right now."

Leon nodded with a small smile in the corner of his mouth. "You usually are. But now isn't the time…let's just focus on getting to a ship…By now, the other passengers will realize what's going on…and the panic will make it harder to escape…"

"He has sealed us in our own graves….his ship towers over us…like a coffin…"

Both Wolf and Leon glanced at the cougar. "What?"

The cougar's eyes were wide with madness, clutching his cross until his hands started to sweat. "We're all dead….he's taken us…."

Wolf's eyelids fell down in his usual factual, stubborn attitude. "It'll take more than pathetic attempts at stories to shake me. He's probably nothing I haven't fought before….and I'll face whoever he is eventually…"

Leon leaned near Wolf and spoke in the corner of his mouth. "What are we gonna do with this one?"

Wolf stood indifferently and resumed his pace down the hall. "Leave him. If he's smart, he'll make an attempt to escape." He looked at Leon. "But I don't think he's sane enough to realize when danger's approaching. Let's just go."

"You'll never face him alive…" The cougar moaned. "He's Death itself…wrapped in a web of shadows of corruption and deceit…..with empty eyes….like twin black holes….there's no light in them…they can only consume….they're pitiless and life-taking….just like him. And once Death is unleashed…it can't be stopped…"

Wolf paused.

_Clrrk-kik!_

He cocked his blaster and shifted it to his right hand, his Claw in the other.

"I've cheated Death before…" He continued to walk. "It's a challenge I'm used to…a trick I learned on countless battlegrounds…"

Leon shifted grimly. "Yeah, but it's not the Lylat Wars anymore…and I've got a feeling this guy can catch those kind of 'cheaters'…"

_Meanwhile, on the Command Deck…_

"Get to all assault stations! Half of you, prepare for escorting of passengers to all escape pods. We need to make sure all civilians are off this ship!"

"Hey, Captain…" Ayxal's eyes were locked on the now-blinking radar screen. "I'm picking up hostile detection on our ship…."

Nelson's eyes darted to the screen. "Where on the ship?"

"Everywhere…..look!" Ayxal pointed at the screen, as several dots appeared on impossible areas all over the cross-section ship display: in the hangars, in the passenger dock, in the engine room…

_That can't be right… _Nelson pondered in his head. _We haven't received any Security Breaches since the power came back on…_

_But then how are they all over the ship…?_

Then he looked up. "They must be using ships with cloaking devices to force their way through all the blast doors and hatches. They're boarding the ship!"

Bernard stood. "Alright! I'll take some men down to the armory and pull out some rifles. We'll rush all the entrances and-"

"No!" Nelson cut in urgently. "What are you crazy? You can't fight these people! _None _of you can!"

Everyone looked at the Captain in shock. Nelson, the hero of so many battles, in the army and outside the law, who had always seemed so tough and invincible against any threat… was telling them to retreat.

"But…Captain…" Bernard started. "We have to put up a fight of some kind. If we don't-"

"Are you so young and crazy that you're willing to throw your life away?" He grabbed the Husky by the shoulders. "If you value your lives you'll get off this ship before _they _board it! Don't you understand? Facing them means automatic death! _He's _on that ship!"

Everyone fell silent. Captain Nelson didn't have to go into detail about who '_he' _was. They'd heard enough blood-chilling stories to be knowledgeable…

"Nelson…" Bernard wriggled out of his grasp. "I'm not going to let innocent people die at the hands of that murderer and his cronies…I'm putting up a fight! Even if the rest of you won't…."

Nelson looked at him painfully. "Bernard…"

"Look, Captain…" Ayxal stood and walked between them. "We need to put up with their forces while the passengers are getting away. If we flee with the rest of them…then there's no chance of escaping them."

The Doberman looked here and there, as if contemplating a difficult decision. "Fine, then…if that's the case, go into the armory and retrieve those weapons. If those bastards want a fight, then let's give it to'em!"

Everyone cheered and nodded approvingly, and leapt up from their seats, rushing in all directions.

Nelson's sharp-sprung orders rang above the fray:

"Get all the M-16's,FAL's, and AK blaster rifles and head to every door, exit, escape hatch and hole this ship has. All of you at the Homing Bay, strap into those Turrets and wait for my signal. Harker, round up a hundred of our men and start directing all passengers to all available escape pods. The rest of you, prepare for boarding of the ship!"

_Door to the Central Passageway to Ship's Core_

Clunk! Clunk!

Mercenaries dashed through the hallway, hauling long, battered blaster rifles and machine guns as they surrounded the door to the ship's entrance.

One gave finger-signals, and the others took a position around the giant steel door, weapons raised and their eyes fixed through the scopes at the door. Men in the back row held plasma grenades, fingering the spring-triggered laser rings at the top of each explosive. Two or three others flicked out Combat and Survival knives, or steel tomahawks.

Now, positioned around all sides of the door, all the mercenaries had to do was hold their breath as they waited for the enemy to make the first daring move….

Their confidence was unshakable at the time. They weren't afraid right now…nothing could scare them…not even the countless stories they'd heard about these people…

_BBBBRRRRRRRMMM!_

Everyone shifted uneasily as a low rumble echoed across the room. A few breathed heavily, and others cocked their weapons in somewhat cautious anticipation.

Still, there was no fear among them. They remained upright in bold perseverance at the door, weapons locked onto it.

Everyone in the room was thinking the same thing. _They ought to be here by now…_

BRZZZZZ!

And then, the lights went out. That's when everyone got nervous.

There were a few _clunk!_s in the room as a few of the mercenaries shuffled uncomfortably. The only light visible in the hallway was the blaring red alarm light above the door, and even that went on and off in an eerie fashion.

They all began to breathe heavily, and the lack of power fueling the ship's air synthesizers caused the room to be cold, and their breath to be white and wispy out of their mouths.

The mercenaries began to shiver, their senses becoming impaired with fear as it seemed to get darker and gloomier in the icy room. Any sudden sound….someone's boot clicking back….steady breathing…or the cock of their guns set them on edge and made their hearts jump.

The one closest to the door gulped, his eyes darting around nervously, the eerie silence making him fearful for sudden movement or actions. The guy behind him clutched his rifle in scared anticipation, a bead of sweat rolling down his face.

**CLANK.**

Everyone's hearts and minds jumped to attention at the sound of the noise. It sounded like it was coming from the other side of the door…

There were rapid _click!_ sounds as everyone drew their blaster directions to the door, all of them fingering their the triggers for the moment when someone would burst through the door.

But nothing happened. No sound. No action. Nothing.

The gazes of everyone in the room shifted around uneasily. When was the attack going to happen?

CLANK.

The strongest man in the group, a Dane, clenched his blaster rifle's grip. The longer they all waited, the more fearful they became.

But where was that noise coming from?

The Dane listened hard. It was definitely echoing from a neighboring room. From beyond the door they were facing…

No…it sounded _much _closer…

But how was that possible? There wasn't anyone else in the room but the mercenaries…

CLANK.

That's when the Dane felt the vibration. He gripped his gun and looked around, but there was nothing there…and yet…it seemed so close…

He looked up. "Wh-?"

**BAAAM!**

Every mercenary in the room whirled around, blasters up, their fingers on the triggers, as the ceiling blasted open with dust and crumpling metal, spitting out cracks and twisted metal pipes and machinery from the drain and electricity outings. A large, dark shape slammed onto the dumbstruck mercenary under it, blurring over his wide-eyed expression of fixed fear and engulfing it, before crashing down and sending a vibrant shockwave of dust-clouds in all directions.

But when they saw the figure, with their own eyes, the last strand of courage that keeps a human being alive went out of their bodies.

The figure was standing in the heap of debris, its arms spread near the waist in the stand-still of rising, was tall and lean, dressed almost completely in black, giving it a shadowy and foreboding demeanor of secrecy and enforce. He was a gray-furred vermin of some kind, with black in the area around his eyes and face, like a natural face-mask. His ears poked out of the black thin-rimmed Fedora clamped on his head, its brim casting a shade of unidentification over his eyes, but his species was clear….

He was a weasel.

A long, sleek-cut black coat hung down almost two his feet, (with a dark tail peaking out the back), unbuttoned to expose the dark, buttoned-up pinstriped suit underneath. His hands were etched in grey gloves, braced near trouser-clamped legs over sleek black leather shoes

Excluding his gray tie, he bore no ornaments or decorations of any kind, save the small silver pendants on his sleeve-cuffs, tie, and high cuffs of his suit, all in the shape of the "C" and cross insignia seen on the _Peacekeeper _ship outside.

No one in the room had any doubts what this person was. His organization-generic clothes, and insignia all typical features described in every incident they had heard about defined him completely.

He was an Agent. One of _his _Agents.

The mercenaries gripped their rifles in terror, their eyes wide at the horrible Fury that had been sent to claim their souls. Cornerian Soldiers…Pilots…Venomians…

_Anything_…but this…

Then one soldier drew his gun. "OPEN FIRE!"

_BRATTA-BRATTA!_

A rapid stream of laser-blasts shot through the air in the direction of the Agent.

And then…

**BAAAM!**

**BAAAAM!**

Giant holes in the ceiling were crashed open as more dark shapes began to fly down from above, each leaving a glowing stream of light from the skylight up in the ceiling. The stood rooted in the spots, the dust caressing off their shoulders, before looking up.

Three more Agents had entered the room, all dressed in the identical black long-coat suit and hat dress as the first. They were also weasels, except unlike the first grey entry, these ranged from white to brown to darker grey.

"They've surrounded us! Kill'em!"  
But before the mercenaries could even flinch, the Agents were on them. They moved with such speed and agility, that they were nothing but black blurs gliding across the room. Without even a weapon in their hands, the weasels smashed and paraded their fists and feet into the stomachs and faces of the still dumbstruck mercenaries. Every now and then, a skilled mercenary would counter their attacks with blocks of their rifle butts or knife blades, and attack back with vicious aggression….but every move, every action would be dodged aimlessly by the Agents, either stopping them before they even came in contact with them, or just killing them before they had time to move.

These weren't common soldiers. They were trained killers….assassins, professionals, not taking a single hit…

And they were just the henchmen.

One mercenary tried to fire his rifle straight into one's chest, but the Agent in front slickly moved to the side, just as the blazing barrel moved past him like a dodged trap. Then, he grabbed the mercenary by the face and plunged it into the wall…twice!

_CRASH! CRASH!_

Every new dent in the wall caused the wall to crack and blood ooze out of the hole made in it. Then the Agent jumped up and flung the brutally-crippled carcass at a neighboring mercenary.

A bold Mastiff charged with a snarl at the leading Agent (the one who had first arrived) with razor-edged Kukri knife, slashing and hacking fearlessly at him. The Agent moved back and ducked several times, quickly maneuvering.

The Mastiff growled in anger and drove his knife. "ARGH! Just die already, you son of a bitch!"

CLING!

The Mastiff's jaw dropped, and everyone else in the room shared the same shocked expression.

The knife quivered in the hand of the Mastiff, except the Agent was holding the blade's tip with only two fingers, just stopping it barely a few centimeters away from his naked eye. The Mastiff's hands shook and shivered, but the Agent's grip on the blade remained iron-willed and unmovable.

Then he spoke, in a low and quietly menacing voice. "Contemptible fool," he hissed in an almost amused tone. "You hopelessly attempt at protecting those illegal miscreants you've snuck on this ship using those pathetically feeble skills of yours…."

The Mastiff roared at the blood-boiling taunts and tried to wriggle his grip out of the pincer-like grasp of the Agent. But the weasel jerked the knife from his hands with catlike reflex and tossed the knife upwards, which shot like a bullet and embedded itself into the ceiling. _CLANG!_

The Agent swept his hand in front of the mercenary's face in a "halt" gesture.

Krr-_SHIIING!_

The next action happened so quickly that all who were watching barely had time to process the speed through blinking efforts. All they saw was the wicked glint of gleaming steel and the flutter of the Agent's black coat behind him.

The Mastiff's broadened eyes were fixed on the Agent with perplexed fear, as his mouth began to gush with blood. A two foot-long blade as thick and as sharp as a double-edged rapier was sprouted through his neck, its reddened point protruding from the back of his throat. The blade was coming out of the Agent's sleeve, like a hidden blade, emerging from the inside of his cuffs just below his wrist. The Agent's merciless stare didn't flinch at the blood gushing from the mercenary's mouth, raining down at his feet just inches from his slick black shoes.

"…when you can barely use them to save yourself," He finished. There was a sickening _shriing! _as the blade retracted from the back of the dog's neck, causing more blood to fly from the withdrawal, and drew like a measuring tape back into the sleeve. Before the body could fall at his feet, the Agent kicked it out of his way and into the wall, where it collapsed in a butchered heap.

Horrified gasps were released from each mercenary's mouth, as they looked from the gruesome body to the Agent himself, every one of them dumbfounded.

They were all thinking the same things: how the hell was this Agent carrying a hidden blade of that size in his _sleeve? _They had all heard of hidden blades and stuff like that before, but…_two feet? _And the way he had killed the mercenary…so quickly…so easily….who _were _these guys?

All of them gripped their weapons in terror and fearfully stepped back. Every fiber and instinct in their bodies was screaming for them to run away….but their feet weren't moving….

The other Agents shifted their stances, as if taking the gruesome kill as a signal to no longer hold back.

Like a horde of death angels, they swept forth and drew closer to their prey.

One Agent, a dark-furred weasel with pale blue eyes leapt at a mercenary, his coat flying behind him. The mercenary, a terrified Akita, raised his blaster rifle in self-defense and fired some desperate shots in an attempt to push him away.

But the Agent jumped into a mid-air somersault, arms spread.

_SHA-SHING!_

A blade, similar but shorter than the earlier one, drew from his sleeve and he swung it down below him in a rapid slash while in mid-air.

The rifle spilt open from the slice and the plasma core of the barrel was exposed, causing it to explode in the dog's hands. The Akita yelled in sudden pain and clasped his bleeding hand, but made the fatal mistake of looking up.

The Agent, still in the air, flipped over so that his feet faced downward and clicked his boots together.

_Ker-SHWANG! Ker-SHWANG!_

Two small but lethally sharp dagger-like blades grew from the heels of the Agent's boots, as he plummeted downward, sinking his heels…

_SHHFLRRRTH!_

…straight through the eye sockets of the mercenary underneath.

The Akita, his face forced in the ceiling's direction, let out a blood-curdling scream of agony that pierced the air with a horrible shriek. Blood flooded over his cheeks like raining crimson tears, quickly turning from stream to waterfall, sending the spray everywhere.

The other mercenaries' eyes widened with horror at this nightmarish image, their hearts throbbing with insane fear and revulsion. Their breathing became heavy as every scream plunged into their minds like knives of emotional hypnosis.

His screams tore from his throat as he staggered and fell about like an intoxicated drunken, but the Agent remained atop of his face with incredible balance. Without a twinge of mercy, he withdrew one foot from the socket and plunged it, doing so with the other until he was literally stomping his heel-blades in and out of the poor dog's flooding eyes, until…

He swept his coat back and stretched his legs into a split-

_!_

The soldiers swerved their gazes away just in the nick of so that they couldn't catch a glimpse of the grisly scene. But the last hair-raising tortured scream of agony and pain, along with the horribly sickening sound of flesh ripping and blood splattering carved a drilling sense of terror and mind-throbbing fear in them. They all breathed heavily; sweat dripping down their necks, none of them dared to look up to see the result of the horrid kill.

_Phwish!_

The Agent landed neatly (his heel-blades retracted back into their compartment in his boots) in front of his victim, who was blocked from view by his flapping overcoat. But the dark red blood that trickled near his feet was enough ominous evidence that he had succeeded. He raised his head slowly, his eyes glistening with no bloodlust or mad battle-hunger, but a cold and commanding gleam that swept the room with an icy air of dominance.

The mercenaries stood frozen where their feet met the ground, their breath harsh and fearful and their hearts racing with thunderous and desperate beats. They were still recovering from the mentally-gripping scene they had just witnessed…

That Agent had killed him so effortlessly, and so horribly…and he felt no remorse or shame, as if the agonized scream of the victim was deaf to his ears and left no impact of guilt.

How cold-blooded were these people? How sick were they?

The mercenaries had all seen their share of death. Being decapitated, losing limbs, being shot in the head….that was one thing. That was quick, understandably mild, even. But this….ripping a person alive by their face? Hearing that scream, spilling that much blood, causing as much pain and depriving a living creature of mercy in such a way was…brutal…._horrible…._

And these were supposed to be the _lawful…._the judicious…

And the mercenaries were supposed to be the outlaws. But how was this justice?

They didn't need time to debate what was next. The sixth sense of pure panic clashed into them, and they did the only natural thing.

"RETREAT!" The mercenary at the front screamed. He took off in the opposite direction with no intention of waiting for the rest of them to catch up. "COME ON! GET AWAY, OR THEY'LL FREAKING DESTROY US ALL! RUN, YOU IDIOTS, _RUN!"_

The mercenaries, in a frightened pack, staggered back and sprinted in the opposite direction, some pushing and jutting past their own fellow mercenaries, desperate to evade the presence of their ruthless executioners.

The Lead Agent stepped forward, still control and at ease, regarding the escaping mercenaries as scattering insects.

"You can run from the law…" His callous eyes darted ahead, assessing the weak spots of his enemies. "But you cannot escape the slow and inevitable punishment that awaits on the other side!"

He flipped out a set of small, jagged throwing knives from his slick black gloves. Leaping catlike into the air, he flung them expertly at the running mercenaries.

_Fwrreesh!_

_Shhe-hiiing!_

_Whheetch!_

The small blades whistled and darted through the air like insects, singeing into the dogs' skin from the back at their necks. The jagged edges sliced at them from behind, blood spurting from deep gashes in the nick of their necks, some whizzing by the back off their legs.

Three dogs yelled in pain as they stumbled and fell over, caught off balance with the sudden clash of stinging steel in their arms and necks. While some winced and attempted to pull the deeply-plunged blades out of their skin, others were smart and crawled onward till they were a safe distant to get back up.

While a few of the mercenaries were caught in the midst of their injuries, the Agents sprinted down the hallway, taking advantage of their prey's weakened state. They traveled in a pack, their coats whooshing behind them as their boots went _clitter-clatter! _across the echoing floor, their arms swept back near their sides.

They didn't give the mercenaries any time to react. One cream-colored weasel charged at a wounded African Hunter dog on the ground. The Hunter dog pulled out his short blaster carbine and sent a volley of defensive yellow shots. _Sratttataat!_

The Agent nimbly flipped up into the air, the shots barely grazing the dark hem of his cloak-like coat. He threw out his arm, his hand outstretched.

_Shwa-Shhhhrssshh!_

Instead of a hidden blade appearing out of his sleeve, a huge-linked chain uncoiled like a steel serpent, swerving into a twisted twirl of almost eleven feet. At the end of the long chain was a huge iron cylinder-weight with bristling black spikes jutting out of it. The Agent wielded his flail like a whip, swinging it to and fro near his flanks and over his head.

The other recovered mercenaries did the first smart thing since the Agents had arrived. They rose to their feet and charged at the Agent's unprotected back, closing in to reduce the space for him to move. They pulled out their knives and jabbed for an advantage.

But the Agent was too cunning not to see the trick ahead of time. He flung the chain in the air and flourished the flail around him and behind his back, catching the mercenaries by surprise.

_Sprrlthh!_

The mercenaries weren't given the time to scream before their deaths were upon them. The brutal spiked weight smashed against their bodies, the spikes slashing open their flesh and crashing through their blood-splattered bones, sending wave after wave of sick dark blood everywhere, soaking their own bodies as well as staining the chain with a new coat of red. As the Agent swung his weapon into the crowd of mercenaries, more and more were impaled and clumped onto the end of the chain, sickly like a group of gutted fish strung up on one hook. Blood showered in all directions, splattering against the walls and dragging across the floor. The mass of gruesomely strung bodies' weight down the end of the chain, and the Agent flipped the chain into the air before pulling it forward and delivering a powerful kick forward.

KER-SPLLRTTCCCHHH!

Crimson rain flew in all directions, splattering and washing over the floor and walls, and even drenching some horrified mercenaries with the dripping innards of their now-ripped-apart associates. They screamed and wriggled under the dragging organs and gaped in horror at the Agent himself, who incredibly was standing in the one clean spot where the blood hadn't reached. His eyes turned to another fallen mercenary that he had somehow missed.

The dog whimpered under his merciless gaze. "Please…_no…!"_

SPLSRRTH!

He writhed and howled in searing agony, as the Agent flung his spiked weight down on to the mercenary's unprotected chest, slashing and ripping at it like a spiny hammer. Blood gushed and ripped from the giant hole in his stomach, and after beating the weight down viciously, he drove it down and began to drag the wound open. The pain was excruciating: the height the spine-tingling screams rose caused all onlookers to almost weep in fear, unable to tear their reluctant gaze from this horrible death.

Then, the screaming stopped. "P-P…_pl…"_

The Agent paused, acknowledging the massacred body for a moment.

"Plea…_ppl…p-please…" _The poor creature was already half-dead, his eyes just barely remaining open, his breathing hoarse and frail. Even in the sight of his own death, the torture he was enduring was too much to bear. "…mercy…." He lifted a feeble, blood-soaked hand, his eyes pleading with a heart-crushing look of desperate sadness.

For a moment, the Agent actually seemed to oblige. He lifted the anchor-like spiked weight from the wound, and bent down to the dog's level.

He held out his hand. A look of weak and pathetic joy sprang into the mercenary's eyes, as he weakly took a hold of it-

_Shwa-SHIIIING!_

But the dog's plea of humane feelings was answered with a swift act of icy-blooded cold-heartedness. The dog's eyes were huge with petrified fear, as a long, steely blade protruded from his neck from the sleeve, and even worse, near the hand in which the Agent had taken. In the last moments before death, the Agent left him with a painful and merciless notion of soul-crushing unfeeling.

"Law-breaking scum." The Agent spat quietly. "All traitors who walk outside the law set down by the judicious deserve the long and slow death of a traitor, and an eternity of damnation. There is no reason for me to give you anything less…or pity your pathetic carcass."

The Agent ripped his blade from the weakened dog's throat, watching contently as the eyes gave one last saddened look in his eyes disappear and loll back, before his head splattered and tore from the neck and landed with a thick _splrntch! _in the circle of blood…and was soon joined by the decapitated body.

The mercenaries watching from afar, stared with fixed and wide-eyed horror at the dismembered head of their slaughtered comrade. Their fear-stricken souls screamed in silent plea to turn their gaze away from the nightmarish sight, but the direction of their vision was somehow preventing them from looking anywhere but at the decapitated head, like a parasite of terror gripping their minds and thrusting them down into the bowels of their own horrendous fears.

Their gazes were also on the Agent that stood near the beaten body, his eyes unchanging with their unblinking stare of remorseless coldness. These men…weren't men at all….

They were murderous…unstoppable…

They didn't just kill their enemies. They tore them apart…tortured them…extracted every particle of mercy from their last moments in the world…and finish them off in unspeakably lurid and gruesome deaths. The same inevitable painful death that awaited the mercenaries themselves…

There was no escape…there was no hope of standing alive against cold-blooded Agents like these…

_Cla-Clatter!_

The mercenaries tossed their useless weapons aside and sprinted away as fast as they could without a second thought. Every one of them was desperate. They had to get away…they at least deserved a better death…not at the hands of these people…

But the Lead Agent had no intention of letting any of them escape with their lives…the notion alone was too merciful.

He drew another throwing knife from the depths of his coat, only this one was double-edged and more fang-like. Without even taking a step, he flung the blade with two fingers, his eye darting to his target…

_Whirrarrarra-_SHING!

The blade found its mark, sweeping like a wasp and stabbing straight into the back of a trailing mercenary. The unfortunate victim cried aloud with pain that caused him to lose balance and fall to the ground behind the group. The others were already far ahead, and turned around too late to take notice.

The fallen mercenary, a Labrador, desperately attempted to stagger back to his feet. His raised his outstretched hand to his friends ahead.

"…_wait…"_

The two remaining mercenaries stopped and ran back to help him.

_SHWA-SHAAAANG!_

Two massive chains snared out of the Lead Agent's sleeves like twin steel snakes, each with a brutal spike-studded hook at the end. He whirled them to the front like a pair of whips, having them soar forward.

_Shliirrrrrth!_

The Labrador screamed as the hooks dug themselves into his heels. The Agent merciless pulled back on the chains, yanking the Lab back onto the ground and dragging him back in, reeling him closer…

"NO!" One of the two survivors, a horrified Terrier, ran forward to help him.

But the other, a tall Spaniel, stopped him before he could take another step. "Leave him! There's nothing that can be done…"

"I have to do _something!" _The Terrier looked on at the Lab. "Look!"

The poor Lab clawed at the ground desperately, digging his claws into the floor, but was dragged in none the less by the Agent's cruel grip. He clambered and fought, but as the reddened hooks yanked agonizingly at his feet, he looked up pleadingly at the mercenaries ahead.

"I have to help him!" The Terrier cried. "I'm not going to leave him to die at the hands of that cold-blooded scum!"

"Help him then!" The Spaniel spat contemptuously. "But do it alone. I'm not risking my life to help him."

The Terrier looked at him with horror. "You'd leave him to die? But he's one of our own!"

"He fell behind." The Spaniel stepped away gravely. "If you want to help him and die, go ahead." And without even a second thought of remorse, he took off down the hall and through the door.

The Lab on the ground scratched and gripped the floor, but lines followed his claws like tracks in the ground as he was pulled back.

"HELP ME! _PLEASE! _DON'T LET THEM KILL ME!" Desperate tears rolled down his cheeks as he was pulled in, like a victim being drawn into quicksand. His shining eyes, filled with anguish and fear, pierced through the Terrier's heart.

The Terrier looked painfully at the Lab, so sure that he could help him. But after his pained gaze fell upon the Lead Agent that was pulling him nearer, his heart felt heavy.

The Agent's stare seemed to almost dare the Terrier to come nearer and aid the Lab, sending the message that he would meet the same fate.

Chest heaving with the impossible decision he would have to make, the Terrier looked tearfully at the poor man.

_I don't want to die…but I can't leave knowing that I abandoned him…_

_What should I do? What should I do…?_

"PLEASE!" The Lab sobbed, clutching the ground with the last of his might, reaching out pleadingly for some help, some humanity…

Scared, petrified, and confused, the Terrier didn't know what to do. Finally, as if making a heart-ripping decision, he gave one last tear-struck apologetic look at the Lab, before tearing his gaze away, and leaving.

"_NOOOOO!" _The crying Lab screamed, his eyes red from the constant tears of horrified disbelief and terror. He dug his hands into the ground until they bled, kicked his stabbed feet around, screaming blood-turning cries of tortured defeat and fearful panic. He knew what was coming….he knew that they would kill him slowly and horribly… "DON'T LEAVE MEEEE! COME BACK! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE! SOMEBODY, PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO D-!"

Ker-SCHWAAAANG!

The Lead Agent flipped the chain and pulled his victim towards him, before delivering a vicious kick and sending him up against the wall. Before the Lab's feet could even touch the ground, the Agent's gloved pincer-like hand jabbed forward, clutching him by the throat without a twinge of mercy, holding him against the wall. With his other hand, he pressed a long, hidden blade from his sleeve against the Lab's stomach.

"You snuck illegal immigrants aboard this ship. Tell me where they are hidden," the Agent spat in a vibrant voice that radiated quiet and cool malice with every syllable.

The Lab's eyes were huge with terror, his glistening eyes reflecting the glint of death that harbored within the razor-sharp blade that cradled his stomach. "I-I-I…don't know," His breath flew around rapidly from his throat as it begged for air under the menacingly iron-strong grip of the Agent's grip. "None of us…_hic…_were…_ah-hkk…_allowed to…_AAAAARRRGHHHH!'_

The rest of his sentence was drowned out by the piercing scream of agony tearing from his own throat, as the Agent plunged the point of his blade into his stomach, and slowly cutting downwards through his flesh, making a red river appear on his body. He did it slowly….causing as much pain as he could…twirling and moving like a signature in crimson ink…

The Agent reached into the folds of the mercenary's jacket and pulled out a thin, metallic, rectangular Data Displayer. His cold eyes returned to pierce the dying dog's gaze.

"You know…" He spoke quietly in a dangerous tone. "You're very fortunate that I found you first…and my master didn't. He doesn't take too well to liars as I do."

_SLLLLSHRIIIIIIINNNNGGGG!_

Like water breaking out of a broken glass pitcher, blood escaped like a tide from the mercenary's stomach before a scream could escape from his mouth. His body fell apart in two like sliced meat as torso tore off from his legs and fell into the spreading puddle of blood with a sickening _splish!_

Kwar-_Shiiing!_

The Lead Agent's blade disappeared into the depths of his black leather sleeve with a glint of steel, as he rose to his feet and examined the Data Displayer.

"Pursue the others and eliminate them," he said to the other Agents around him, without removing his gaze from the silver device in his hands. "Secure the rest of the area, and deal with any further….._inconveniences._"

The other Agents nodded and sprinted down the hall, their coats gliding behind them.

The room looked like someone had dumped bucket-load after bucket-load of dark red paint, and the floors were strewn with either decapitated or dismembered bodies, butchered and cut up, their innards lying near them or still strung from their opened chests. But of course, the remaining Agents themselves remained clean, their stainless black suits and coats untouched by the field of carnage around them. It was their infamous way of killing: Causing chaos and destruction and horror…but maintain a cold sense of clean-cut formality and calmness.

The dark-furred Agent rose from a body he was inspecting. "Mercenary low-lifes…they offer nothing to our mission, and waste our time. This whole deal is a waste of time…"

The Lead Agent looked up warningly from the device. "Scipius…."

"We scour the galaxy for threats and potential enemies…to deal with them and deliver justice," Scipius hissed contemptuously. "And what does our master send us after? Peddling little mercenaries. Are we so far low in our Order that we need to conduct a task equal to that of caring for irresponsible children…"

"Scipius!" The Lead Agent's sharp voice rose only for a moment before returning to its quiet, calm, menacing state. "You dare not speak ill of our master…or to question his divine guidance…"

"I wasn't speaking ill of the master, Curizio. I am loyal to him as I am loyal to God," Scipius bowed his head respectfully. "I only question his motives for which he chooses to act upon."

The Lead Agent, Curizo, returned his gaze to the device. "Faith is a gift you have yet to receive, young Scipius. Our master formed this Order and Agency with one notion in mind…to ensure the peace and security of the Lylat System. When the law is broken, we are beckoned to take charge and enforce it." His eyes wandered to the bloody corpses around the room. "With any means necessary."

"But how does he expect us, his followers, to do as he does when our missions only consist of killing common mercenaries? Why, when there exist so many greater threats-"

"There is no greater threat," Curizio cut in sharply. "To our Order or to the Government. When our master finally spread his influence through the Cornerian Government, one obstacle still stood in the way: the mercenaries and outlaws. They feed on crime and walk outside the law, and are lowlier than even the foulest of insects. They mock our principles and laws by merely existing. They were in the height of glory during the Lylat Wars, and many were in league with Venom. They were everywhere…and needed to be exterminated."

"Yes, yes," Scipius muttered impatiently. "But why must we attack every single mercenary vessel that comes into our scopes with constant effort and forces? They aren't that significant, are they?"

While they were both talking, a severely wounded mercenary on the floor had been quiet enough to move around in his crippled state. He used his hand to crawl across the floor, just slowly enough so that he wouldn't be noticed.

Apparently unaware, the two continued.

"You talk as the Cornerian Senators did when we passed our laws. Their wish was to only capture as many as they could find. But capture isn't enough. They must be eliminated….we must scour the galaxy of their presence. Should we let one escape, they will only rally others. If we were merciful to those we pursue, what reputation would we leave for our Agency? Many would soon believe that we are a minor threat, and would only prompt them to continue. No, Scipius…"

_SLRTTTTHSHIIING!_

Blood flew in the air as Curizio with blurring speed, extended his hidden blade from his sleeve and stabbed the wounded mercenary through the back.

The mercenary screamed and bawled with pain as he drove the blade through his spine, twisting it and grinding it painfully through.

"…we cannot allow even a single one of these men to escape," Curizio said calmly over the shrieks of the man being slaughtered at his feet. "They are like a pesticide….where one escapes, more will nest with it, and come back to haunt us again." _SLRRRTHH! _He drew the long blade from the mercenary's carcass and retracted it back into his sleeve. "And an endless path of chaos and insolence begins...such that could lead to a Second Lylat War. The last thing this galaxy needs is a force equivalent to that of Venom. And to prevent one from happening, the galaxy must obey Corneria, and Corneria must obey us. All who do not are traitors to their galaxy…slaves to their own unlawfulness. They come in any form: mercenary, bounty hunter, pilot….man, woman, and child….all forms. It is our duty to prevent even the slightest threat from becoming something that could threaten the peace we've worked half a decade to achieve. And all who threaten the peace…deserve the same, equal death."

He kicked the corpse away and resumed his gaze like nothing happened.

"Fine…" Scipius folded his arms. "But I do not see why we must go in individually. When there's an adequate number of people on board to kill, why deploy Agents when we can take care of this whole thing with such little effort?"

"What do you mean?" Curizio asked, looking up sharply.

"Let's use the weapon! We can signal our master to-"

_SLAMM!_

Curizio slammed the Agent the wall with blurring speed, his iron-like grip placed on his chest, forcing him against the ship's plating.

"_Do not speak of the weapon here!" _The gray weasel hissed, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Information about it alone is classified to even the highest of our Order! The next time you mention it out in the open, I'll have the master's permission to cut your vocal organs out, understand?"

Scipius's eyes grew huge for a moment, the Lead Agent's pincer-like hands digging into his body. "No, wait! Reconsider for a moment…I only meant-"

"Do not humor my confidence with uttering about your 'intentions'," Curizio said through clenched teeth. "Be wary, young Scipius. The only reason you aren't dead now is because our Order requires your uses. And pray I do not inform the master of such actions. He does not tolerate recklessness." He released him with a sneer and walked away.

Scipius rubbed his neck angrily. "Is it really that important?"

"It is the only reason our master rose to power," The Lead Agent said as he ran his gloved finger on the side of the silver device. "It was by that that he managed to grip the surrounding planets with enough fear to have them submit to his will. The Cornerian Government required much pushing forward to bend down get pushed forward with the rest of the legal changes. But apart from the knowledge of the weapon's actual existence and what it's capable of doing, its actual classification, design and name remain unknown to all outside our order, and must remain that way. No one must know anymore about it, otherwise too much knowledge could lead to any rebellious fools into thinking they have an advantage over us. Nothing….not even the smallest of threats…must be ignored. That's what the Cornerian President failed to understand…that's what the Government failed to understand…and also what the Star Fox Team didn't understand." He smiled cruelly. "And that is why they are what we've made them to be now….insignificant and cut off from their former glory. Those loathsome merciful fools, wandering in their giant rusting garbage hauler of a Great Fox, are no longer the keepers of the peace. _We _are. They are where they belong…on permanent patrol, and out of our way. The last thing we need is them to find out about our…_methods…_" He glanced at the carcass on the floor. "And get in the way of our justified notions. And they, just like anyone else, must not find out about the weapon. I hope for your sake that's clear, Scipius."

"Very well," The younger Agent muttered, seeing that the conversation was stretching longer than he'd like. "Forgive my impudence."

"Besides…" He ran his fingers over the sleek surface of the device and clicked at the center.

_Beewwooom!_

A holographic layout of the ship's cross-sections blinked above the steel disc in the palm of Curizio's hand, whose cold eyes shimmered at the find. "…we are only dispatched to take care of the mercenaries. That was the original task when our Order was formed, and that's the task we are meant to carry out. But the stowaways…" His smile grew with a malicious expression of callous knowing, as if laughing quietly to a cruel private joke. "…will be dealt with by our other subordinates."

He drew a comm. from his pocket. A voice buzzed from it.

"Sir?"

"Deploy the Liberator Corps to the Passenger Deck on Floor G, and command them to await for further orders. Also, inform the master that all preparations have been made for his arrival."

"Um…will he need an escort of bodyguards for the-?" The voice on the comm. started nervously.

"Bodyguards? For the master?" Curizio repeated in almost an amused tone. "He does not need a slowdown such as last time…we have wasted one too many guards to count who have gotten in his way and…not returned."

"I see…well, then….I'll inform him at once." The voice faded from the comm.'s buzz.

The Lead Agent pocketed his comm., gazing with little interest at the holographic display. "Put your restless thoughts at ease, Scipius….there will be a slaughter, and it will be short and sweet." His murderous stare was still fixed on the device. He ran his finger down the middle. "These fools realized that they had no chance against us from the start…but they still believe with some stupid childish hope in their weak minds that they can still hold out until the stowaways they want to protect get away safely. But they don't know the penalty they face…because they do not know our master. And our master…"

_SHING!_

A claw tore through the fingertips of the glove, cutting deeply into the mechanism.

"…will be their last dark reminder in this world of what happens when you break the codes of justice, and taint the galaxy's peace with crimes and sins. After all…he does not kill his enemies as mercifully and quickly as we do."

Ker-SHANG!

The Lead Agent's claw sliced through the disc like a guillotine, and mechanism gave out as its steel was split in two, before falling with a broken clatter at his feet.

_Meanwhile, on the Ship's Middle Level…_

The entire deck was completely crowded.

Men, women, children, families, of every age, and every species were gathered in massive crowd, being herded like cattle. The young ones rubbed their eyes drowsily, as they trudged along near their mothers. The adults had their eyes darting around fearfully, with perfect awareness what was going on outside the ship. The combined whispers and words uttered from the crowd were combined into that muffled and inarticulate noise that groups of people make.

Up ahead of the crowd, blasters gripped nervously and eyes peeled anxiously, were some of the mercenaries sent from the Command deck. They tried to act assured for the sake of the crowd, but each individual knew the slim chances they had of getting out of this alive.

None of them were counting on running into any Agents-If that was the case, they'd already be dead-but they were still keeping an eye out for the Agents' subordinates. They weren't as skilled with merciless killing as Agents, but were just as cold-hearted.

They themselves were a hopeless group of 20 or less, with a young Beagle leading them at the front.

"Group together, please!" The Beagle called, trying to take charge of the situation as authority. "I want all children and infants being supervised at all times. For the time being, I must insist that you all form up so that no one falls behind. Please remain calm….the situation is under control. Just follow us, and you'll be taken to the Escape Pod Bay."

The crowd continued to lumber behind them, not feeling much more comforted about their safety by these words.

He lowered his voice and spoke to other mercenaries, his brown eyes worried. "Is this all of them? You're sure you didn't miss anyone?"

"I scanned the entire floor, Lardon! There's nothing left on the Passenger deck."

The Beagle, Lardon, blew a sigh of relief. "Good…I can't imagine what those scumbags would to anyone left behind."

"I don't know why everyone's screaming about," A Pug mercenary mumbled in a bored voice. "So we ran into some Cornerian Law Enforcement. Big deal."

The Lardon glared at him. "Maybe if you paid more attention to what Captain Nelson says instead of that fat stomach, you'd know how dangerous situation's become."

"Meh, that old timer must have been seeing things, maybe crocked on some Bolse beer-"

"You weren't on the deck when we all saw that rotting corpse of a ship, Zachman!" Lardon barked contemptuously. "You didn't see the skulls hanging on the bottom of their ship either!"

"Okay, okay," Zachman muttered quickly. "But they can't be worse than what we've dealt with before."

"I lost a brother to those murderers, a long time ago," The beagle said bitterly, his eyes drifting to a more painful time. "He had fought through the entire Lylat Wars, and even he was no match for them."

"You lost a brother to the Agents?" The Zachman asked incredulously.

"Not the Agents." He gripped his blaster handle heatedly. "Otherwise my family and I wouldn't have had anything left to bury. He was killed by their soldiers. Gunned down like a dog…"

"Fine," The Zachman started again. "But still, anything's better than dragging this crowd to the escape pod bay. And if those soldiers…if they're as bad as you say…"

"They're worse," Lardon cut in. "Besides, I'd worry less about us mercenaries getting more damage. It's _them _they want…" He eyed the crowd of civilians worriedly.

A couple of mercenaries at the front lined up near the doorway at the end of the all and kicked open. Popping their heads just through the doorway, their rifles loaded for even the slightest inconvenience, they waved two fingers in the Beagle's direction in an "all-clear" gesture.

Lardon nodded to surrounding mercenaries. They raised their weapons and sprinted forward, the crowd following close behind them.

_It's a good thing we haven't run into any trouble yet…_

_I just wish this crowd could be a little quieter…_

_Just because they haven't attacked us yet doesn't mean they're not out there…_

He swallowed nervously and kept his eyes adjacent to the barrel of his blaster carbine.

_Fsh-Click!_

Lardon's heart jumped at the small sound and turned on its direction with his blaster, only to find that it was a Daschund mercenary, slipping a blaster clip through the magazine compartment of his pistol.

He cocked it cautiously. "Can't be too prepared with those Agents running around."

"Shhh!" Lardon hissed, his eyes darting from the crowd and back. "Don't be so loud about it, will you? Don't mention it loud enough for the passengers to hear you! The last thing we need is a panic at a time like this…"

"Sorry…" The Daschund mumbled sheepishly.

The other mercenaries exchanged glances. They didn't usually see their Leader this jumpy.

The mercenaries moved swiftly down the hall, and Lardon let out a breath of relief at the sight of the quiet, empty hall in front of them.

_We're making progress…_

_We just need to…_

Then up ahead, one of the mercenaries stopped in his tracks. He began to look around…as if he had just discovered something out of place.

"Jeremiah," Lardon called in a low whisper, recognizing these symptoms. "What is it?"

Jeremiah, who was a coonhound, raised one of his fuzzy ears. "I hear somethin'…"

He paced over to the wall, eyes darting left to right, trying to pick up a sound.

"Hear anything unusual?"

Jeremiah squinted. "Yeah…" Then, his expression changed, face drained of the courage he'd had earlier on the start of the mission. "Blaster shots…steel….yells…."

Lardon froze in his tracks. _There's a battle going on nearby…_

_But are we that close…?_

"How far away?"

"Close….maybe two or three rooms away…."

Lardon's breathing started to quicken. He knew better than to question the observations of Jeremiah's keen ears. "Are you sure?"

Jeremiah walked over to the wall. Sniffing the air, he turned back to the beagle, his eyes wide. "It's here…..blood…"

All the mercenaries around him paled.

They were close…

Too close…

Lardon whirled around and hissed at the crowd. "Everyone, pick up the pace, quickly! Don't start running or make too much noise, just walk faster!"

The startled crowd held their breath as their feet pitter-pattered down the echoing hallway as quietly as possible. Everyone, even the mercenaries, were losing the ability to conceal their terrified anxiety and fearful paranoia. Anything could go wrong now, and the consequence would be more horrifying than any of them could imagine…

_Come on…Come on…_

Sweat dripped down Lardon's brow as he frantically moved more quickly.

_We're almost there…_

_We'll be safe if we just reach the end of the hall…_

Jeremiah and some of his surrounding allies moved against the wall stealthily, shifting the noise from their feet to bounce against the hollow wall and suppress the sound of their movement…

But it was then the hound heard the noise.

The pitched, barely audible beeping…

…of a detonator.

He didn't even have time to scream. He had just enough time to whirl around, mouth open, but with a throat too parched to yell out a final warning. Lardon saw the whites of his eyes expand with terrified shock before-

_SHR-THOOOOOOOOOOOM!_

The wall was blasted open with the bomb's exploding impact, casting a heated-yellow aura and sending heaps of smoldering rubble and cracking wall fragment across the once-quiet hall. Jeremiah and the mercenaries at the front were buried under the shocking blast, their arms flying upwards and their screams drowned out by the screeching sound of the explosion.

Dozens of screams broke out in the crowd like set-off dynamite, as panic washed over all the civilians. The families and passengers scrambled back in a chaotic wave of paranoid madness, backing up against the hall's back-entrance.

The mercenaries had no time to react. Lardon regained grip of his blaster, shouting back to the rest of the dogs. "Lock and load! Aim for all hostiles!"

The mercenaries cocked their weapons and threw some aimless blaster fire into the giant smoking hole in the wall.

Out of the smoke billowing from the pressurized entrance through the wall, shadowy figures emerged like out of a deathly fog. The shapes formed out into the figures of tall, menacing soldiers, walking in a stiff manner, their black boots clunking forebodingly into the room. The arousing suspicions in the back of every mercenary's mind were immediately switched to cold, raw fear as the soldier's outline and detail were soon recognized from the ominous stories passed around across the galaxy. Their notorious and horribly well-known black body suits, covered in separated black armor-plates, like leeches infesting a body. The armored chest-plate, shoulder and knee-pads were made of an ebony-colored metal alloy, rumored to be strong enough to endure even the pounding of twenty chain-gun laser blasts. It made these soldiers maintain a grim reputation of being as impenetrable as a Dreadnought cruiser, and almost impossible to kill with the hopeless mercenary weapons that became the downfall of all long-dead bounty hunters and mercenaries that they had wiped out in the past.

Almost everyone shuddered at the sight of the round, demonic gas bombs latched to their belts, which were infamous in countless stories to have robbed several innocent victims of life. In their gauntleted hands, they gripped large, brutal machine guns, more savage and powerful than more common blaster rifles were. They bore huge, carbine-shaped barrels that had huge gaping openings like the jaws of an Aquasinic barracuda. These rifles, aliased "Widow-makers" by rare spectators, could throw off hundreds of blaster-bolts per clip like a shoulder-arm version of a rotary gun. They had become the guillotines of the galaxy, punishing all victims with a death of skin-shredding laser blasts, a punishment reserved as a "quick death", but not very effective for that purpose with all the agony and destruction they caused.

Clamped on each head was a black army helmet with a face-shield visor, similar to the visors on the helmet of a C.W.A.T. member. The visors were made of a yellow-glass laser-proof shield, and each had holographic HUD's and military signals, radars, arrays, and targeting systems flashing from the inside of the visor, with the letters and numbers and cross-scope signals appearing and blinking on the wearer's face.

But the faces behind each fearsome helmet, the actual soldiers, were not the harsh or unpitying face reminiscent of the seemingly faceless masses of the Venomian army. They were Cornerians-dogs, just like the mercenaries who were opposing them. Average men, no different than most seen in the Cornerian Army, even some young soldiers that had just joined. Most didn't have the hardened expressions of the superiors either, just the same sweaty, cautious look that the mercenaries had. They were practically indistinguishable from them, the only acceptation being their mercenary uniforms and military armor.

But the part of the arrivals' appearance that sent a chill down all spectators' spines, was the was the insignia etched into the breast-plate. The style of the depiction was not unlike the illustrious but still heretically ominous as the church scriptures and depictions of the gothic-medieval era. It was of a skull, with a fixed hellish grin of Death, with its empty and almost shadowed eyes seeming to delve right through the doomed souls of every mercenary, as well as a cross. This cross, however, was not the same Catholic one engraved on the _Peacekeeper, _but rather reminiscent of the Crusader's cross. The bottom vertical part of the cross emerged from the bottom of the skull like a neck, the top protruding from the top of the cranium, and the horizontal portion spreading out of the cheeks, like a blade stabbed through the side of the face, giving an overall appearance of the skull being embedded onto the cross. In its mouth, the skull bore an entwining beautiful yet nightmarish olive branch, only it was dark red and dripping.

Lardon, the mercenaries, and every living, breathing person in the room knew by this symbol exactly who these men were. It was this symbol that followed acted like an infamous protrusion of ominous presence everywhere as they patrolled the galaxy without will and without rest….that had served as the emblem of the force that was drawn over the entire galaxy like the foreboding and looming shadow, gripping it in a cold and ironfisted black coffin of harsh, inexorable justice and despair.

These men were the towering and anonymously feared Liberator Corps. These were the men that stood as the steel-willed pinnacle of the dark and heartless law they were bent to enforce. It was they who had wiped the masses of desperate outlaws and mercenaries that had fought painstakingly and hopelessly to their grim and sorrowful end….

The ones that were the tools used by a faceless and mysterious architect who had shaped the galaxy into the embodiment of oppression and desperation….

The ones who had replaced the Cornerian Army as the dominant military force of the Lylat System, the ones that had carried out all the harsh laws, both just and inhuman (but mostly inhuman), and were everywhere and nowhere at once, just like their masters, and their masters' master…

But Lardon and his allies knew this all too well. They had spent the remaining portion of their lives hearing spine-numbing tales and crowd-silencing encounters about these men….coming in endless swarms like a wave of black insects…eliminating and washing out anyone regardless of them being a man, woman, or child, for even the most mediocre of law-breaking….the theft of a crumb meaning instant sentence for an inevitable punishment…

And the penalties….the _penalties…_there was probably no one in the galaxy who didn't have their lingering minds haunted about them…

Being stripped and thrown into a bed of coals…

Being lined up against the wall and being fired at until there were more holes than skin…

Being herded up like confused, panicked livestock and being reduced to flesh and rubble by merciless showers of grenades…

And what was worse was that these Liberators…these 'soldier'…followed orders without question…because they knew that question of authority, or any kind of resistance was unspeakable…

It was for this reason that all, even the mercenaries despite their hiding of it, cowered in their skin most of all…

As the Liberators marched forward, their emotionless eyes fixed on the stunned mercenaries, Lardon swallowed fearfully as a drop of sweat crept down his neck and under the collar of his jacket collar.

_Damn it...how the hell did they find us so fast…_

_There's just not enough of us….they'll butcher us like cattle…_

He glanced at the trembling civilians behind them, who would normally scream into a panic, but were too terrified to even move. The children cowered timorously behind their equally-scared parents at the site of the towering soldiers approaching.

Lardon's heart quickened. He knew what would become of the passengers if the Liberators captured them…

He swallowed his fear and let his breath out in attempt to build up his courage. He wasn't going to show fear in front of these people…

_They'll lose faith in me if I act scared….I'm supposed to protect them…_

_No…_

He cocked his blaster, a newfound sense of perseverance flowing through his veins.

…_.no…_We_ are supposed to protect them…_

He raised his gun and fixed his sights on the soldiers trudging forward. "OPEN FIRE! NO QUARTRER!"

The mercenaries let out a group yell as they charged forward, blasters raised, sending volley after volley of blue blaster shots that darted through the air.

_Cher-THOOM-THOOM-THOOM! Cher-THOOM-THOOM!_

The Liberators didn't make an effort to charge aggressively. They just continued marching forward, holding their machine guns in front of them.

Mercenaries took marksman positions in the hall, kneeling or standing ground as they delivered well-aimed shots, their eyes dotting from one target to the next. The barrels or their rifles were aligned in a parallel direction, a blast flashing from one of them randomly at a time, like a row of electronic lights with one flashing at a different spot at a different time!

_Shu-puaing! _

_Shra-Puaing!_

Lardon took lead of the offensive, charging into the fray and sending streaming blasts in a wave in front of him with his rifle. "FLANK'EM! DON'T HOLD BACK!" His hand gripped the trigger, and blaster bolts flew from his rifle.

_BRATTA-BRATTA!_

The blue shots kept on ramming endlessly on the chrome black armor of the Liberators. But the shots flew and retracted off uselessly against the breast-plate armor and pads that covered their body. The most that would happen would be that the shots would hammer in a bunch against the surface of the armor, and the soldier would stagger back or be pushed back slightly at the impact of the blast. But they kept ominously marching forward, the shots bouncing off their armor and sending off a _pow! _in the echoing hallway, taking it in like a casual shower of rain.

Lardon grinded his teeth in frustration. _That armor's too thick…_

_Normal laser blasts won't do anything…_

_We have to push them back somehow!_

He called back to his allies. "Boys! Give'em a handful and push them back!"

The other mercenaries nodded and fell back, crouching. They drew metallic orbs with dormant red sensors. Grabbing the top and twisting it clockwise like a lock on a safe, they armed the grenades and tossed them into the direction of the approaching Corps.

The red sensors on the flying grenades flashed red like newly-opened eyes, and rained down in front of the corps.

_GRRR-SHOOOOOM!_

The huge orange blast sank into the ground and threw a shockwave into the air, bring down heaps of rubble and dust down on to the once stainless hallway floor. As the wall heaps crackled down and sent cracks down the walls lining the hall, the crowd of civilians behind the mercenaries screamed in a wave and recoiled in terror at the sound of the grenade. They began to fall back, some even running in the opposite direction.

As the dust cleared, Lardon scanned the opposite side of the hall in desperate hope, looking for the damage they'd scored.

Whatever impact he had hoped for had been barely achieved. Three or four liberators were lying in an unconscious heap on the side, their armor charred in filthy rubble black that clashed with their plates' chrome black. But the rest of the group trudged forward effortlessly, completely unscathed by the impact of the grenades.

Lardon cursed under his breath and barked a new order to the others. "Fall back! Concentrate fire on them, but keep in front of the civilians as much as possible!"

But before they could react, the Liberators raised their machine guns. The barrels began to rotate and hum, before-

_BRUNNNANNNANNNANNNA!_

Huge golden bursts of blast energy spat from the gaping barrels of their rifles, a large rotating kindle of yellow plasma emitting long, devastating beams that sent a thunderous riveting sound across the hall like steel rain hitting a concrete valley. The combined flank of Liberators kept marching forward, holding out their blasters and making a wake of huge aligned auras of blaster bolts so that from the front, they looked like a mobile wildfire. The huge and seemingly endless amounts of firepower from each rifle grazed through the first row of mercenaries and plowed through them, throwing streams of fatal blasts like horizontal rain that smashed into each body and shredding it into smoking, charred holes. The mercenaries struck by this wave of ominously dominant firepower let out piercing cries and pitiful shrieks of final torment as they fell like sweeps of trees under deforestation, collapsing in a heap of battered armor and blood.

As flying blasts began to rip through the walls near the panicking civilians, they all scattered in terrified masses as more and more deafening screams erupted in the air, all of them covering their heads as if to dodge the incoming blaster shots. Families, groups, and just about every other passenger who wanted to escape with their skins on sprang into startled packs in different directions, all flooding the hallway like a pack of scattering rats escaping a sewer tunnel.

Lardon swung his head around just in time to watch groups of frantic people run in the opposite direction.

_Crap! What the hell are they doing? They'll be killed if they run off unprotected!_

With the blinding blaster beams from both sides flashing and flying, grazing the air all around him, Lardon tried to force his attention on the mercenaries next to him.

"_Go after those people and defend them until you reach a safe zone!" _He shouted from his bruised throat over the muffled screams and gunshots.

"_What, are you _INSANE?" A nearby mercenary yelled. _"Forget them, we gotta save our own skins-"_

"DON'T YOU DARE ABANDON THOSE PEOPLE, YOU COWARD!" He roared. "GO AFTER THEM _NOW!" _He pushed the mercenary savagely and barked more orders to the men around him. _"Half of you go with him. The rest of you stay and help push them back!"_

The dogs nodded briefly and sprinted after the crowd at the end of the hall.

The Liberators had now made it all the way to the mercenaries' position, and now were slamming into them with hand-to-hand combat. Some bold mercenaries yelled and ran right into the soldiers, crashing shoulder-first into their cumbersome armored bodies and drawing brass knuckles, knives and hand-batons.

_CRRRTCHH!_

_SLAM!_

_SCRUNCH!_

The Liberators slid on the cold, sleek floor with their feet out, kicking mercenaries off balance and tackling them to the ground. Most were bludgeoning opponents with their unfairly brutal armor-gauntleted fists and knees, while others drew long, wicked combat blades from belts strapped on their arms. A majority of the Liberators were fighting barbarously, kicking soldiers to their ground and hammering them with the butts of their rifles and crushing them under the weight of their armor. The mercenaries were practically defenseless, because all they had was their bare skin and common weapons, and were taking merciless abuse from far superior soldiers.

Lardon gripped his rifle and kept his thumb scrunched around the trigger like it was glued, letting the laser blasts fly out without hesitation. But as he looked around at the area in the Liberators' direction, the more that marched forward with their blazing rifles and how many seemed to leak out of the blasted hole in the wall like an infestation of army ants, the rousing militant heat that had risen in his body was starting to diminish. With guts or without, this battle was becoming hopeless.

_There's just no end to them…_

_We're the only line of defense between them and the civilians…_

SHER-_PUNG!_

A stray yellow blaster bolt hurled through the air like a hornet and blasted the dog next to him full in the face. With rip-throated groan, the soldier fell limp as blood surged from the back of his head.

Lardon snatched glimpses from the dead body and back to the Liberators ahead. One swung his hammer-like rifle handle down on the skull of a wounded mercenary who clutched his face and slumped forward pitilessly.

_SHWA-_BOOOM!

A sweeping blast of green laser energy shot forward like a well-aimed punch into the mercenary's helmeted face, the impact slamming him back.

Lardon turned at the sound of a _Ker-klikk!_, to find a determined-looking Husky holding a smoking shotgun. He gave an encouraging nod to him.

"I'll take your six! Concentrate your fire around the fire squad at the front!" Not waiting for a response, the Husky squatted on the ground and pounded more soldiers with his shotgun.

Lardon half-smiled before lifting his rifle resuming his finger to the trigger. _BRATTA-BRATTA!_

The Liberators closest to him started to keep their distance from Lardon and the Husky's spot, eyeing the shotgun warily.

But just as Lardon's hopes rose that they were beginning to fall back, he noticed one soldier sneaking near the wall, holding something against the wall's surface…

Before he could see it, the soldier took off, tapping a device in his hands.

Lardon didn't even need to see the object he had left behind. His shoulders tensed, and his breathing became suddenly heavy. His mind felt like it was being dropped down some rushing tunnel down his body, and he tried to scream, but he didn't hear himself do it.

"_FALL BACK! FALL BA-"_

But the mercenaries around him had only enough time to look up to acknowledge their leader from the heat of the battle, before they all heard it: the horribly familiar sound of a detonation charge.

It seemed like Lardon had to kick his feet into the ground to put them into action before they started to move, but even then, it didn't seem like he was running fast enough. The atmosphere seemed to slow him down, like he was running through a room filled with viscous liquid…

_KER-SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMM!_

The blast shook the entire hallway, wrenching the rigid walls off the sides of the long, narrow structure. An orange fiery explosion spread in the spot before spitting out black, ugly smoke that seemed to devour the area. Less fortunate mercenaries were sucked into the explosion, waving their arms frantically in an attempt to escape.

Lardon was still running, when-

_SLAM!_

A large, sweaty mass of leather and blood crashed into him from behind, causing Lardon to topple over clumsily, his feet caught in whomever or whatever's lack of balance. He fell back on the floor on his stomach, the hard floor snapping at the back of his head like a disturbed python.

"_Hrgfff!"_

Lardon felt a wave a sudden shock numbing in the back of his skull. He widened his eyes and sank his head back on the floor to gaze up at the ceiling, but his vision was moving in and out like a camera out of focus. His eyes flickered dimly, and he could see the charred ceiling above him. Feeling his arms and his legs, he wriggled under the cumbersome lump that was on top of him.

_Slmpth!_

A dog's face dangled over his own, eyes wide open in shock and forehead split open into a dark red gash that dripped down onto Lardon's cheeks.

He recoiled in both anguish and horror as he squirmed under the corpse's weight and shoved him off to the side, where he rolled over in a clatter of meshed battered mercenary uniform. As he hoisted himself back to his feet, his ears were still buzzing groggily from the sound blast of the explosion, only picking up the rattling sound of his own hoarse breathing, and the blood pounding in his eardrums.

Ker-BLAM!

A stray blaster shot near skimmed the air just above Lardon's ears, singing the wall behind him, and causing him t flinch. The sound shook him back into his senses as the fur on his neck and ears bristled in a canine way, and fell behind a heap of gravel that acted like a cover.

He scrambled near the cover and huddled underneath the confinement of the rubble. The laser blasts whizzed and flew around in the air above him, some sounding close by and others sounding far off…they just seemed to come close to him at random. He heard the shots, crashes and groans on the other side of the rubble pile, where the battle was going on.

Lardon sat back against the pile, breathing heavily. He looked around him to see holey bodies of his own men, who had been on guard firing with him only a moment ago. Now, he felt alone and anxious and even scared by himself.

SHWOOM!

"_Argh!"_

His heart jumped as there was a shot and a groan from behind the wall of rubble, and a body fell over the side next to him with a sickening _Clump!_

He swallowed hesitantly and grabbed a rifle from a body nearby. He wedged open the ammo slot with sweaty hands and began to shove blaster cartridges into it feverishly.

_Shwa-THOOM!_

_BerrANG!_

The shots seemed to come closer.

Sweat dribbled down Lardon's neck, and he wiped the blood from his forehead-the blood that wasn't his. His eyes darted from the rifle he was loading to the scene up front, the back of the battleground, where mercenaries were fleeing and some even shot before him. He could just make out the civilians running off in the distance, and the stress of their safety gripped him again.

He began to pant frantically, with so much going on around him…

The screaming…the shooting…the groaning…the explosions….the bodies falling…the civilians running…

Everything was happening at once all around him, and it made him hot and frustrated, like a child lost in a tight space without a parent. His sweaty hands slipped as he was reloading the rifle as if on auto-pilot, and the cartridges spilled across the floor with a scraping sound. His hands wriggled over and swept them up and he resumed, his head twisting back to see if anyone was there to help him out.

_Klatter-klump!_

He twitched at the sound of footsteps and looked up.

Lardon's lungs issued out a sigh of relief as the familiar face of one his mercenary allies, a burly Shrauzer.

"Lardon! Christ, I thought you were part of the ash heap, I-" His eyes fell on his forehead. "Damn…did you take a hit?"

Lardon rubbed the blood messily from his forehead. "I'm fine…I just…never mind." He shuddered at the thought of being under the corpse. "How many of ours are left?"

The Shrauzer shook his head gravely. "They've chewed our numbers down to a dozen. They just keep coming, and at this rate…"

"Damn…" Lardon grinded his teeth. He looked over the wall, watching the endless group of soldiers march forward. "We've failed…" His ears lowered miserably in shame.

"Not yet we haven't." The Shrauzer gripped his shoulder with supportively. "Look, Lardon…our main priority is the safety of the civilians. Go after them and get as many off this ship as you can. Me and the rest will-"

_Whrsh-SHPLINK!_

He froze in midsentence, the surprise still in his eyes as his mouth hung open, gushing with blood, with a blade protruding from his neck. He slumped forward onto the floor.

Lardon only had a moment of horrified silence, before a distant figure came into his field of vision.

The man stuck out completely among the Liberator Corps that surrounded him, probably because he was the only one without armor. He was a tall Russell Terrier in a tightened, yet neat bluish-gray uniform, complete with a crimson sash around his waist with a holster attachment. His shoulder armament were shaped in the pair of little silver wings, except they were flat and patterned like an insect's. His fur was sleeked and combed, as if his spare time consisted generally of keeping his appearance in order. His arm bad had the horridly recognizable "C" insignia similar to the one etched into the hull of the _Peacekeeper, _but the small silver badge on his uniformed chest mirrored the dreaded skull symbol on the Liberators' armor. His officer's hat was perched firmly on his head, and he wore long, black sleek boots that came up to his knees, and made a _scrunch-squeak_ noise when he walked.

But his face made Lardon's blood boil most of all. His eyes were a viridian shade of green that reminded him of a sickeningly-sweet poison, and his lips curled tartly when he talked. The icy smile on his slick face put it in a seemingly permanent expression of cold smugness, like the mercenaries attacking him were like some kind annoying but amusing pets that were misbehaving, and could use a decent punishment.

The Liberator Officer regarded Lardon's expression before addressing a nearby soldier. "Captain, give the order to our men to resume pursuit of our targets. But first, take care of these mercenary scum. And don't be quick about it….the slower they die, the more they will learn."

"Yes, sir," The Liberator near him murmured in a monotone. He didn't look any older than Lardon, but his expression read that he was uncomfortable, like he really didn't want to be here.

"Actually…" The Officer smiled cruelly. "Keep a few alive…and escort them with you when you reach the passengers, and then kill them. I'd like it so that they get a taste of the deaths that they will receive. The fear will be a good dose for them."

Lardon's jaw dropped in horrified shock. _He's going to kill civilians?_

The soldier looked at the Officer, almost nervously, almost confused at what he was hearing. "Kill them? But...sir...?"

"Maybe...I didn't make myself clear." The Officer didn't turn to look at him, but the corner of his mouth was upturned in quiet anger.

"But..." The Liberator's look faltered. "They're common passengers...they have children...there has to be a mistake...surely there's some kind of imprisonment we could give...some kind of warning...?"

"Warning?" The Officer said tartly. "Let me see...when our superiors issued the Transportation Act, or maybe when the penalty for all illegal immigration was passed...one should recieve enough warning from that, wouldn't you think?" He curled his gloved hand into a tight, knuckle-cracking fist, and his eyes gleamed mercilessly.

The Liberator looked down humbly.

"They've had their warning, Captain. Anyone, or anything that doesn't heed the law the first time must be made an example of. They're traitors, filth, pestilence, they fall in the league with the Venomians...and for being equally treacherous, they shall be equally dealt with. As will all who defend them." He eyed the Liberator maliciously. "Now deal with them."

The soldier avoided the Officer's cold gaze and marched off, trudging in almost a guilty way.

"I'll be sure to have that boy punished when we get back," The Officer muttered to himself, as if making a mental note. "His thoughts are spreading farther and off task than I prefer to allow."

Then, his gaze returned back to Lardon, and his cold smile returned.

"Oh yes….do forgive me for ignoring you. You must be the leader of this little group aren't you? How quaint…and here I was thinking that I was cutting through worthless scum for nothing…still…I hope you out up a better fight than they did…."

He looked back and Lardon saw a familiar body lying next to the smoking hole in the wall where they had entered…a bruised, bloodily battered corpse, with an expression frozen in fear and final confusion. Jeremiah…right before he was about to deliver the scream that would never leave his mouth…

Lardon bared his teeth and fixed a burning gaze onto the smug Officer, rage building with every breath….

"There were times I didn't expect to be fighting mercenaries again…and yet here I am, fighting the same, filthy, foul, mediocre pestilence. Even after five years, hapless fools like you don't seem to get the message. But you know what the difference is this time? You aren't putting up a fight like the generation before you. Look at you…laying there, amongst the dead, weak and pathetic….at least the ones before you held whatever pitiful unlawful standard…and on top of that, you sneak sniveling little illegal immigrants on your ship and not only assume you won't be caught, but also _defend _them? You and that ludicrous Captain Nelson are asking to be reduced to ash and blood, just like those passengers."

"_AAARGHH!"_

With a roar of fury, Lardon grabbed a rocket launcher from a dead mercenary and fired three thoughtless missiles at the Officer.

_THWOOOM! _

_THWOOOM! _

_THWOOOM!_

The Officer, right as the missiles were zooming at him, had just enough time to curl his lip contemptuously, and wrench a surprised Liberator from near him and thrust him in front of himself, using him as a human shield.

_FWERAAAAASH!_

The explosion blasted a wave of flames past the black-armored Liberator's body, and swept back on the sides, causing surrounding soldiers to back away.

As the flames swept away, Lardon saw the figure in the clearing smoke of the Liberator, dangling a few inches of the ground in the Officer's grip, a smoking dent in the middle of the tough breast-plate on his chest. His eyes lingered and fell into unconsciousness, since although the missile didn't kill him, the impact hook through his armor and paralyzed him instead.

_CLUMP!_

The Officer flung the body aside like a sack of bricks, standing unimpressed before the smoking crater made by the explosion. Apart from some smolder on his uniform, he was completely unharmed.

Lardon tossed his empty rocket launcher aside and charged angrily at the Officer, drawing his knife from the side compartment on his jacket.

_SLAM!_

He rammed into the Officer boldly, but the trained Russell Terrier smirked and grabbed a hold of his wrist. Lardon struggled under his grip furiously, but his steely fist seemed impenetrable.

"Typical mercenary filth," The Officer sneered. "Always relying on hot blood and instinct instead of numbers or strategy like a true soldier."

"Don't talk to me about fighting like a soldier, you heartless son of a bitch!" Lardon spat. "I know what kind of coldblooded scum you are…" His eyes gleamed with newfound hatred. "You're the exact kind that murder innocents on the streets like strays….that compile bodies and incinerate them like waste in a landfill! The kind that killed my brother…"

The Officer's eyes glinted with cold pleasure. "So it's revenge you're here for? Well, you'll learn that justice comes before blood relation in this galaxy, even over your pathetic brother. Perhaps you should've taught him a lesson about law and persecution, or killed him yourself."

Lardon yelled in anger and heaved his entire weight on his opponent, but the Officer drew a knife from his own belt and swung the Beagle around by his arm, and slashing out.

_Shlrrth!_

Lardon wrenched from the Officer's grapple and slid back, biting his teeth at the sting from the knife-wound on his cheek.

The Officer laughed maliciously, his voice sounding like the ripples through water an eel makes when it swims.

"HA! So…the going rate for outlaws these days are common imbeciles like you? It's almost so sad it's hilarious." He ran the dull edge of his blade over his fingers. "I've killed so many mercenaries, but I'm sure even lowly scum like them would be ashamed to know a name like yours stains their profession…"

Lardon clutched his knife. _I may be a mercenary, but at least my activities don't involve killing the innocent…_

"Speaking of which…what _is _your name, boy?"

Lardon raised his knife and positioned himself into a fighting stance. "Lardon. Lardon Birmingham."

"Birmingham?" The Officer's smile waded. "I've heard that name…or seen it rather…some record of prisoner count…but that was a different one…that was a Clemens Birmingham…"

"Clemens?" Lardon eyes shone. He gripped his knife tighter. _He knows my brother…?_

"Oh….now I see…" The colds smile slithered back onto the Officer's lips. "That was_ your _brother? I can see the resemblance…"

Lardon was deadly still. His eyes were wide. How did this man know about his brother? Unless he was the one who…?

His heart raced frantically.

The Officer's look was now more sickeningly triumphant than ever. "What a reunion this is…the first scum I meet that puts up a fight turns out to be Clemens Birmingham's brother…how ironic…" He smiled cunningly.

"What do you know about my brother?" Lardon said quickly.

"Didn't you know? Young Clemens was under _my _authority when he was captured. Oh yes…I captured him personally. And dealt with him as I saw fit…"

"No…" Lardon shook his head, as if refusing to believe what he was hearing.

"Yes…" The Officer said winningly, knowing he had the advantage in his emotions now. "I remember now…he had robbed a food carrier…and he had been caught. My squad asked for my permission to imprison him. But I knew better…I knew what punishment he needed…" He curled his lips evilly. "Yes…imprisonment wouldn't be enough….one must always learn the lesson the first time. And besides…I would feel cheated if I didn't kill him at least…I wouldn't be doing my duty, or at least any to my own amusement."

"NO!" Lardon yelled and charged again.

He flailed his knife and stabbed in the direction of the Officer's throat, but he dodged expertly and brought the butt of his own onto his back.

_CLUNK!_

Lardon fell about on the floor, grunting at the blow to his spine. But as soon as his body hit the floor, he rolled to the side and got onto his feet.

"_HAAAH!"_

He yelled as he jumped back up and swiped upwards with his knife. The Officer scowled and had just enough time to jump back as the blade ripped through the sash on his uniform.

_Rrrip!_

Lardon's blade was caught in the ripped folds of the sash, the other end still buttoned to the Officer's uniform. The Officer sneered and yanked on the sash, pulling Lardon forward.

_KRAK!_

He kneed Lardon savagely into the stomach, sending him against the wall behind him on his back. He laughed nastily and drove his knife forward for the finishing blow.

He ducked quickly and brought his blade up to block the incoming stab.

_SHIIING!_

The blades scraped each other's razor-sharp surfaces before parting with a _CLANG!_

The two swung their blades at each other ferociously backing up or diving forward at the angle where their knives met.

_SWISHAAAANG!_

_KLIIING!_

_WH-AKLANG!_

As the battle raged on around them, Lardon drove the Officer to the middle of the hall, slashing at him with his knife.

The Officer sneered and swatted Lardon's blade away from his own, putting him open. He swung his knife upward, hooking the attack just enough for Lardon to barely side-step wake of the gleaming steel-

_CHLRIIIITHHH!_

Blood splattered just in front of Lardon's face before he heard a groan nearby him. He looked next to him to see the Officer's blade protrude from the throat of mercenary that had been killed in his place behind him, all because of the lucky miss.

The Officer glared mercilessly at the mercenary like he was an inconvenient stick of gum on the bottom of his boot, before shoving him off the blade.

Lardon snarled furiously and slammed right into the Officer in a locking shoulder lunge, knocking the blade out of his hand.

He ripped through the air with his blade and twirled his blade into an ice-pick grip, but instead of stabbing downward, he brought the pommel upwards, mashing into the Officer's jaw.

The Officer staggered back with a snarl of pain and surprise, but he was open. Lardon swapped the blade from his right hand to his left and slashed the blade across his uniformed chest.

_SWLLLLRTHHH!_

Blood flew from the cut on his chest and the Officer fell to the ground in a muffled heap on his stomach. His body went limp, and stopped moving.

Lardon stood over his body for a moment, panting in the heat of the battle's aftermath. Blood trickled from the cut on his cheek and slipped into his lips, giving him a sample of its salty, rustic taste.

He turned and walked away.

Suddenly, a muffled sound of movement echoed behind him.

Before Lardon could turn around the Officer grabbed the knife from him and plunged it into his shoulder with a triumphant yell.

_SPLRNTCH!_

"_Gaaaargh!" _Lardon screamed in pain and grasped his shoulder, but the Officer only drove it in deeper.

The Officer had faked his own death. He chuckled wickedly and clutched the driven-in knife with both hands. "You put up quite a fight for a dirty little amateur, boy. But in the end you're just like your brother…. a mediocre, worthless, easily squashed insect. It's even more pitiful that you died exactly as he did…at the hands of justice."

_SWISH!_

He pushed him onto the ground, where Lardon clutched his impaled shoulder, blood seeping out of it as he paled and winced, his eyes shut and teeth clenched in pain.

The Officer stood victorious over him, his shadow engulfing him dauntingly. "You as a mercenary act as a sickening pustule in the eyes of the law. And as such, you're going to die a traitor's death, along with Nelson, as well as the rest of these illegal wretches and their spawn."

Lardon gasped painfully and looked up, his vision shaking.

A Liberator walked over, rifle in hand.

The Officer sheathed his knife. "Kill this one for me. I don't wish to dirty my uniform with his detestable stench. Report to me with the body when you're done with him."

The Liberator cocked his rifle and raised it.

_BLAM!_

A blue laser-blast reflected off the Liberator's armor. The soldier looked down in surprise to se Lardon holding smoking blaster he had kept concealed, his other hand on the ground hosting his body up to a level of defense.

The Officer laughed brutally. "You _still _fight in the face of your own death? You," He addressed the soldier. "Don't use your rifle. Kill him slowly. A defiant lawbreaker of his caliber deserves a painful death, yes?"

The Liberator grinned viciously and dropped his gun, stretching his gauntleted fists.

Lardon hobbled back on his hand pitifully, his other arm shakily holding the blaster up.

_Ker-SNAKK!_

The Liberator kicked the blaster out of Lardon's hand and pressed his foot down cruelly onto his throat, choking him mercilessly with the bottom sole of his boot.

"_Kler-kkaak—chh!" _Lardon struggled, garbling some choked out sounds as he tried to wriggle under the foot.

"Yes, that's right, struggle, you rat!" The Officer cackled. "Soon you will be dead, and your head will be hung on the bottom of our ship for the galaxy to see! All will watch you rot and will learn from it the consequence for treachery against the divine laws!"

"Ga—_aach! _My death-_hich-_will only bring more-you'll-_gasp-_be ripped apart-along with your mast-_errkkch!"_ Lardon rasped haggardly.

"HA!" The Officer laughed wildly. "You like your allies believe that someone stronger will always appear in the end. No one can defy us! The galaxy and every man, woman, and child exists to be the subject of our law. Even the great Star Fox Team fell before our will. Who, if not they, has any chances of defeating us?"

_**!**_

The Liberator standing over Lardon only had time to look up and notice an angled crack in the center of the ceiling, before it grew with small crunching noises. It was only when it simply blasted apart that he came to his senses and stepped away from under the ceiling barge's wake. Then, the entire ceiling came apart.

Huge clumps of rubble and plastered ship construction smashed apart as the cracks ran down the ceiling and shattered like ice under weight of a massive fist. Dust exploded from the spot on the wall, and light streamed in through the smashed-open hole in the ceiling. Lardon didn't have time to register what was going on when a dark, blurring shape came down like a shadow and soared down through the hole like a wisp of curling smoke. It rained down to the ground before…

_**SLAAAAAAAMMM!**_

The shape propelled down onto the floor like missile, the impact of it smashing against the ground sending up a small but spreading shockwave through the battered hall. The Officer recoiled with a hissing curse as dust clouds flooded over in piling masses over him, the soldiers, and Lardon, who had to shield themselves from the waves of smoke. The Beagle felt the dust sting his eyes and the tremendous wind sweep against his skin. He looked away, the crashing sound ringing in his ears like the impact of a meteor smash.

It was only when the dust cleared, when a long, fluttering black wave swirled from over the tops of the dust clouds. Lardon realized that it was the end of a long, whirling black overcoat, attached to the back of an outline of a figure. The new arrival was crouched on one knee in the small crater of cracks and debris that he had created, one fist planted on the ground in the wake of his landing.

The Officer's lip rose over a fang cynically, as if wondering with unimpressed amazement who had turned up now.

Lardon looked deeper through the barrier of dust and saw a lowered face, concealed in the shadows, with closely-cut cheek fur and long, pointed ears. He would have taken him for an Agent, what with his dress and entrance, but this newcomer was different.

Then he saw it. The gleaming, fierce, glaring purple eye snap open.

Lardon's eyes widened. _What the hell…?_

The figure rose, and the face revealed a tough but roguishly handsome dark face, with a scrapped eyepatch.

The Beagle blinked confusedly. Purple eyes…eye-patch…did he know this description? No…definitely not. That was just a legend. He was no child.

Every other bystander in the room, Liberator and mercenary alike, shared the same stunned and even amazed expression. No one knew on which side this person was on…or if he was a dominant threat or an ally.

Wolf rose from his crouched position, towering over Lardon with his ominous height. He had finally arrived, hearing the sounds of battle on his way to the hangar.

His ears twitched as he looked around the room, inspecting the competitors of this battle.

And nothing impressed him.

"Tch." He switched his long Claw, which gleamed through the swiveling dust mites around him, and heaved his blaster on his shoulder in a bored manner. "I can't even describe how disappointing _this _is. I hear somebody blasting the living crap out of this place, and both groups look like shit."

He glanced unimpressed at the Liberators.

_Seriously…what the hell is this?_

_One side is just like the other, only dressed better and packing heavier heat…_

He looked through the yellow-glass face-shields of the soldiers, and eyed the other side of fighters, glancing at their canine snouts.

_But that doesn't change the fact that they're both the same generic Cornerian crap…_

"What's this?" The Officer stood up, glaring suspiciously at Wolf. "Who the hell are you?"

Wolf smiled cunningly. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"You're obviously not with us…and you're no passenger….you're illegally armed…" He eyed his blaster with distaste. "Who are you? Are you here to help these pathetic mercenaries?"

"Mercenaries?" Wolf turned and looked around. Then his eyes fell on Lardon.

Lardon clenched his fists, as if prepared for a fight he was suspecting to arouse from him. He still had no idea who Wolf was…

Wolf's eyelid dropped. "You have got to be shitting me. _These _are the mercenaries aboard this ship? They don't like they'd be separated from the usual Cornerian morons…and they call themselves mercenaries? Jesus…"

He looked at the scattered bodies and charred blaster marks all over the place.

_What kind of mercenary group leaves behind this much rubble and trail from just an escort mission? Did the whole 'do the job quickly and easily' trend die, or something?_

_This looks like a freaking war zone….nothing but bad leadership and pathetic holding off…_

He raised an eyebrow skeptically. _Even Fox can do a better job than these rookies…_

"Well, whatever," He turned with resigned sigh. "Can't expect army jarheads to do a clean mercenary job. Still…walking into the enemy like this? They were asking to be shot…"

_Click. _

"Excuse me, _sir," _The Officer said with a curl of his lip, smugly holding up a blaster. "But _I _am in command here. Normally I only interrogate bystanders…but you seem to be a little bit too involved in this….now I'll ask you again. What is your name and business on this ship?"

"My name and business isn't something I throw around, unlike you and your fat-ass mouth," Wolf retorted coldly. "And don't spew garbage about you being in command, because I know you aren't. You don't look like anything but an Officer of some kind, who likes bigger but dumber subordinates to do your dirty work for you. No…you aren't the leader of that ship outside. You're too small and weak."

"Very bold and very foolish to insult a high-ranking Official in the Liberator Corps, let alone point a blaster at one." The surrounding soldiers eyed him nervously, apparently not sharing his confidence in the wake of Wolf's arrival. The steely glare in Wolf's eye was actually making them wish their Leader would just step down… "I could give my men authority to kill you in an instant. Illegal posession of a blaster has already bought you that. But I'm afraid you aren't the reason I'm here…it is _their _blood I'm here to claim, not yours." He eyed a fixed, almost greedy look at Lardon. "So step aside, civilian. It would be a shame if I killed you in the process."

_Tch…as if he _could_ kill me…._

"Sorry to disappoint you...but the only blood that will be spilled in here…" His purple eyes glinted dangerously. "…will be yours if come within a foot of these men."

The Officer stood there, rooted in the spot for a moment. Then he laughed. "Ha! So you _are _here to protect them…how noble. It seems that I was wrong. People still have a sense of patriotism and righteousness after a-"

"Shut your ass up." Wolf glared at the Officer, cocking his blaster as he avoided the gaze of the mercenaries behind him. "I'm not here to protect these weaklings. I don't give two shits if they live or die. If it were any other day, I'd probably kick their asses myself. But I'm not here for that. I'm here because I make it a point to kill foul arrogant scumbags who pick fights that they can't finish...just like you. Because…" _Click! _He gripped his blaster, his piercing stare locked onto him. "Whatever I don't kill today, I'll wind up killing more slowly and painfully tomorrow."

The Liberators all exchanged anxious glances with each other. They could tell that he wasn't messing around. The concrete enforcement of his voice was already making them feel like weak little children in their armor.

The Officer said nothing. His expression was difficult to read, but his narrowed eyes gave off that he wasn't used to this kind of resistance. Then, his face etched and an oily smile drew from his lips. "Not bad…not bad at all. You seem strong…yes….and I think I could use someone like you…"

Wolf scowled. _What the hell…?_

_Is he seriously thinking that he can bribe me into _his _service?_

_If I refused to join Andross, what the hell makes him think that I'll join HIM?_

"You know…I think you could be of great use to the Liberator Corps…someone of your caliber could do quite well in the hands of our government. Who knows…? Maybe I'll forget all about your treacherous behavior…How about we discuss this in a civilized manner? I believe we can come to an agreement…since I believe you know how much value can come out of our service, rather than the aid of mere rebels and civilians that are doomed to die anyway_…" _He glanced coldly at the mercenaries. "I can put in a good word for you for my master. He values men who know how to play by the winning side."

Wolf hesitated. He let his breath seethe out of him like steam out of a kettle Then he smiled, going with it. "You sound like a man who likes to negotiate…who can listen to a proposition…"

"Yes." The Officer smiling oily, looking triumphant. "I can."

_SHWA-THOOM!_

The sudden echo caused everyone to look up, as a green blast flew through the air from Wolf's pistol. The Officer's eyes widened for a moment before there was a flash and a bang behind him.

The blast had been purposely shot to just narrowly miss the Officer's cheek, leaving a smoldering mark in the wall behind him, as well as a grazing red burn on his cheek from where the shot had just barely missed, already starting to drip mildly with blood.

Wolf's deceiving smile melted back into its burning glare, his gaze adjacent from the smoking barrel of the blaster he was holding up. "Here's my proposition. How's about you get the fuck out of my way before everyone in this room finds out how many holes I can fit in your face with my blaster before I send your pathetic corpse up your 'master's ass!"

_Click! Click! Click!_

Every soldier surrounding their superior raised their rifles, all pointing them in Wolf's direction.

The Officer clasped his cheek furiously. "You will regret this foolishness, you impudent scum!" He hissed to the men around him. "Liberators! Kill this upstart and preserve his body. I'd like to see how smug he looks when his head is hanging below the _Peacekeeper!"_

Before anyone could pull a trigger, Wolf pulled a silver canister from behind his back and flung it at the ceiling.

_Clink!_

_PSSSSSHHHHHHHH!_

As soon as the small canister hit the ceiling, puffs of greenish smoke began to curl and wisp down to the ground, covering the Liberators and the entire lower end of the hallway in stun gas.

The Officer's figure started to diminish behind the fogging gas as he clutched his mouth and began to splutter. "Hurgch!-_Kill him! _–_cough_-KILL HI-"

His sentence was soon drowned out by his own gagging noises, as his shape disappeared from view beneath the atmosphere of gas.

_BRUNNNABRUNNNANNNA!_

The golden laser blasts from the Liberators' rotating rifles shot from behind the gas cloud. Wolf stepped aside and dodged the blasts expertly, acknowledging them without interest, before the Liberators disappeared behind the gas as well.

He sneered in the direction of the fog.

_Wow…_

_It's almost like everywhere I go, I end up killing or protecting the same weak Cornerian crap…_

He then took notice of Lardon, who was still sitting perplexed behind him.

Wolf swept his coat behind him and walked forward. From Lardon's perspective, he looked tall and demeaning, the flickering hallway lights illuminating the side of his face and exposing the purple eye, while leaving the other side encased in shadow.

Lardon's heart pumped frantically. He reached out slightly for his blaster rifle behind his back…

_Click._

"Don't even think about it." Wolf's voice rang from across the hall.

Lardon clenched his teeth angrily and placed both hands on the top of his head.

Wolf lowered his blaster. "Now…first off, who's the leader here, and second, you got any ammo on you?"

Lardon looked up with disbelief at Wolf's casual tone. "Do you have any idea how insane that was?"

Wolf blinked. "What?"

"You just insulted _and _challenged the entire Liberator Corps! Are you _trying _to get yourself killed? There's no way in hell you'll-"

"That's a fine way of thanking me for not killing you off, kid," Wolf said. "Much less stick up for you." _Fssh! _Wolf opened up the reloading compartment of his blaster and tugged out the empty blaster clip. "Are all the mercenaries nowadays as ungrateful as you?"

"Look, you don't understand…there's too much at stake right now…there are civilians on this ship…"

"Civilians?" Wolf eyes lit up alertly, remembering the people he had seen on the Observatory Deck. "Where are they?"

"Seven or eight hundred of them…fleeing to room 311B…that's the Escape Pod Bay…we were the only thing standing between them and the Liberators, and…" He tried to avoid the look of the mercenary corpses around him.

"You ran straight into them….shit…" Wolf cursed.

"Listen….you're strong enough to take on these guys, right?" Lardon asked hopefully. "Look….you gotta get them there safely…if the Liberators catch up to them-"

Wolf clenched his fists. "Listen, kid. I've got enough on my hands already. All I'm here for is to get off this ship in one piece. None of those people are my problem, got it? I didn't ask for any of this, and it's not my business to get involved!"

The light of hope dimmed from Lardon's eyes. He looked down helplessly.

Wolf cursed under his breath and slid his blaster's barrel back into place. _Click._

"_However…" _Wolf talked through gritted teeth. "It also isn't my place to let all this go on and do nothing." He sighed with a reluctant look. "The Escape Pod Bay, was it?"

Lardon looked up. "Yes. But please hurry…there are families…they need to be kept together so that they can all escape safely…"

Wolf glanced at the gas cloud behind them, wondering how long it would last before the soldiers would come through. "Fine. But I _know _I'm going to regret this."

He stood up and whistled. "Hey, Leon!"

A dark shape swooped from the ceiling from inside the gas cloud and landed near them, almost out of nowhere.

Lardon's jaw dropped.

Wolf rolled his eyes. "Nice entrance. Could you show off anymore?"

Leon scowled. _"I'm _the one with the flashy entrance? I'm not the one who put the eight-foot deep crater in the floor! At least I don't wreck private property wherever I go. You and Falco seem to have that problem."

Wolf tried not to crack a smile. "Would you just shut up? Jesus… Anyway, looks like we aren't getting off this ship till everyone else does. The last thing we need is a bunch of panicking people cling on to us on our way out. So I need you to escort them to the escape pods safely."

"Yeah, since I'm _so _good with kids being me and all," His eyes became sarcastic for a second. "What about you?"

His eyes glinted dangerously. "I'll take care of the soldiers."

Lardon shook his head. "You won't be able to take them alone. You'll need help. I can…" He winced mid-sentence and clutched his splattered soldier.

Wolf looked away. "You aren't going to be any use to anybody as long as you're wounded. There's nothing more burdensome than a wounded soldier who's stuck on playing the hero on rotting injury."

"But the soldiers….they're equipped with armor and advanced weapons….there practically invincible!"

"He's not lying Wolf," Leon said. "I came in here undetected and tried killing the bastards myself. My knife couldn't get through one layer of that armor. I struck one soldier five times in the same spot, and he didn't even budge. Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to try to cut someone up and they don't even scream? That's bullshit!" He folded his arms and scowled, looking like a pouty little kid. "I feel like a guy with a chain-saw in a steel forest. I can't do shit."

"Relax, you psycho." Wolf pocketed his blaster. "First rule about armor: every kind has a weak spot."

"Even if you could get through that armor, they're still too many of them." Lardon looked uneasily in the gas's direction. "It wouldn't be an even match. Just suicide!"

Wolf smiled. "You know something, kid? That's the first true thing you've said. It _isn't _an even match….because there's just a squad of these guys. Not an entire army. If that were the case, then it would be a fair match." He flexed his claws. "And even then, I'm not so sure. Leon…get going. And while you're handling anybody's kids, don't sell them anything."

"Fun-sucker," Leon muttered.

Lardon glanced at them confusedly. "Sell them…what?"

"Only the best of the best vending the Lylat System has to offer!" Leon said, getting perked up. He made a gesture for his coat.

"Leon!" Wolf snapped warningly.

"Fine, fine!" Leon snarled, zipping his coat back up. "It's not like _they _know if it's legal or not. Jeez…"

He drew his switch-blade and sprinted off.

Lardon's brow furrowed, still unsure what had just happened. Then he glanced at Wolf.

"Um…just out of curiosity…who are you, anyway…?"

Wolf turned his back to him. "Like I said before. Not you, or anyone would believe me if I told you."

"All right then. Anyway…I never got to thank you…"

Wolf's ears perked up. _Crap…_

_I see where this is going…_

"You saved my life. Mine and the rest of everyone here's lives. That's very courageous for a complete stranger, and well, I can't emphasize how much I appreciate it. I know you must hear it a lot, but…"

Then, he looked up and the warmth that his sentence had been filled with diminished instantly. Wolf was eyeing at him in an intense stare of dangerous purple rile, quietly daring Lardon to continue.

"No," Wolf said coldly. "I don't get that a lot. In fact, I don't get it at all. You know why? Because I don't save people. I either kill them, or keep them alive long enough to serve a purpose for my benefit. Don't get the wrong idea about me, kid… I didn't come here with any intention of protecting you…and on any other occasion, I make it my business to kill every Cornerian that I see. But today, I'll overlook it. But I promise you…" He fingered his blaster dangerously. "I _won't _do it again."

Lardon cowered under Wolf's singeing stare. "Uh, right. Sorry…"

Wolf regarded the Beagle for a moment. Then he looked up sharply. "You!"

Looking confused for a second, Lardon looked around to see that Wolf was addressing a mercenary behind him, just recovering from unconsciousness.

Wolf barked impatiently. "Make yourself useful and get over here, now! Your Leader's wounded and needs attention! Take him to medical maintenance!"

The Mercenary huddled over with his head lowered. He didn't know who Wolf was, but his commanding voice and forceful tone kept him alert. He dragged Lardon to his feet.

Some other recovered mercenaries were watching nearby, sniggering at their comrade's struggling.

Wolf's gaze quickly found them. "You two! Don't just stand there, help him! Come on, move your asses! NOW!"

The two jumped to attention and rushed over to help their Leader.

Lardon watched in amazement as Wolf started to ram them all with harsh orders, quickly taking authority as if _he _were in charge.

"You two attend to this one's wounds. And when you're done, head down to the Escape Pod Bay 311B. Don't forget it: _311B. _When you arrive, start loading all civilians professionally, and for the love of God, don't leave anyone behind. If you run into any…" He glanced at Lardon. "…Liberators, wasn't it? Then don't engage, just fall back as far as you can and keep the civilians safe. Now get going! Go on, MOVE!"

The other mercenaries nodded hurriedly and took off down the hall.

_FSSHHHH!_

Wolf's tall ears pricked as he turned at the sound of the wall of gas he had created starting to diminish.

Lardon turned to Wolf urgently. "They're filtering down the gas. They'll be through in a manner of seconds!" He turned to some of his aid. "You three stay and give him some assistance. I only need-"

"Order your men to stay behind," Wolf cut in promptly.

"What?" Lardon protested urgently. "But, you need-"

_Click!_

Wolf plucked an ammo clip from a dead soldier on the ground next to his feet and stuck it into his blaster. "Tell your men to stay out of this. This batch of stuck-up bastards are mine to kill…and I'd hate to kill some tag-alongs that got in my way unintentionally. If you know what's good for you, you'll get going." He loaded his blaster. "Because I can't promise anyone…or any_thing _in this hall will be in one piece once I'm done with it."

He didn't wait to witness their shocked expressions. Wolf sprinted like a sprung missile into the deteriorating cloud of gas, his cloak-like coat disappearing along with him.

_After a few minutes… (Once the gas clears)_

The Liberators removed their gas-mask helmet-attachments and raised their rifles eyes darting around for any sign of Wolf.

Finally, stepping out of the deteriorating gas from silhouette to true form, Wolf emerged, fingering his blaster, but without any expression of fear or concern at the mob of surprised Liberators in front of him.

Even though the Liberators weren't used to anyone standing up to them so defiantly, they didn't restrain themselves from snorting stupidly at how vulnerable Wolf looked, with just his unprotected overcoat and inferior pistol.

The ugliest of them stepped forward and pointed a gauntleted, sausage-like finger at him. "Hey, you! You got no more gas to hide your puny little ass behind, ya weak little runt!"

Some of the surrounding soldiers burst into immature sniggers, obviously influenced by their comrade's confident jeering. Wolf stood still, his face unchanged with his relaxed expression.

Obviously not satisfied with Wolf's lack of aggression, the Liberator strutted forward and hauled his rifle on one shoulder. "Listen, runt. I'm in a fairly good mood, so I'll be nice. I'll give you a few seconds to start running and _maybe _we'll shoot you quickly instead of slowly like we normally do. We're willing to be nice to suicidal people, aren't we, boys?"

The others grinned and nodded idiotically.

Wolf's unimpressed eyes wandered from one soldier to the other, his tail flicking from side to side every other second. Then, he turned his back to them and stretched remotely, holding his blaster in one hand in front of him.

The Liberator pointed his gun at him. "Well, runt? Any last prayers or beg for mercy?"

_Click._

Wolf drew back the top of the blaster, and let it slip back into place, his eyes closed. Then he opened them.

"I hope that armor isn't as expensive as it looks…" His eye opened slightly, his voice drawn in a casual but amused tone. "…because it's gonna smell like corpses when all this shit is over."

The Liberators small eyes darted from side to side, as if computing that meant. Then his heavy-set face scrunched up in fury. "FIRE AT HIM! NOW!"

Wolf sneered and reached for the collar of his coat.

The Liberators raised their weapons.

_BRUNNNANNNANNANNANNNANAAA!_

The amber-colored shots tore through the air as the rapid bursts of energy sent a swiveling hiss of smoke from each barrel of the rifles.

_Whooosh!_

There was the sound of the leather coat fluttering as a dark shape swooped into the air above them.

The Liberators heaved up their rifles and fired at it relentlessly.

_BRUNNANNNANNA!_

The golden blasts flew upwards in grouped streams, pounding the airborne shadow with round after round of blaster shots at the object in the air, quite sure that this was an easy victory…

Then, the firing stopped. Silence was restored to the hallway, save for the small _Clink-Clink!_s of empty blaster cartridges falling to the floor like abandoned bullets.

The Liberators looked up triumphantly only to be rewarded with baffled shock.

Falling through the air slowly, was the fluttering shape of the discarded overcoat, drifting down through the air from the top of the ceiling like a fallen leaf, light streaming through the smoking holes in the coattails caused by the gunshots.

But Wolf wasn't there. He had abandoned his coat, leaving it to take the damage.

The soldiers all looked around confusedly, until...

They all turned their chins farther back, their eyes huge.

Wolf was curled into a mid-air somersault, gliding feet above the ground. Without his black overcoat, he wore a brown leather vest trimmed with red. The flickering electric lights on the wall illuminated him into shadow that dragged over the now shrunken-looking Liberators. His arm crossed over his face while he cocked his blaster, his expression unidentifiable, but his gleaming purple eye still visible.

One by one, each soldier's mouth dropped in slow-motion as Wolf soared above them like a bird of prey. His feet coiled and his body spun in a whirling rotary sweep, till he let himself zoom down with one foot out, finding his mark over the last Liberator at the back of the group.

As Wolf came closer, the trembling mercenary tried to raise his rifle in a feeble attempt to shoot him out of the air.

_BRUNNAN-!_

KLAK!

Before even a few flashing shots could escape from the blaster's barrel that had slowly started to rotate, Wolf kicked it out of his hand with his boot heel.

_SWOOOSH!_

Wolf landed in front of him, his feet thudding lightly on the ground. The Liberator foolishly tried to react with a clumsily-aimed punch, but Wolf swung it aside mercilessly and spun back to send a blurring kick into his stomach.

_SLAM!_

The soldier gagged and stumbled backwards, but recovered quickly enough to draw his knife-

Wolf curled his hardened fist. _Tch. Not a chance._

WA-_PSSSSSSSHTRRRRCHHHH!_

He bared his teeth as he slammed his crushing punch into the Liberator's face, the yellow-glass face-shield cracking from the devastating impact of Wolf's steel-like knuckle before shattering into flying shards that disintegrated in all directions.

The Liberator's face was still swerving backwards from the punch, when he snarled and cursed. _"Damn you-!"_

CLICK.

The soldier's eyes widened as he stared down the sleek barrel of Wolf's pistol, as he pressed it against his face.

The Liberator growled and made a lurch forward.

_SHWA-THOOM-THOOM! _

_SHWA-THOOM!_

The green shots flared like sparks from a fire as Wolf continued to jerk the trigger, the metal on the top of the gun jerking like a serpent, while the blasts barraged the soldiers face again and again. Whatever remains of the top portion of the face-shield was drenched in blood as holes burst into the soldier's face. Finally, Wolf let the smoking body fall over, before…

"_HUAH!"_

With a battle-born snarl, Wolf kicked the body upwards all the way until his own foot was parallel to the ceiling, sending it flying behind him. As soon as it left his foot, the body shot behind him with a shockwave like a human projectile colliding into the nearest group of Liberators.

**KER-WAAAAAAM!**

The collision from the body that had traveled at an eye-blurring speed exploded into them, sending a quake of airwaves and shattering the once-quiet atmosphere, the unfortunate soldiers flying in all directions like departing debris.

The airwave spread across the floor, Wolf's foot touching the ground just after it left the room as he landed. He whirled around and raised his smoking blaster at the stunned group of soldiers ahead, his eyes glimmering as if almost daring any of them to counter him.

The Liberators gaped at him for a few minutes. But it was only a matter of minutes before they regained their senses and replaced their fear with heated fury.

"You cocky bastard! SKIN 'IM!"

They latched their rifles on their backs by the straps and drew long combat knives from their thick armored belts and charged.

Wolf smiled through the corner of his mouth, exposing a sharp, gleaming fang.

_Tch. They think swinging knives around like drunken retards that they've got better chances of killing me?_

_Morons….they should've stuck to the guns…._

He raised his blaster.

SHWA-THOOM! SHWA-THOOM!

The green blasts flew at them but repelled off their black armor. The Liberators laughed triumphantly and kept running towards him.

Wolf frowned. He took some experimental shots to other typically vulnerable spots. The legs…the neck…the stomach…

_SHWA-THOOM!_

_SHWA-THOOM!_

The green shots just bounced harmlessly off the armor. The most the Liberator in front of him did was flinch back a bit, before flashing another ugly grin at Wolf.

"Nice try, tough shot, but that gun ain't gonna do shit!"

He raised his knife and took some waving slashes at him, snarling brutishly.

Wolf scowled and moved effortlessly from side to side, dodging the attacks easily while the soldier swung the blade again and again.

The soldier roared in frustration and swung the pommel towards Wolf's face.

CLAMP!

Wolf caught the blow in mid-swing, holding the butt of the knife with one hand away from his face, glaring defiantly at the soldier.

The Soldier, surprised and aggravated, pressed both hands on the knife, trying to force the pommel against Wolf's face, his grip shaking. But Wolf was blocking the blow with just one powerful hand, his other in his pocket. No matter how much weight the Liberator put with his armor, Wolf's stance remained straight.

"Pitiful wuss," Wolf spat contemptuously. "What coward hides behind bullet-proof armor? To afraid you'll cut yourself during a fight?"

_At least when I wore that coat during the Lylat Wars, it only protected my chest._

_But these cowardly little weaklings cover themselves head to toe with that armor….they're just making themselves look even weaker…_

_Huh. _He shoved the pommel out of his face with one hand, causing the Liberator to stumble back.

_They're not even worth killing….just a damn waste of time…_

The Liberator flashed his knife's gleam in Wolf's direction. "You little shit…what the hell do you know about battle? You're just some mercenary scum!"

"I know the difference between fighting like a man and crawling behind a shield like a sniveling bitch," Wolf retorted coolly.

"ARGH!" The Liberator gave an infuriated shout and swung his knife up and down.

_SHING!_

The blade's point just whistled over the surface of Wolf's jacket, missing the fabric by a few inches.

Wolf spun back and launched a kick in the Liberator's face, sending him flying back and sprawling against the floor.

The Liberator cursed as he sent him a glowering look of fury from behind his cracked face-shield, which was splattered with blood from his cracked nose. He leapt back up and swung his knife at Wolf with full force.

KER-_CLANG!_

A shower of singeing sparks illuminated Wolf's face as he blocked the scraping blade with his gleaming Claw, before slashing it upwards and knocking the knife out of the soldier's hand.

For a moment the Liberator looked petrified, but soon he confidently balled his gauntleted fists together, obviously counting on his solid armor for an advantage. He took off in Wolf's direction.

"HA!It's all over, you idiot! There's no way in hell that you'll be able to cut me with th-"

_SHERRANG-SPLRTTCH!_

There was a flash of steel and air-shattering repulse, as he dived forward like a predator and swung the soldier's blow away with a swipe of his fist and plunged his Claw into his stomach. The razor-sharp point broke through the black armor effortlessly, cracking through it as if it were thin and fragile ice, shards of the chest-plate flying apart and blood surging from underneath.

The Liberator stared at Wolf in outraged disbelief, blood drowning his mouth. "Sh…_shiih-tt-_no…_kach_…_way…!"_

"Tch." Wolf locked a glare with the soldier. "You can pack on as much armor as you want. It won't change the fact that you're a weak waste underneath."

_SLNNK!_

He wrenched his Claw from his stomach, and the soldier fell to the floor with a _clump!_

The other soldiers stood there gaping at Wolf. They had never seen anyone stand up to them, let alone fight back. But this….this was a whole different story. Without armor, without even a _gun _Wolf had cleaved through this soldier's armor like he was a stalk of wheat. A chaingun and shuttle turret couldn't penetrate that armor, but his blade could?

Wolf pointed his blood-flecked Claw at the other Liberators.

"Well?" He said in an impatient tone. "What's it gonna be? Are you lot going to make the same mistake he did and spew shit…" He gave a resentful glance at the body. "Or are you gonna do the smart thing and back it up with strength?"

The Liberators stood motionless for a moment. Then one spoke up.

"C'mon, boys! Don't waste your time killing this son of a bitch with knives! Just gun him down!"

They all sheathed their knives and raised their rifles.

_Typical. _Wolf thought. _They're too weak to force me into actual combat, so they pull out the guns like cheap scumbags._

_Classic Cornerian crap. The nostalgia's unbelievable…_

Wolf charged before any of them could pull their triggers.

He leapt onto a Liberator, who foolishly raised his gun but to dazed with surprise to fire. He brought it up as a shield-

CLANG!

Wolf slammed his Claw against the rifle in mid-air, than swooped back into a back-flip.

KLAAAM!

Wolf let out a snarl as he kicked him in the chest, sending him flying backwards in a trail of smoke and into the wall. CRASH!

Another soldier charged at him with a yell, swinging his rifle as a makeshift club.

Spinning his Claw in his hand that made a glinting effect in the light across its steel surface, Wolf blocked the swing with amazingly quick reflex. Sparks bled from the spot where the steel grazed the surface of the rifle's barrel. Wolf swung the Claw up, knocking the rifle away from his direction and drove the Claw into his neck.

"_Hah!" _Wolf, with his Claw still embedded in the Liberator's throat, swung the body at the end into a nearby soldier.

_SLAM!_

There was the sound of armor splitting and bones snapping as Wolf crushed the soldier with the body at the end of his blade like a mace, knocking both into a crumpled heap.

He whirled around and sprinted towards another group of soldiers.

_SWA-SHING!_

_KAAANG!_

SHRIIING!

Jet-like blurs of flashing steel tore through the air as Wolf came nearer and closer to the spectator's field of vision like a reappearing demon. Blood streamed out of each soldier's shoulder and chests like crimson geysers, before being kicked or punched out of the way by Wolf's bone-crushing fists.

BRUNNNANNNANNA!

Golden blaster shots ripped past Wolf's body, who nearly dodged them too late to catch a glimpse of a far off Liberator firing his rifle from a safe range.

Wolf growled and jumped upwards near the wall. Feet sprinting over the wall's vertical surface for a fraction of a second, he propelled off the wall like a missile and dove straight for the soldier.

KURRRCHHH!

Wolf plummeted onto him, wrapping his legs around his neck in a scissor-lock, before jumping up.

_WHOOOSH!_

Wolf somersaulted in the air, the soldier still locked between his legs, before he unhooked his legs and launched the soldier like a human projectile into the nearest cluster of Liberators.

CRAAAASH!

The ground thundered in a gravel-ripping shockwave on the floor, as the soldiers exploded in all directions like shards of glass from a shattered glass.

Wolf landed on the palm of his hand before flipping over, twirling his Claw in his hand and wielding it with the blade running up his forearm.

_Pitiful….even Star Fox isn't this weak…_

_But that's not saying much…_

Then his ear twitched as he heard the rattle of footsteps from behind….and the clacking of an ammunition magazine.

He kicked his feet off the ground and leapt backwards in the air.

BRUNNNANNANNA!

The streaming golden shots just grazed the edges of Wolf's boots as he flipped over the Liberator firing under him. He pressed both hands on the pommel of his Claw and plunged it down as he dove downwards.

CLANG!

The Liberator had just enough time to side-step out of the way, and the dagger-like end of the Claw was buried into the ground.

Wolf looked up with an irritated bare of his teeth. The Liberator charged and swung his rifle like a mace.

"_Hrrargh!" _Wolf growled as he flipped back onto his feet.

_CLAK! THWUKK!_

Wolf dashed backwards on his feet, blocking the incoming swings and blows with his wrists and the back of his hands like a fist-fighter.

He snarled and leapt and delivered a pulsing kick in the soldier's shoulder. _SLAM!_

The soldier staggered back at the ferocity of the kick, and Wolf closed in and curled his fists.

_SNAKK-RRK! _

_PLTNCH! _

Wolf swung his fists in devastating and blazing punches, one smashing into the yellow glass of the Liberator's face-shield after the other like shots from a shotgun.

Stunned from the ramming punches, the Liberator tried to swing the rifle at Wolf's head.

Wolf dropped to one knee and slid on the ground past him. Whirling his hand into a chop he stood behind him and struck him at the back of his neck.

The soldier yelled in pain and tried to swing his rifle around, but Wolf swatted it away and swung upper-cut kick at his jaw, causing him to stumble back.

He then stepped back and kicked the Claw out of the ground with the toe of his boot. _WA-PAANG!_

The Claw gleamed in the air for a moment before landing in Wolf's hand. He stabbed it into the Liberator's arm.

The soldier bawled in agony and tried to drive his rifle towards him. Wolf caught the soldier's hand, but his finger was already on the trigger.

_BRUNNNANNANNAA!_

The yellow shots pounded at the ceiling as Wolf wrestled the Liberator, one hand pushing against the struggling hand that aimlessly waved the rifle and the other holding the claw embedded into his arm.

Wolf spun around him and jerked the stabbed arm behind his back with a _CRACK!, _and kicked him in the shin, forcing him to bend over. He held up the arm clutching the rifle with his other hand, pointing it at the surrounding soldiers.

_Let's see how their armor holds up against their own weapons._

Wolf forced the soldier's arm in the direction of the other Liberators. The soldier was bent over and trying to fight back, but had was clutching the trigger at Wolf's disposal, which Wolf waved around like _he _was the one holding the rifle.

The surrounding soldiers couldn't believe what they were witnessing. Wolf was using one of their own soldiers like a turret.

_BRUNNNANNNANNA!_

The blazing yellow energy bursts flashed in front of Wolf as he wielded the rifle-no, the _arm_ of the soldier that was holding the rifle- blasting away at the crowd of soldiers around him, the recoil of the rapid fire shaking the arm. Liberators were blown back horizontal hail fire of laser blasts, their armor shredded into bits and blood exploding from constantly ripping holes stinging their bodies. Wolf didn't give any of them enough time to fire back. In groups they fell like fallen trees, their yells and groans drowned out by the hammering noise of the rifle.

The wave of streaming blaster shots swept through the crowd and putting smoking holes in the walls like from welding nail gun. Some Liberators had dove behind cover, realizing they couldn't stand up to Wolf as long as he had a blazing range. The blasts trailed after them in the cratered ground, making uproots of sparks just inches behind their feet.

_BRUNNANNANNA-!_

Finally, the humming of the rifle's rotating barrel came to a slow-down, until the echo sounded throughout the hall of its ammo-less final _click._

Wolf's eyes darted around expectantly.

_They all heard it….now they know I'm out of ammo…_

The click of the barrel's empty magazine caused all the Liberators to dash from behind their covers.

"HE'S OPEN! _GET HIM!"_

Wolf watched as they charged forward, hauling their rifles up…like he knew they would.

He smiled, holding the soldier's body in front of him. They all thought that now, he didn't have a weapon. That this was their chance, that he was vulnerable.

They couldn't have been any more wrong.

Flashing his white fangs daringly, welcoming them to challenge him, grabbed the soldier's body and tossed it in the air like a sack of flour.

"_HEAAYAAAAH!"_

Wolf's snarl rang across the room as he back-flipped ten feet into the air, a trail of coiling smoke following his feet from the pulsing kick he had delivered against ground. He spun acrobatically into the air and grabbed the mid-air soldier in front of him by the face. He pounded him down straight into the ground with the palm of his hand, slamming him by the face down into a ground-pound.

_**KERRRRRAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSHHHHH!**_

A huge shockwave tore through the atmosphere of the room, a devastating airwave cleansing the room with a waft of destruction equivalent to a giant dust tsunami. The Liberators didn't just hear the giant shockwave. They _saw _it. They saw the stratosphere-shattering repulse distort the air from where Wolf landed and pounded the soldier's body by his face. It split apart like a miniature supernova, uprooting the gravelly ground and ripping it apart from under their feet in a hurl of cracks, dust, and debris. The sound tore through their ears like an atomic explosion and swept them off their feet like trees caught in the wake of a whirling tornado. They hit the walls and slammed against the ground as if they were as light as pebbles, being thrown around effortlessly like they were in a massive blender. A huge dust wave spread across the hall like a sandstorm, moving unstoppably and blinding every soldier.

Finally, the repulsing shockwave died down, and all that was left was a fog of dust that made it visually impossible for the soldiers to see in front of themselves.

And what was worse, Wolf was nowhere to be seen.

The Liberators, trapped in this massive dust fog that was impossible to navigate through, pointed their guns blindly around in the dust.

One soldier, his rifle shaking in his hands, breathed heavily, his terrified eyes darting around at the slightest noise or movement.

"SHOW YOURSELF, YOU COWARD! FIGHT FAIR!" He yelled into the fog around him.

"Fight fair?" a low voice replied.

The Liberator whirled around at the sound of Wolf's voice. But there was nothing there…

"You of all people are telling me to fight fair? Ha…as if you have any knowledge of what a fair fight is."

No one could tell where the voice was coming from, but it seemed to be mobile…moving around the indistinguishable fog, as if he were pacing.

"Tell me…where's the fairness in wearing laser-proof armor, and heaving a powerful gun like that?" Wolf drawled from somewhere in the dust. "And you don't even wield them against a strong opponent. You butcher the weak, like _real _cowards, because you know they can't stand up against you."

The voice sneered. It sounded too close…

Where was it coming from…?

"Well…you're going to see how it feels to be those people that you kill so effortlessly. You're going to fee their weakness, to feel trapped and helpless just like them…and see how 'strong' you really are…"

The Liberator, trying to locate the direction of Wolf's voice, yelled out into the dust some more. "So you're just going to kill us behind our backs when we can't see, when we can't fight back? Is that it?"

_SHING!_

There was the unmistakable sound of steel humming, and the Liberator whirled around, blaster raised.

Wolf, or at least a silhouette that resembled him, stood draped in dust and shadow. The only distinguishable things about him was the wicked gleam of his Claw, and glint of piercing purple eye.

"No. I won't stoop down to your pitiful level. I'm not the type that kills people when they don't know I'm there. No…you will know when I kill you, scum. You'll know…just like your victims did."

The Liberator yelled to the top of his lungs. "HE'S OVER HERE! KILL HIM!"

_SHWI-SHEEENG!_

_HUANG!_

_TERRIIING!_

BRUNNNANNANNANAA!

The Liberators fired around blindly in the dust cloud, their yellow bursts of laser energy lighting the field up like flames of a fire caught in a mist of smoke. The laser blasts all burst from different spots in the fog, indicating where a Liberator stood. But the only sign of Wolf was the blurring silver streak of Wolf's Claw. It tore through dust fog so fast that it seemed at one spot and everywhere at once, appearing half across the area for one second and then appearing in the opposite direction in another second. He moved so quickly that the soldiers' eyes could barely follow the movement of the flashing slices until they blurred right in front of their eyes.

Finally, the blurring sliver began to move in a specific direction and one Liberator tried to fire his blaster at it. But only when he raised his blaster did the stream of slashes disappear. The soldier's eyes glanced around, his eyes adjusting back to searching for an object in particular after being visually confounded by the multiple blurs that had blinded him previously.

HUA-_SHAAANG!_

The Liberator didn't see the strike coming. All he saw was the blinding gleam of silver in front of him and the flash of Wolf's eyes that seemed inches from him.

_SHERRRAATCH!_

There was a ripping sound and the Liberator fell at his feet.

FWOOSH!

Wolf jumped out of the giant dust cloud and into the vacant area of the hall, making an imprint in the smoke behind him, trailing off of his clothes. He stepped away from the whirling dust cloud and saw his black coat on the ground in front of him.

_Fwwiiimph!_

Wolf swooped the coat up and in a whirl, he whipped it over his shoulders and slipped his arms into it.

Then, his ears twitched. Someone was walking toward him.

Still keeping his back to the dust cloud, he turned his head slightly to see the Officer from earlier. That insufferable, smug smile was still on his face, and he looked almost completely unharmed, with the exception of the burn Wolf had etched onto his face with his blaster. He twirled his long knife casually, pacing in his long black boots.

"Not bad…not bad at all…" He drawled in a very sleazy tone. "Why, I'd say that that's the most entertainment I've gotten from this mission. You put up quite the show, for a common mercenary."

"You again?" Wolf glanced at him without interest. "You slunk off pretty fast. How's the burn?"

The Officer smiled. "Charming to the last hour. But your showy fighting ends here, I'm afraid."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Wolf retorted. "I can't stick around, you know. As much as I love wiping the floor with weak little asses like yours, I'm actually a lot more interested in how many I can kill on my way off this ship."

"I'm afraid your only way off this ship is in a body bag." The Officer smiled cunningly.

He snapped his fingers.

_CLICK!_

_CLICK!_

The sound of multiple blaster magazine locks made synonymous clacking noises, as Liberators emerged from the smoke, their rifles all pointed at Wolf. But they weren't a new batch. They were the same ones Wolf had fought inside the dust cloud just a moment ago, only none of them were damaged. In fact, none of them were wounded at all. The only distinguishable thing about them now was that their armor had multiple cuts and tears in them from Wolf's Claw, fragments of mesh and plates hanging loose from holes and gashes made in them. But there was no blood. The strikes had just gone through the thick armor, but hadn't broken through the skin of any of them.

Wolf's eyes darted around the soldiers quickly, examining each of them.

The Officer laughed coldly. "Let me see….outnumbered…failed escape attempt…and failed effort to kill all the soldiers. This is almost _exactly _like the mercenaries we killed a few years ago. I can't tell you how much I missed cornering an outlaw like a hunted animal. But I must say…it's a lot more exciting this time, since you're putting up more of a fight than anyone else in the past. I saw what you were trying to do…through a veil of dust over the soldiers and kill them from within, right? Very clever. Unfortunately…" He pointed his knife at Wolf. "No matter how much of a fight you put in the end, you never were any match for us."

Wolf didn't answer. He just kept his eyes on the Officer while he talked, already analyzing how to take him down.

"Well, then…" The Officer held his knife up, like the signal for the soldiers to shoot. "I'm afraid the time for negotiation has passed. So, I'll make this simple. You can surrender and die quickly, or you can resist and die slowly. You've got quite a number of options to choose from."

Wolf sneered. "Sorry to disappoint you, but the only people who are about to take it to the ass are you all."

The Officer laughed, and the surrounding Liberators smiled brutishly in shared amusement.

"Look around, you idiot. You're surrounded. You've got no chance of escaping. You're already dead."

"Oh, I'm not going to escape just yet. I've got to send you all to hell first, since you all are right where I want you."

"I'm sorry," The Officer cut in with a sharp laugh. "But that seems to imply that _you _have the advantage here. You don't seem to realize that you're at the end of the hall."

"Exactly." He drew his blaster. "You think it's a coincidence that we ended up at a dead end? I drew you all here with that dust cloud. Now, there are less chances of me having to widen my range to kill you all…" His eyes gleamed dangerously. "…as well as the chances of any of you escaping."

"You have no chances of killing my troops," The Officer in a callous tone. "You barely cut through their armor. You didn't even strike deep enough to cut their skin!"

"You think I cut them to get through to their skin?"

Suddenly, the Officer's smile faltered slightly.

"I didn't blind them and take a chance to strike at them to pierce their armor to stab through their skin. I made cuts through their armor that would be deep enough to make openings in the armor. In other words…" He cocked his blaster. "I cut them to exposetheir skin…"

The Officer's smile melted completely. A sudden look of outrage gripped him, just realizing the danger they were in. "FIRE, YOU FOOLS! FIRE NOW-!"

But Wolf was too quick. With his back still turned, he held up his blaster with his right hand, over his left shoulder with his head slightly turned in their direction. The loud, thunderous tones of his blaster shots rang across the room.

_SHWA-THOOOWAM! SHWA-THOWAM!_

_SHWA-THOOOWAM! SHWA-THOWAM!_

He didn't even give enough time for the Liberators to pull their own triggers. His bullet-fast trigger finger sent endless parades of green laser blasts pounding into the exposing holes he had made in their armor. His eyes darted around, eyeing the places where he had cut them, and with expert marksmanship, shot exactly in the revealing spots in the black plates.

The blasts slammed into each soldier mercilessly, causing blood to explode from the spots as they all were beaten to the floor with the bludgeon of pistol shots. The shots were flying out at such a rapid rate, that the flashing green bursts of light illuminated Wolf's glaring face and reflected in his gleaming eye like a blazing strobe light.

_Ker-CLUMP!_

Finally, the last body hit the ground. The Officer rose from his cowering position, and looked around. Bodies blown open from the exposure spots surrounded him, all the Liberators lying in laser-blasted heaps. He looked with disbelief in Wolf's direction, who looked demeaning and deadly with his smoking blaster still held over his shoulder, light poking from the holes in his flapping overcoat from when the Liberators had shot it earlier.

_Click!_

In the dangerous silence, Wolf drew back the top of his blaster barrel and let the steaming ammo clip fall from the bottom of his pistol to his feet with a clatter.

The Officer stared at Wolf with a combined look of rage and fear. For one reason or another, Wolf had shot everyone except for him. He couldn't believe that all the Liberators had died so easily, and at the hands of a common mercenary. No, something was wrong…the other mercenaries he had killed off in the past weren't like him. And what was worse, was that the Officer was alone with him. No reinforcements. No easy way out. Just the two of them.

"It's not possible…" The Officer murmured, his lips barely moving. "It's just not possible. I've squashed so many infamous mercenaries…and…I get beaten…by just _one?"_

"You didn't." SNAK! He slid a fresh ammo clip into his blaster. "Let me guess. You always had a squad of soldiers doing your dirty work for you, right? Always hiding behind a crowd of your own scum, and watching them kill the helpless from the sidelines."

"SHUT UP!" The Officer roared. "You're just a lowly punk, not even a mercenary! You're just some pathetic civilian who's stepped out of line, just like the rest of the passengers on this ship, just waiting to be executed."

A newfound sense of hatred started to crackle inside Wolf.

_So…these new soldiers not only arrest civilians…but kill them too…?_

_Cowardly bastards…just like Andross and the people of Kew…it's like the same crap on another day…_

_Murdering people that can't defend themselves because there isn't a fair balance between the weak and the strong in the galaxy…_

"So…Corneria has dipped that low, have they?" Wolf said contemptuously. "Killing civilians? Tch. I fought better Cornerians during the war. At least they had a respect for the rules of war…but it seems that even criminals nowadays have a better sense of justice than foul cretins like you."

The Officer snarled and charged at Wolf, who remained rooted at his spot, swing his knife.

_CLACK!_

There was a break of tension as Wolf caught the Officer around the neck, hoisting him above the ground effortlessly so that he struggled with his feet dangling. The Officer's eyes shone with terror from under Wolf's powerful grip. He dropped the knife as the his neck became compressed by Wolf's fist like it was under the pressure of a metal compactor.

Wolf stared at him with a burning distaste, as if he were looking upon another Venomian. "You think you and your soldiers are so tough, don't you? With your heavy weapons and advanced armor…I know what type of garbage you are. The type that goes around picking at easy prey like civilians because you're too weak to stand up to someone stronger than you. You don't know what real battle is...you're not even soldiers. You're just bullying cowards who don't know what a pain in the ass they are until someone hands it to them."

The Officer began to gasp and splutter. His face began to swell a bright blue until it looked like it was going to burst open.

"Normally…" Wolf growled. "I wouldn't let you live long enough to shoot me from behind…but I've wasted enough time and skill on you weak mutts. And also, I know you have a master…"

The Officer's eyes widened, his muffled struggling becoming a combination of heavy breathing and choking.

"I'm going to let you live, but only so you can scurry back like a rat to your master and give him a warning." Wolf leaned forward, speaking in a seething tone. "Tell him that there's someone stronger than him out here, who's ready to pound his miserable face open. Now get lost, and pray that he finds me before he makes the time to kill you!"

Wolf hurled the Officer out of his grip. The Officer was so terrified that he started sprinting in the opposite direction as soon as he his feet hit the ground, running whimpishly like a dog with its tail between its legs.

When he was out of sight, Wolf smiled to himself.

_Hah…that never gets old…_

_Still…I'd like to go somewhere where I don't have to deal with cowards at Pigma's level…_

He was about to turn and head into the opposite direction when he heard a soft noise behind him.

THUNK.

Wolf froze in his tracks. He still wasn't alone yet…

He spun around to see a Liberator, still strangling to stay alive despite his wounds. Realizing that his moment of stealth was now gone, the soldier painfully but quickly pulled out a comm.

Wolf's eyes widened. _Oh, shit! _His hand flew to his blaster.

"COMMAND! THIS IS AN S.O.S, REQUESTING BACK-UP IN HALL 5, NOW!" The wounded Liberator managed to scream into the comm.

_SHWA-THOOM!_

A green blast of laser energy smashed against his already bleeding chest, as Wolf managed to sling out his blaster with blurring speed and shoot him straight in the stomach.

But he hadn't been fast enough. The message had already been delivered.

The bloody comm. device slipped from the Liberator's hand as he slumped over. The comm. buzzed like an insect in response, a muffled voice chirping from it.

"_Roger that, corporal. Sending troops to reinforce hallway 9. Corporal? Do you copy? Corporal?"_

Wolf cursed as he kicked at the Liberator's body in frustration.

_God damn it…how the hell did I even miss him?_

_No…I _got _him…he just managed to survive somehow…_

_But he called for back-up…that means more are coming…?_

He looked with exhaustion at the bodies scattered around the hallway. It hadn't been hard to take these soldiers out. It was just too time-consuming. He had to get off this ship sooner or later, _that _was the priority here…and he couldn't fight every last Liberator before he left…

BOOM.

Wolf's raised his blaster quickly at the lumbering sound. For a moment he stood there, pointing his blaster around him, listening…

Nothing happened.

BOOM.

This time, Wolf saw the direction from which the noise had struck. The wall on his left had just start to pulse, as if being forced open by a force on the other side.

_Shit! _He gritted his teeth. _They're already here?_

BOOM.

The wall was starting to crack. The soldiers would be inside the room any minute, and judging by how the previous group reacted, they'd pound the place with laser blasts without looking at their target first.

Wolf stood in the spot, his breath becoming quick, thinking frantically about what he was going to do.

_There's no way I'm fighting another bunch of these soldiers…I don't have the time…_

_No…that's not why I'm here…_

He clutched his blaster. _But I'm the only thing standing in the way between them and Leon and those civilians…I've gotta buy them more time…_

_Yeah…that's it…_ He looked hurriedly at the door at the opposite end of the hallway. _I've got to draw them away from that direction…_

BA-BBBBOOOOOM!

The wall burst open in a destructive pounding of dust and gravel. Yet another smoking hole had been blown through the wall, but this one was bigger, probably to fit a bigger group of people through. Pipes in the wall's construct had been ripped in the explosion, and were now hissing showers of emergency fire extinguishing smoke over the entrance. Black figures were already emerging from the smoke that was billowing through…

Wolf didn't hesitate. He turned and sprinted down the hallway before any of the soldiers could enter through the door. His boots made a _clit-clat! _noise through the hall as he raced past the scattered debris and bodies, his coat fluttering behind him.

His tall ears picked up the pursuing voices from behind him:

"Hey, who's that over there?"

"He's getting away!"

"It must be one of the mercenaries! _Fire on him!"_

BRUNNANANNA!

The yellow shots whizzed by Wolf's ears and shoulders as the chasing soldiers fired their rifles at him.

He panted. _Perfect. Why do all these morons have to wield the same freaking gun?_

Avoiding the fire around him, Wolf dived into a ground-roll onto the smooth hallway floor and dove from one side of the long hallway to the other in a serpentine movement. The shots pelted the ground behind him as he dodged the beams with his tactic.

As the doorway at the end drew nearer, Wolf flipped onto his feet and began to ran as soon as he regained balance. He turned his head and fired some green shots behind him.

_SHWA-THOOM! SHWA-THOOM!_

The Liberators faltered in their pursuit on reflex and instinct at the shots, before avoiding the shots with their armor.

Wolf swept past the doorway and slid to a stop. In the next room, his eyes fell on the control panel next to the doorway and punched it quickly.

_Shh-thunk!_

The slide door closed, and Wolf had just enough time to see the pursuing Liberators' look of surprise as the door closed a few feet before they reached it.

Wolf pocketed his blaster hastily and set the control for the door to "Lock."

BOOOM.

Wolf gave an exasperated sigh.

_Jesus…they just don't give up…_

BOOM.

Wolf looked around. He was alone in the hallway, and he had to block this door somehow to keep the soldiers on the other side pounding against the door without success. He had to prevent them from getting through. The time it would take them to get the door open would be just enough to buy enough time for Leon and the rest.

BOOM.

Wolf looked around desperately. Nothing. There was nothing to block the door with.

Finally, he gave a reluctant look at the door.

_Crap…I was hoping I wouldn't have to use it…_

_I don't know who these people are and I didn't want to draw _that _kind of attention…_

_They might identify me by my Inner Power…_

He looked around again. He was still alone.

_It might be alright…no one's here…_

_And besides, the only way to block this door for them to work at it long enough is to melt the metal…_

…_with fire._

BOOM.

Wolf took another cautious look at the door. He pocketed his blaster in a resignedmanner.

_I don't have time to sit around…it's the only way…_

He took a deep breath. Flexing his muscles in a concentrated way, he fixed his purple eyes on the door.

He drew a foot back, and let his arms drop to his sides, curling them into fists.

Finally, he raised his fists in defensive stance.

"_FIRE WOOOLF!"_

He waited for the heat to rise in his body. He stood, his arms ready for the familiar flickering purple flames to appear, his breath rising for the moment they would arrive…

Nothing happened.

A blank silence dropped in the room.

_What?_

Confused, Wolf looked at his hands. Then he looked around him, as if expecting the purple fiery aura he was used to.

But nothing happened. There was no fire. No flames.

Nothing.

_What the hell? _A pit of confusion and rushing fear clouded his insides. _What's going on?_

_Why isn't it working?_

He looked around expectantly. But nothing happened. Was something missing?

He did it again. This time, he didn't say the words, but kept the stance up like he always did.

But still, nothing happened.

Frustrated and perplexed at this sudden catastrophe, the only thing Wolf heard was his heavy breathing.

Something was wrong. His Inner Power wasn't working.

_God Dammit! _Wolf stamped his foot angrily.

_Why now? Hell, why at all?_

He looked at his hands, and turning them over in aggravation.

_Why is this happening? Is there…something wrong with me…?_

Then, it happened.

But it was not the Fire.

"_GAAAAAARGHHHHIIIHHH!_

A scream of agony tore itself from Wolf's throat, as he was suddenly gripped in a tightening fixture of intense pain. Some giant invisible pair of hands seemed to be choking the air out of his lungs, his breath becoming haggard and rough. Wolf panted with much effort, struggling for even the smallest gasp of air. Sweat began to drip down his neck and brow, and he fell to his knees.

"_Haaah….hih…Haah….hih…" _Small strands of strangled oxygen escaped his throat.

He didn't even have time to think before he looked up, eyes squinting desperately, but his vision was starting to blare with scattering black spots, until it became hazy and disoriented.

Wolf tried to struggle to his feet, blinking feebly around him like a child caught between consciousness and a coma. But then, another wave of pain smashed into his body.

He fell back as a burning sensation a twisting and throbbing aches flew up his spine. His muscles felt like they were on fire, and his bones were melting under his fur as if they were shrinking under crushing pressure. He let out a ripping scream of anguish and suffering as he writhed and shook in the spot, caught in some nightmarish seizure.

The pain was horrible, unlike the electric chains at the Prison, unlike the shocks from Andross's chips…

Those things at least felt like normal doses of pain, and occurred everywhere.

But this…this was something else. The pain seemed to be trapped and wriggling in his body like a captivated insect, running under his body in stream after stream of endless torture.

Wolf clutched his face with his hands, his screams muffled under his arms. His skin felt like it rigidly tightening onto his face and body, as if it were going to split. His eyes were shut and he was moving automatically…it was like being trapped outside in the zero-gravity emptiness of outer space…

The air seemed to shimmer around him. His vision was flickering like a light show, and he began to see things. But it was all flashing too fast…like a sped-up rerun of clouds moving across the sky...disfigured shapes blazing against his line of vision…filling his eyes, switching it from black and white to just plain black…

"_**I hope….someday, you'll find it in your conscience to forgive me."**_

_What? _

Despite the pain, Wolf opened his eyes weakly. He could have sworn…no, he _knew _he had heard a voice. But it was distant, like an echo….it wasn't coming from inside the room…

It was more like a voice in his mind, like a thought….and it filled his ears with its ringing tone, like a knell…

_Whose voice is that? Who said it?_

A face blurred by…a young earnest face, kind and understanding…but the second it had appeared…it vanished…

Wolf squinted. Who….was that?

_That voice…whose voice….who is it…?_

_Who are you…?_

He looked around for signs of life, but the more he struggled, the more the pain grew.

"_**There's no escape for you, now…you've become a faceless animal…"**_

Another….it resembled the first face, only it was older and sterner….and then it vanished too…

_What's happening…?_

That voice…it was different from the first one, but he knew it…

He knew the first one to….but where had he heard those voices…?

The flashing shadows began to clog his vision. They began to slow down by seconds, and the indistinguishable shapes formed into faces, but they went by so fast, he couldn't recognize them. Each appeared briefly before fading into darkness…

And each left a familiar but hauntingly vivid echo of their voices…they were familiar, but he didn't know from where…?

Now the faces were moving too quickly for Wolf to recognize them. Their voices seemed to creep in and out of his head, revolving around him like Andross's voiced did in that one room on Venom…

"_**Just go, get your team together. You can tell me some exciting stories next time we meet."**_

The pain that was causing Wolf to writhe in the spot made him disoriented enough to fall over, but the voices just kept blaring in his ears, almost taunting him…

Then, he heard another voice.

"_**You're a true warrior…and I'm completely in your debt…"**_

He reached out uselessly, trying to make sense out of these rushing faces and whispering voices. He could barely see his own hand in front of him

_Who are you…? Tell me…?_ He begged the faces desperately.

He wanted it to be over…there had to be a way to stop this…

He wanted the faces and the voices to leave him alone…they were too hauntingly familiar…

"_**The friends you count on so much…they will fail you in the end…"**_

Despite the pain and rushing, Wolf actually recognized that one as his own voice.

Was he hearing things that he had said in the past…?

But if that were the case, who were these other voices?

FWOOOOM!

Heat flickered in front of Wolf's face, warming him for a moment. He weakly shielded his face with his hands, before opening his eyes slightly. His heart skipped a beat.

A faint purple flame was glowing in front of him. It was _his_ fire…_now _it had chosen to appear?

Why now? What was going on?

He only managed to raise himself feebly to see the towering purple flames rush towards him like a charging tide. His already shortened breath tightened as he saw them approach, and the he shut his eyes.

_FWOOOOOM!_

The flames, instead of hitting him, made a funneling, twisting vortex of purple fire, caging him inside a tornado of heat and oxygen. Wolf blinked in the bright haze.

_My Inner Power…_

_It's acting by itself…it's never done this before…_

_Why is it happening…why now?_

FWIIIISH!

The flames sent a wave of heated wind across his body, causing his fur and coat to ruffle in the intense wind. The wall of fire that encased him grew higher, swirling around him faster and faster until it made his weary eyes hurt.

"_**You've got a long way ahead of you. What's your name, kid?" **_A rugged voice asked him from somewhere in the back of his mind, but it sounded like it was coming from outside the wall of fire.

He turned his head into the direction where he had heard it. He couldn't see past the fire, but he was certain that there was no one there…

The visions blurred faster. The voices became constant and combined into a muffled echo, and they all began to whisper eerily, all at the same time…spinning around him, like a vortex of audible winds…

"_**Is it really worth it? To dedicate yourself towards Lylat's scourge….and get away with it?" **_

Wolf whirled his head around.

_Stop…_

"_**We're a Team, Wolf. Don't forget that…" **_

The voices were echoing from across random places around him. The fire swirling, the voices echoing, the visions blaring past him… it made him feel like he was going crazy.

_Stop it, leave me alone…please…_

The flames started to rise as the voices grew louder…purple light began to envelop Wolf's vision…

"_**You know….you're kind of like my personal knight in shining armor…" **_

He clutched his face with his hands. The voices dug deeper and deeper inside his brain….till they were all rising in sound until they sounded like they were groaning louder and louder…

_I want it to end…just leave me alone…_

"_**Soon you'll see the truth of all of this…" **_

He cowered, confused and afraid of what was happening to him, feeling as helpless as a child lost in a crowd.

_Leave me alone…I don't know what's going on…_

"_**You're weak…you're nothing….just my experiment…" **_That same voice again…the tenacious one…

The flames rose higher…becoming a wave of light inches from his faces…

"_**You're not a monster…you're my friend, Wolf. I'm sorry I judged you like everyone else." **_A soft, vivacious voice…

They burned brighter…he fell to his knees, still clutching his face. He shut his eyes tighter, clenched his teeth more, trying to wake himself up from this horrible nightmare…

"_**It's okay, Boss. You're still the Leader, no matter what."**_

_Leave me alone…just go away…_

"_**YOU MURDERER! How could you kill a child?"**_

The voices grew louder…the flames swirled faster…

"_**Look what you've done to me, Fox! I'LL KILL YOU!"**_

Wolf panted and looked up desperately. His eyes widened.

The flames at the top of the massive wall of fire were now sprouting into long shapes, bristling out of the top like spines. The more he watched, the more they all started to take shape.

Finally, the flames glowed like a giant ember, and they turned into bristling fiery arms, with clawed hands that were outstretched towards him.

Wolf stared at them, fear clouding his eyes as they reached out toward him, moving swiftly, raining down towards him…

His breath quickened as the fiery hands came closer and closer to him…his breath became rapid until it was whistling like wind…his heart was pulsing rapidly…

The horrible combined voices continued to moan in his skull, even with all the rushing things and the hands edging towards him, Wolf still found them to be the most terrifying thing of all…how hauntingly _familiar _they were…

"_**For you…Max…"**_

The flaming hands were almost an inch from his face, parading forward, their clawed fingers reaching out for his soul…the fire around him began close in on his body…

He couldn't breathe…he couldn't think…he was too afraid…he was too afraid…

And that was the second he saw them: an illusion, a hallucination, whatever these images racing past him were, this one he got a full glimpse of.

It was a pair of turquoise blue eyes, shining from behind the wall of flames. They were of the purest blue, almost identical to twin sapphires, filled with warmth, comfort….and sorrow. They were beautiful…_familiarly _beautiful…

"_**You're the best pilot I know, Wolf…and a great warrior. I know…you're destined for something greater."**_

_FAROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!_

Then, something strange happened. The color of the towering flame structure, as well as the clawed fiery hands that were reaching out, changed from its familiar purple to orange. A second before the flaming hands reached his face, the eyes vanished. Wolf's eyes grew huge with fear as they dominated his sense of vision, but he heard a crackle of fire behind him. He turned only too late to see another group of flaming hands burst out to grab him.

And the last thing he remembered before he consciousness failed him was a blinding light, the final glimpse of a fiery orange hand reaching out and consuming his vision…

….and his ears filled with the drowning noise of his own scream.

_End of Chapter_


	7. Chapter 7

Okay, um…two things to point out.

The reason this took so long is because I started it before the beginning of June, and after that I relocated across the U.S., therefore limiting my computer resources to that of an Amish person during the move. So I basically had to finish it in two months.

I've been receiving mixed reviews lately regarding the sudden turn of events with the plot and new characters, mostly confused ones. **NOTE: **This is completely intentional. You're in Wolf's perspective, after all, and anything he doesn't know about what's going on, you don't know. He's been in prison for five years and is just as confused…even if everyone around him knows.

**WARNING**: This chapter is two chapters in one, so I implore you all to accept the intermission warning when it comes because this chapter is not meant to be read in one day. The reason for its excessive length is because I was too lazy to separate the chapter into two, so bear with me just this once.

_Chapter 7: The Escape from Hell's Clutches_

_On board the _Anatarres, _5 ALW (HMD Period)_

Pain.

That was the first thing Wolf felt clash against his senses as he mentally wrestled his consciousness back.

His vision varied from sullen black to blinding white, as it came into focus…his ears were clogged with the muffled sound of his own harsh breath…

But…the pain wasthe thing that restored his consciousness back.

_Ughhh…._

The pulsing numbness that throbbed underneath Wolf's skull washed over him like a douse of cold water, bringing him back to reality.

His single eye groggily flickered open. He raised his hand in front of him, till it went from a foggy black shape to its familiar five-fingered form.

_Damn…I feel horrible…_

He let his hand fall to his side with a clatter. He let out a harsh, ragged breath.

_What the hell happened…?_

He rubbed his weary head gingerly. He tried to let his memory of recent events rush back into his mind…

_I don't remember much…_

_Just the…light…_

_And the flames…_

His eyes shot open.

_Oh shit!_

Wolf hauled himself upright, but automatically regretted it when the effort was rewarded with a rigid, aching feeling. His body felt exhausted, like he had just rushed up a mountain, or swam halfway across the massive Aquasian sea.

He gritted his teeth, rubbing his sore head as gently as he could, trying not to strain his weakened body joints.

_Jeez…I feel like an old man with rheumatism…_

Then something nasty and musty went up his nose. He blinked and threw a hand over his mouth, coughing and spluttering.

_What the…?_

He glanced down at himself, and saw that his grey fur was caked with dusty white ash. He looked around, and found himself sitting in that dark, empty hallway.

The scene would have seemed a bit more normal…that is if he weren't sitting in a smoking, man-sized black crater in the middle of the room. Broken fragments of granite and metal surrounded him, and flecks of ash fell in dust mites above his head. Small flickering flames surrounded the crater like candles, burning faintly.

Flames…

Wolf's mind suddenly rushed back.

_Wait a minute…_

_What happened earlier…?_

_All I remember…is that I tried to use my Inner Power…_

…_and…_

He looked down at his hand, which was shaking in anguished realization.

…_it didn't work._

_No flames…no nothing…_

A cold sense of dread seemed to overcome him. He began to feel weak…helpless…alone…

Was this really happening? His Inner Power…just wasn't working…?

_Maybe…there's something wrong with me…_

_I could be crippled…or out of practice…_

_But wait…no…_

He thought harder.

_There _were _flames…_

_All around me…and voices too…._

_Voices I've heard before…_

Suddenly, a pang of pulsing agony sank into his head again. He gasped aloud and clutched his head.

_Argh…Dammit…what's…what's happening to me…?_

_I can't remember any more than that…_

…_my head just hurts by trying…_

He took another glance at his hand, and gripped it into a frustrated fist. He felt…so…_helpless. _It was almost equivalent to being naked without his Inner Power. He had relied on it for so long…and now, there was some kind of obstacle…and he couldn't use it.

Would it happen again…?

He bit his lip. _I can't try it again…_

…_not right now…_

_Whatever happened before…the flames and the voices, and all that…_

He scrunched his eyes shut and tried not to think about it, afraid of another dose of pain.

_I can't risk that happening again…_

But wait…why he had been trying to use it in the first place…

His eyebrows furrowed.

Then he looked up. Then the rush of previous events hit him head-first like a wall.

_Leon! The civilians!_

KAR-_CHHHHAAAANG!_

BOOOM!

Almost out of nowhere, Wolf heard it: The familiar shrieking and blaring of blaster fire, echoing faintly….but it wasn't coming from down the hall, or from a neighboring room…but more like, outside the ship…

FWOOOOM!

There was a giant pounding sound, and a follow-up aftershock of fire blasting from the roof. Wolf leapt to his feet and dove near the door to avoid a shower of sparks and electricity above him. The thick ship construct was blasted from its hinges in a wave of dust and flames. Useless smoke from the automatic fire-extinguishing systems blew in like fumes. An alarm blared like a whining child from some intercom in the room.

_That's not normal blaster fire… _Wolf thought, whose fur was bristled at the ends in response to the sudden explosion in the roof.

_Sounds more like turbo-laser cannons…or turrets…and not off of common fighters…_

_There's a warship out there…_

_Probably like the Cornerian ones during the Lylat Wars…like…_

He tried to think of one. He had seen lots of them during the missions…

But what was weird about it, was that the more he thought about it, the harder it was. He couldn't think of one right off the bat, which was weird, because he should have…

…_I…I can't remember any…_

_Weird…_

He rubbed his temples, trying to concentrate. Okay, so he couldn't remember a specific ship. Big deal. He'd seen plenty during the missions Andross had given him…

He tried to think of one, hoping the thought would spring the image of a ship in his mind, like déjà vu. But now that he thought about it, the missions seemed kind of like a blur, too…

Something was wrong. It was like there was a blank spot in his mind, and he was searching for it….like he knew something should be there, but he couldn't remember what…like an empty void, once filled with something but now vacant and odd…

It was a weird feeling…like there was something tugging at the back of his mind, something important, that he ought to know, to remember…

He tried to shake it off. It was probably nothing.

_Right now…I've got to get to Leon and the rest…_

_I must have been out for a long time…the battle outside between the ships must've started…_

_Wait…but what happened to those guys earlier that were trying to get through the door…?_

_They must've been given another order or something, otherwise they'd be in here by now…_

At the thought of the soldiers, Wolf's thoughts drifted back to the ones he fought. Liberators, someone had called them…

_Liberators…I've never heard of them…kind of ironic, that all they do is kill like senseless animals, and yet they parade under a slogan like "Liberators?"_

_The only thing they're liberating is the chances of corpses being dumped into land-fills…_

_They're Cornerian…I can tell that much…_

_And Leon said something about Corneria's government being harsh and ruling the galaxy under its fist…_

_So are these the people who took over Lylat while I was in prison…?_

_No, wait…Leon mentioned someone different…someone pulling the strings…_

_Whoever that person is…he might be on that giant black ship I saw earlier…_

_Yeah…so these just must be his foot soldiers…_

_So he's the one controlling the government…the one with this so-called powerful "weapon"…_

_The one who did this to the galaxy…_

Wolf clenched his fist. But then, he took a deep breath.

_No…remember what Leon said…_

_There's always another day for that…_

_Besides…right now I just gotta escape…_

_No one knows who I am…and I can't risk being captured and interrogated…_

He headed towards the door, limping with the strained shackles of his sore body, trying to get it back into shape.

So many things were on his mind. So many questions tugging impatiently at his brain…

How was he going to get off this ship…?

Who were these people …and what did they want…?

But most of all…

…what had happened with his Inner Power?

The voices and the fire…

He picked up the pace, trying to take his mind off it. But trying to avoid it only made it worse for his already troubled mind. Every step only made his eyes shift around like he was being followed, the eerie voices creeping into his head.

But as much as he shook the topic off of his mind, only one voice remained prominent and clear in his mind. One voice, which stuck out in his already disturbed memory, the one that echoed constantly like a reoccurring memory that lingered like a dark reminder…

A strangely familiar voice, one that he didn't recognize, but knew from somewhere…

A woman's voice…

_Somewhere on the higher Decks of the ship…_

CLAAANG!

The door to the Observatory Wing burst open from the forceful kick of a Mercenary boot.

The men that burst in were not like the mercenaries that had fought the Liberators earlier. These men weren't young Cornerian Army drop-outs that had learned how to fire a blaster an hour ago. No, they were veterans of the Lylat Wars, former soldiers that had fought in the war, and had turned to smuggling and had abandoned lawful practice in light of the harsh times.

All of them were dogs, mostly consisting of Terriers, Bulldogs, Malamutes and Whippets. They sported faded Cornerian uniforms with some armor plating, the old nostalgic kind, not the distasteful ones of modern day. Reloading ammo and cocking their weapons, they carried large blaster rifles, M-16's and FALs.

They were the type that were easily on par with the Liberator's tactical superiority, and could easily face them in combat.

And yet, they weren't here for that.

One of them, a Greyhound, grumbled aloud. "This is just perfect. Captain Nelson sends one group to escort civilians and one to fight Liberators, and where does he send us? With the civilian group. Pah!"

"Cut it, will you?" Another mercenary shot him an irritated look. "It's a lot better than running into Agents. We were lucky we were assigned to this part of the ship instead of the southern portion, where they are."

"Yeah," One in the back chimed in. "You wanna meet some Agents and get your throat sliced open? Didn't think you were _that _desperate for action!"

"You three! No arguing in the ranks!"

They all fell in silence of the no-nonsense tone of Ayxal, the Rottweiler that had been with Nelson on the Command Deck earlier. He was accompanied by the young Husky, Bernard.

"Nelson sent you here to help search out any straggling civilians, not bicker like Academy children!"

Bernard clapped his hands together. "Alright, enough. Now, listen up, everyone, because the battle outside has already started and we're short on time. We've picked up a signal from this side of the ship. It was an SOS signal, and it came from a comm."

"But how'd they send us a signal without being captured?" A Whippet with a FAL asked.

He'd made a good point. Anyone who had lived in the Lylat System for the past few years knew very well that it was the Liberator Corps's specialty to kill their enemies without leaving a trace behind… so to achieve this, they'd use special equipment to cut off airwaves that would allow anyone to send a communications signal.

"That's how we know that it's one of ours," Bernard explained. "The only way anyone could contact us would be to use the Liberators' special comm.'s, and the only way to get ahold of those…"

"…is to kill'em," Ayxal cut in promptly. "Which is beyond a civilian's capability. So that could only mean one of our mercenary forces sent that signal. And since it's an SOS, it's clear they need back-up."

Bernard nodded. "But we've decided to take each room separately by splitting up. If there's any trouble, we'll be able to contact each other via comm. So, I'll take this group, Ayxal will take the middle, and Stevens will take the last group."

Stevens, an Akita at the front of the group, cocked his M-16. "Got it."

"Alright, then. Split up!"

The three groups rushed in different directions, each led by a prominent leader.

The group led by Stevens headed down the south hall, and reached a door. The Mercenaries grouped around the door, and watched the Akita hold up three fingers to signal when to break it down.

Three fingers…

Two fingers…

One finger.

_CLANG!_

They kicked the door open, guns raised and eyes peeled for trouble.

But their tough exterior and confident attitudes were soon put to rest when they walked into the room to find that it was completely dark.

The room was a large observatory hangar, consisted mostly of empty space. The rest was occupied by staircases that lined up against the wall, as well as a few steel crates of ship fuel.

There was not a soul inside. Just the deathly-still darkness, illuminated only by the flickering blue emergency power-outage lights and the occasional blast from the space battle going on outside the window. They were completely alone, and surrounded by silence.

But that just made them feel more uneasy.

"No one here…." A mercenary eyed the room. "C'mon, let's go. There's nothing here."

"Wait…" The Akita paused and took a step forward. "Something's not right here… why's the power out?"

"The ship's main power coupling probably got damaged by the other ship's cannons," Another mercenary reasoned. "Maybe that's why the power lines are dim on this side of the ship."

The Akita looked questioningly at his comm. "Then…how'd any of the others send the signal of the power lines were down?"

One dog in the back shrugged. "Maybe they sent the message before the power went out."

The Akita checked his radar. "Hey… my radar device is still working."

"What's it say?"

He blinked. "No…it, it's probably broken…"

"Why, what's it sayin'?"

He looked up in a confused manner. "It says…that there's seventy people in this room. And none of them are identified as hostile. But…how can that be…there's only thirty of us."

They all looked at each other. Then they glanced cautiously around them.

A Terrier raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Yeah. Your radar's full of shit."

Another in the back looked at his radar device. "Hey… mine says the same thing!"

Now everyone was looking at each other in confusion.

"All of ours can't be broken…"

"But then how can there be seventy people in the room?"

"Maybe they're in a floor above us…?"

"How? We're on the _top floor!"_

_KLAKK! KLAKK!_

The Akita tapped his blaster barrel against the shiny tiled ground impatiently.

"Enough, already! Look, just…spread out and look for any signs of a struggle. If there's anything left, civilian or mercenary, report it. We're here to help anyone who needs our aid…or at least find their bodies before those God damn Agents claim their body after we leave…"

There was the sound of simultaneous _click!_s as the mercenaries switched on the lights attached to the barrels of their blasters and walked quietly around the room, and inspected the room's darkness with the path paved from the stream of their flash lights.

The only sound that gave them peace of mind in the dark was the echoes that vibrated off of the soft _pitter-patter _of their footsteps. Every now and then, the breath of a nervous mercenary would cause them to look around.

The silence made it easier for them to be jumpy at even the smallest noise, from the _click _of someone reloading their blaster, to the small _thrrrsh _of someone's foot dragging across the smooth floor. And God forbid if any of them bumped into each other.

_FSSSHHHH!_

Startled by the sudden noise, they all flashed their lights high up against the wall to see the emergency fire-extinguishing systems emit smoke down towards them.

"S'Alright!" The Akita called out in an assuring tone. "Emergency systems are probably on automatic in this situation."

A Mercenary in the back exhaled in relief. "Damn… you'd think maintenance would fix that by now…"

The misty smoke coiled down to the ground, and covered the air in a thick coat that seemed to resemble fog. It only made the atmosphere of the dark, quiet room more eerie…

"Sir!"

The Akita whirled around. "What is it?"

"Look!"

He glanced into the foggy end of the room, which was barely visible, and spotted it instantly: a blinking yellow light, even with its source too far off in the fog to distinguish, was easily spotted in the distance.

"Hey…that looks like terminal. A communications terminal… maybe that's where the signal came from…"

A mercenary walked behind him. "It could have a holo-log of anything recent…even the person who sent the signal."

The Akita shouldered his rifle. "You all stay here. I'll go over and check it out."

"Hey, and what if it's a trap, Chief?" The Mercenary gripped his shoulder cautiously. "Like a detonator?"

"Relax, will you?" The Akita shook himself from the mercenary's grip. "I would've received a thermal scan from my radar if it were an explosive. And if it's a trap, you guys will be here to cover me."

He loaded his blaster and took a confident step toward the foggy side of the room, before he disappeared.

The mercenaries all waited nervously on the more visible side of the room, eyeing the dark shadows of the deck with suspicion and fingering their blasters.

The Greyhound mercenary from before dropped back to one of his comrades. "Hey, you! Is your radar still having the reading from earlier?"

"Yeah." He pulled it out and examined it. "Seventy people…. The number hasn't changed. I just don't know how it would be that many from the beginning anyway…"

The Greyhound paced in a circle uncomfortably. "Something's wrong… God only knows what's going on…"

Only later would he regret that specific choice of words…

_Splrtch!_

He turned. "What was that?"

He looked down and saw the mercenary holding the radar, a look of petrified horror engulfing his face. The Greyhound's eyes furrowed until he saw the radar device. There was nothing wrong with device's display, as much as the device itself…

It had a large, dark red drop of blood on it.

He looked up slowly. Neither of them were bleeding. So that meant…

_Splrtch!_

The next drop of blood appeared, but this time on the Greyhound's shoulder…

Both of their breathing became rigid and harsh with terror. Sweat rolled down their necks, and their nerves were on edge, both thinking the exact blood-curdling thought:

_Up._

The mercenaries looked up slowly, the mind-numbing fear gripping their senses, their terrified eyes twitching slightly as they raised their gaze to the ceiling.

Their hearts practically stopped, like gears halting in the works of a time bomb.

They didn't dare raise their lights over the ceiling, in precaution of themselves screaming at what they would see. But a small sliver of light from outside was enough illumination to catch the only confirmation of their fears they needed…

The silhouette of feet dangling from the ceiling.

Neither of them felt the need to hang the number of bodies that hung from the ceiling. The radar was enough proof that there were about forty.

"_**HUUUAAAAAAAARGHHHH!"**_

Both of their hearts jumped in combined terror at the sound of the fur-raising scream that tore from the foggy end of the room.

Every mercenary raised their weapons on fear-driven instinct.

"The Chief!"

They all raised their rifles. The Greyhound stomped to the front, pushing mercenaries aside. _"Get the Chief outta there, _NOW!"

_Prattatatta!_

There was a flare of light and the crackling sound of blaster-fire, as blasts echoed from inside the fog from the other side of the room.

"Arm yourselves and prepare to fire! Get'im outta there!" The Greyhound barked.

Just then, a shadowy figure staggered from outside the fog.

The Greyhound lodged his eye into the scope of his assault blaster rifle. "Get ready to fire on my mark!" After seeing the bodies at the top of the ceiling, he didn't want to take chances of meeting whoever was responsible.

The Mercenaries raised their weapons, eyes locked on the figure and fingers hovering over the trigger.

Then a voice called out from the back of the group.

"WAIT! Wait, hold fire! It's the chief!"

The mercenaries lowered their rifles, their tough expressions melting into shock, as they realized who the crumpled figure hobbling towards them was indeed the Akita.

Only now, the same confident overtone he had went he first arrived was gone. The first thing everyone noticed about him was that his face had become completely gaunt, the color drained from his hollow skin, petrified in a horrible expression of terrified fear and agony. He looked so pale and lucid in the mist, like he was about to pass out. His eyes were huge and bulging with terror, and his lips were dry and cracked while he tried to utter a parched scream of warning. But everyone's eyes were soon locked onto the left portion of his body. It was drenched and splattered with a horrible dark red, mulling essence that seared through his torn flesh and fur, the torn and ragged clumps of his uniform dripping around the huge gauging red spot near his shoulder. He clasped the spot hopelessly, weeping hot tears of pain and horror.

His arm was gone.

"_Chief!"_

Everyone was caught in stunned silence at the grisly sight before them, jaws dropped in repulse.

"God..."

"What the hell happened to him…?"

"His arm…look at his _arm! _Or what's left of it!"

"Did the Liberators do this?"

"No, they travel in packs! We would've seen'em!"

"Can't be Agents either….they travel in groups too…"

The Greyhound acted immediately. "Quickly! Someone give him medical attention! Contact the other groups for back up, but first help him!"

Mercenaries came from different sides of the group, taking a step forward to give him aid.

"_GET BACK! _GET BACK ALL OF YOU, IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIVES!"

The mercenaries stopped in their tracks. The Akita got to his knees and threw his remaining arm into the air.

"GET OUT OF HERE, ALL OF YOU! THERE WAS NO SIGNAL, IT'S A TRAP! IT'S ALL A TRAP!" The Akita screamed. "THERE'S NO CIVILIANS! IT'S A FAKE SIGNAL!"

TheGreyhound's eyebrows furrowed. "What? What're you-?"

"_GOD DAMMIT, JUST RUN, ALL OF YOU!" _The Akita hobbled forward slightly before thrashing his other arm and shrieking. "DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? JUST RUN! _HE'S _HERE! HE'LL KILL YOU ALL, IT'S _HIS _TRAP! HE'LL-!"

He stopped in mid-sentence, eyes huge. Suddenly, his started to choke, before it died down. A red line drawn from a sharp edge grew on his neck before exploding in a shower of thick blood, causing his gaze to slump over.

_SPL-TRCCCH!_

His head fell into the dark red pond that surrounded his mangled body with a sickening splash, before his body fell over.

The Mercenaries drew back in horrified recoil and terrified gasps. They gripped their blasters in grim anticipation, sweat beginning to shine from their brows.

Then, all of the Dog's ears and noses twitched as they sensed movement approaching. They spotted a dark, lone figure walking forward from the shadows of the eerie mist.

They hastily mopped the sweat from their faces and rose their rifles cautiously, putting on faces of forced confidence and clenched courage. The barrels were fixed on the dark shadow ahead.

The Greyhound called out roughly. "Who's over there? Show yourself!"

Slowly, the shadowy figure emerged from the darkness, the mist uncoiling and parting around his dark shape like veils of smoke. At first, everyone looking at him thought he was wearing a cloak, before realizing that the flapping shapes near his sides were the flowing ends of a long black coat. He was still draped in curtains of shadows, but they all heard a distinctive noise through the dark. The sound of the soles of shoes stepping across the smooth floor.

_Clunk._

_Clunk._

That was when everyone in the room's breathing began to waver and became hoarse, as with every _clunking _noise, the confidence in their souls shrunk, and the terror grew. The temperature in the room seemed to become thick with deathly demeanor.

They realized at last who it was…he was neither Agent nor Liberator, otherwise he would have shown up with reinforcements. No, he was alone.

And the fact that he was alone put a terrifying and mind-pulsing form of realization in their frozen minds.

_Clunk._

_Clunk._

They clutched their blasters until their fingers started to bleed, the pain being the only revelation of their consciousness in the vivid nightmare that they were mentally locked in. Their giant eyes remained unblinking, petrified with pure fear. They were more than afraid. They were lost completely in the terror of their own minds. They didn't feel like men confronting an enemy, or like frightened little children unfit to be here like they had felt with the Agents. No… they felt their doom wash over them, they felt their blood stop flowing up to their rapidly beating hearts…

The person before them stepped from the shadows, his form illuminated with the light from outside. He was dressed very similarly like his Agent subordinates, wrapped in a neat and elegant long black coat that was made from a shimmering black fabric, the ends of it fluttering over his sleek black-and-white Mafia shoes, that made clenching noises with every step. He wore leather black officer's gloves, which also made clenching noises when he curled them up into a tight commanding fist. His shadowy coat was stretched over his lean, catlike body, coming off high in the shoulders and revealing straightened and neat cuffs. His unbuttoned coat revealed a blood-red waist-coat, a symbol of his superiority to contrast his Agents' generic pinstriped suits underneath their coats. His neck was tightened in a slick black tie, and around it hung his only ornament of decoration, in addition to the golden "C" brooch on his tie: A silver Catholic cross hanging by a silver chain necklace, very much like the one that was carved into the hull of his ship outside, the _Peacekeeper. _

No one could identify his species. His fur was a deep, sleek ebony, with a white snout and eyebrows. He had grey-tipped ears that stuck from the top of his black fedora, which were pointed much like a feline's. But that only contrasted with his lengthy snout, which was more canine. His whiskers were long and also catlike, but also choppy like a canine's. His tail was also quite odd, too long for any dog, but too furry for any cat. His facial expression was a fixed glance of silent forebodement, ten times more terrifying than the Agents' could ever be. His face reflected no hint of mercy of humanity, only a callous, unfeeling essence of his unstoppable iron will. The cold air that rotted the life in the room was contributed by his terrible eyes, pale orange and cold like a dying sun, lifeless as he was, staring from behind a pair of round, glimmering glasses. They weren't murderous or sadistic, but calm and analytical, as if taking apart everything and everyone in the room apart and slowly burning it with his piercing gaze. The black depth in his eyes were as lifeless and soulless as the stories said, like twin, consuming black holes…the final abyss…dictating, ruling…consuming…

His attire, choice of arrival, and overall appearance was enough to reveal who he was. He was the one evil that all Cornerians, Venomians, and all Lylatians revered above all earthly horrors. He was the cold wind of iron-fisted justice that slunk off into the night, leaving behind a bed of bloody carcasses. It was he that had made Lylat a place of ash and desperation after the war, the one who had personally stripped the Star Fox Team of their rights as pilots. He, who had warped the government into a lifeless and merciless superpower that ruled over the rest of the galaxy. He was the true puppet-master, that ruled Lylat with a remorseless iron fist, draping it in the shadow of the laws he saw fit. He was said to feel no regret over the shedding of blood of a thousand innocent people. He believed the galaxy, and its people, were corrupt, licentious and drowning in their own sins, and must heed his laws to shape it into the pure and sinless galaxy he strove for…at any cost. This was the man who had cleansed the galaxy of mercenaries, outlaws and criminals to throw the natural balance of crime and justice in his dark favor. Stories claimed that he was a self-claimed pious man, one who served God and God alone. His laws, his actions, everything he did was supposedly his service to the Lord (which was why the Cross served as a prominent symbol of his organization). His intense belief of religion was the source of all the chaos and destruction he created, and would wield these tools against anything he saw as a sin or an obstruction to the pure galaxy he was obsessed with creating. A good intention….even if it was unrealistic….but achieved through terrible means of murder and torture, all justified by the Lord's cause, of course.

He saw all who made even the slightest sin as one who deserved a passage to hell, and nothing less. In his eyes, anyone who would defy his divine laws, his inevitable rule, disregard him and his holy beliefs…must be evil. Or worse, a heretic.

Some said that he was the Devil himself, crawling from the darkest depths of unnatural places. Others claimed that he was an evil more merciless and blood-demanding than even Andross and his leeches. He was the cause of everything. He was the one who had taken over Lylat, and was now her current threat. He was the one who had pushed all other planets under his rule with the threat of an unspeakably devastating weapon. He was the one who had disgraced Star Fox, he was behind all of this…

His name was unknown, and his past was lost beyond the indistinguishable mists of memory. He was known only by a title, an alias murmured even by the disciples of his organization, and hung on every horrified whisper like a stain of dried blood. A name that whistled in the eerie winds of every graveyard and every battleground, a name that was too bitter for even Satan's vile tongue. One that haunted the unresting minds of any resistant criminals or prey, one that caused blood to stop pumping, air to stop churning, and thunder to tremble in its sanctuary in the skies at the very mention...

He was known only as…the Inquisitor. The ruler of Lylat behind the government's shadow…the true evil.

But what surprised all the mercenaries in the room, when they caught a glimpse of the phantasmal enforcer that lingered in all well-known stories, was how _young _he was. His face was not lined with middle age, and his small body did not bear muscle of adulthood. He stood at only five foot eight, and yet stood tall with an air of commanding presence. He couldn't have been older than thirteen or fourteen.

The mercenaries in the room couldn't believe their eyes. The scourge of Lylat, the tyrannical figure of merciless inevitability, was just a kid? Some of them had children older than him. Someone of his age, causing so much bloodshed and death, ruling the galaxy with an iron fist? It was too strange to imagine.

And yet, here he was, standing as confident and superior as he could ever be. Whatever impact his age had made on the Mercenaries was quickly drowned out by his cold eyes. They radiated with dominance and intimidation, as if daring any of them to speak.

They stood frozen in fear, watching him walk forward while his cold eyes examined them calculatingly.

_Clunk._

_Clunk._

His sleek shoes scraped against the smooth floor, with just enough distance from the pool of crimson flowing from the Akita's beheaded body nearby. Every step made their hearts rise and fall in a nauseatingly fearful swelling.

Then, he stopped just in front of the beheaded corpse, and lifted one arm.

_SHR-TATTERRERR!_

His gloved hand shot into the wall next to him, his fist smashing effortlessly through a buzzing, now-shattered control panel.

_Shh-thunk!_

The slide door, the last feeble hope of the men's escape from the judgment of this murderous enforcer, slammed down ominously behind them. They shuffled back fearfully, clutching their rifles in horrified perplexity. There was no way out now. No escape from the abyss he was about to open for them…

The Greyhound made a brave attempt to swallow his fear. He bodily inhaled the cold air and raised his sweat-drenched face, about to tell this kid that blocking their means of escape wasn't going to scare them into surrender, before…

"Be silent."

It could've been their imagination, but in the dark they had managed to see the Inquisitor's lips move. His ominous and permanently callous expression remained solid. The voice he spoke in did not suit someone of his age at all. His voice was deep, intelligent, emotionless, and sounded like the closing clang of massive iron doors to a sealed mausoleum. Even though he spoke quietly and without stress or amusement, his voice radiated across the room dominantly and made the men feel like cowering before such an unfeeling tone.

"You will not speak," The young man continued, his orange eyes boring into the mercenaries'. "None of you will. Unlike the rest of my subordinates, I will handle this operation properly and without haste. There will be not a word from any of you. The only noise that I expect to hear is whatever scream you utter before descending into a well-deserved death. Nothing more and nothing less." He removed his hand from the smoking dent in the wall and pocketed it into his draping black coat. "Do not even attempt to even _think _of treachery or offense. I do not wish to strain my combat abilities on unworthy filth like you, when there is far more satisfying prey on board."

The confidence and solid, unchanging demeanor spread throughout the men. The way he spoke, the air of control he acted in… they didn't just fear him. They _believed _everything he was saying. He was not making a request or portraying a threat.

He was stating facts, almost right out of a textbook.

Despite the icy strength he had over the atmosphere around them, the Greyhound's typical spark of arrogance was still present.

"HA!" He scoffed. "So this is it? Are you joking? All the stories, all the rumors… and the source of them, is just this egotistical high-and-mighty _kid?" _The Greyhound's confidence grew ignorantly as more and more men in the group began to snicker and exchange amused looks.

The young stranger's expression changed slightly, one eyebrow moving in inquiry. "A kid…you say? Hmm. How typical." He closed his eyes for a moment and adjusted his glasses slightly up the bridge of his nose. "Despite the number of mercenary corpses I seem to walk past, they all appear the same. Lack of conduct, ignorance to obvious threats, and suffering from a fool's blindness to all concealed dangers." An explosion from the space battle outside the window illuminated the side of his face, making his orange eyes shine dangerously and drape half of his face into an ominous shadow.

He flexed his gloved hand out lazily and released his tight fist, his outstretched hand hovering over the corpse next to him.

_Shwa-THAAAANG!_

There was a flash of silver, and all the men raised their weapons cautiously. A long, steel hidden blade extended from the inside of the Inquisitor's sleeve, stabbing clean into the corpse's back. It, however, was not thin and rapier-like such as his Agents wielded, but thick and double-edged like a also appeared to be engraved with lettering, but were too far to make out. It gleamed wickedly in the blue lamplight, sinking its steely point into a fresh gauging of blood.

"They say all who regarded the planets for the first time thought them to be incapable of being round, just flat. And that all who saw Christ dismissed him as… just a shepherd. And there are some distasteful infidels…" His normally calm orange eyes flickered with hate for a moment before returning to their cool state. "…that believe religion not to be a practice, just an illusion. Hmph. _Just." _

_Sheerrriiing….!_

Every man's ears went numb and disturbed at the scraping sound, as the Inquisitor drove his blade in cutting path up the corpses path, slowly paving a line a of dark red spraying, as he walked by indifferently. The blade's point began to make a screeching noise like nails against a chalk-board, as he drove it up the dead Akita's split spine. Every vibration of horrible sound caused each mercenary to shudder, somehow feeling the distant pain scraping their own spines.

"But I assure you, gentlemen," His quiet speech rose slightly, his mouth curling into a controlled snarl that exposed some of his savagely sharp white teeth. "That all these things and I, have one thing in common. We are never what we seem to the ignorant, unbelieving eyes of distasteful, staunching, unbelieving sinners like you."

Hwa-_tang!_

He swept his already dug-in blade up, splitting the already butchered body in half, a wave of sickly dark blood shooting up just inches in front of the Inquisitor's unchanged face, startling his serious expression for even a moment, before splattering just inches in front of his feet. Precision, accuracy, and maintaining cleanliness in the atmosphere of gore and blood… this was how he fought.

But the Greyhound stood his ground. "Pah! You talk of religion and sinners, when you're the most coldblooded tyrant the galaxy's had since Andross! You think you're so pure and just and well above everyone else, when you butcher people mercilessly like a heathen bastard yourself!"

Shwa-shing! The blade retracted and disappeared into the Inquisitor's sleeve. "Violence is necessary to deliver the Lord's judgement on shameless heretics like you. I offer the law that was set down by God himself. And all who oppose my law, are opposing God himself." His glasses shined hauntingly. "And my oath dictates that I deal with all who tread on the borders set by the almighty…in _any _way I see fit." He tightened his gloved hand into a clenched fist.

"But murdering innocent men and their families?" The dog yelled in outrage. "Where's the justice in that?"

"The only good sinner is a dead one," The Inquisitor said quietly. "All who step out of line have no fear of God, otherwise they wouldn't dare to do it at all. By your foolish attempt to illegally transport them states that you clearly need to be eliminated to prevent the spread of your defiant influence."

The way he talked, the way he radiated pure willpower, he sounded like _he _was the responsible adult in the room, scolding the mercenaries as if they were impudent little children.

The Greyhound sneered.

"Well, I can't help it if you're delusional, mad with obsession, or mentally disturbed, but you must be even crazier if you think we'll cower before some scum-faced bastard like you. You're outnumbered beyond belief. What the hell could some kid possibly do?"

"I typically fight solitarily to avoid friendly casualties. I've lost too many air-headed Agents and soldiers who got in my way and joined my enemies in a heap on the floor. Besides, by your lack of combat stances, weapon advantages, and allegiance to an official group, I'd say you're less trouble than your predecessors that I eliminated several years ago. If that's the case, I'm convinced that I can handle third-rate mercenary garbage like you on my own."

Spurned with fury from his scornful insult, a dog from the back of the group whipped a grenade from his belt.

"Here's your third-rate trash, you sniveling underage bitch!"

He hurled it furiously.

The Greyhound's hand shot out desperately, trying to stop him. "No, WAIT!"

The Inquisitor, not looking the least surprised, raised his arm in front of him, hand up in a "stop" gesture.

The Greyhound's eyes widened. "LOOK OUT!"

It happened in a blur of seconds. The hidden blade shot out from the inside of his sleeve like it had done the first time, extending an impossible length of seven feet in front of him. It jabbed at the grenade just inches from where it was launched from the grenadier's hand.

The point of the blade tapped silently on the grenade's surface, which was a few inches from the terrified dog's face.

_Tink._

PESHWA-WOOOOOOM!

Granite and flaming wall debris scattered like fragments of glass as the grenade's shape was lost under the massive orange flare of the explosion's blast. Singeing sparks flew in all directions for a brief mili-second before being obliterated by the small by repulsing shockwave that shook the room. The mercenaries were flung back with groans and yells onto the floor, their bones crashing rigidly against the sudden surface of the hard ground. They skidded in fallen heaps down the smooth floor on their backs, half of them with charred and bruised faces from being to close to the grenade's range.

The Inquisitor remained with his feet rooted at his position, completely unaffected by his distance from the blast, his black coat flapping behind him from the impact of the blast. His melancholy expression remained unchanged from before the blast, only his fur bristling and whipping in the wind caused by the explosion's aftershock.

After the explosion settled down, and the only noises in the room were the crackling of small flames in the ground and the groaning of scattered wounded mercenaries, he sheathed (or retracted) his blade back into his sleeve and strolled forward.

"I see that you obviously did not take what I said into account….perhaps I didn't make myself clear…"

_Clunk. Clunk._

As the echo of his smooth shoes traveled across the room, he removed his glasses and started to rub dust and rubble off of them. He looked younger without his glasses…

"Resistance in the form of violence is useless against me. Do not raise your weapons, do not show impudence, don't even breathe treachery. Your will to have rights or resist are absent from this world. You're forbidden to live, and you are to be killed by me alone. Abandon all hopes of rescue or escape. There is nothing beyond this room that will save you besides the death I was chosen to bestow upon you." He slipped his glasses back on and resumed his cold and lifeless stare. "You all live or die by my say, because what I say is law. You all are already dead… you just don't know it. By stepping outside the law, you've already closed the black coffin of damnation upon yourselves. I am merely the one who seals it shut with the final nail of jurisdiction."

The air seemed to become cold and dreary with the flow of his words, and the men actually shivered before him. He wasn't joking around or making idle threats. He meant everything he said, down to the last cold-hearted syllable.

The Greyhound managed to hoist himself up on his battered rifle, panting heavily.

"Haah…_ ughaah… _I'm not afraid of you. There's nothing you can do that could possibly make me fear you."

The Inquisitor regarded him distastefully with his icy pale orange eyes. "Then it appears you do not know what fear is. Very well. Then as a servant and messenger of God's divine wrath, I will do His justice by showing you the true definition of fear."

The Greyhound rose to his feet, his crew doing the same. "I take it back, men. Blast this bastard back to hell! He's starting to piss me off!"

_Click. Click._

They raised their rifles in unison and took aim at him.

_KER-TRIIIING!_

_SPLETRAAAACH!_

The men only had the split second to blink before opening their eyes to the next chain of events. All they heard was grinding rip of metal and the sickening spray of blood. The Greyhound himself only managed to lower his confused gaze to see the Inquisitor standing in front of him, as if he had jumped twelve feet across the room in a mid-second. Time seemed to slow as a growing ripple of agony shook the Greyhound. As he looked down, every witness's eyes were met with flash of steel reflecting off of the surface of the Inquisitor's wicked hidden blade, emerging from inside his sleeve, and traveling up the dog's arm and successfully splitting his rifle, hand, and arm into two gruesomely precise halves.

Time returned like a splash of reality, and an agonized scream tore from the Greyhound's throat, while the onlookers recoiled in horror at the grisly sight. Blood escaped the split arm like water breaking a dam as the Greyhound fell back to his knees, clutching the two halves of ghastly muscle and bone that oozed red under his grip.

That's pretty much when then that the other Mercenaries lost their heads in panic.

"OH MY GOD!"

_"Did he just-?"_

"He split it in half! That _and _his gun!"

All of them looked at the young man with a newfound sense of fear and stepped back, all thinking the same thing: What blade could possibly split a rifle in half? And even then, how strong did the kid have to be to use that blade to split his arm _and _bone marrow in half like butter?

The Greyhound's face became gaunt and colorless at the excessive loss of blood from his split limb. The Inquisitor recoiled out of the flowing blood's way, preserving his neat black coat.

"Earlier, you saw fit to question my motives and my judgment," The young man said, scolding him in a very adult-like way. His eyes flashed. "Witless cur. There are only two kinds of people in this System. The righteous…" HUANG! A silver line was drawn in the air, trailing the path of his blade for a moment. "…and the blind and ignorant scum like you."

KRTTRCH!

A red line appeared on the Greyhound's neck before it gushed with a crimson flood. His head fell to the floor with the Akita's decapitated body.

A terrified Sheep Dog yelled. "KILL HIM, NOW!"

The senseless wave of terror that had gripped them sent a frantic jolt to the Mercenaries' trigger finger and caused them to fire on instinct.

_SHERANANNANANANANA!_

But the Inquisitor was already in the air. The ground pulsed and the pools of blood around his feet rippled as he launched off of the ground and dove at the terrified mercenaries with impossible speed. Dodging the mid-air laser blasts with his catlike spine, he plummeted downwards like a missile.

KER-SNAK!

Planting his foot on an unfortunate Mercenary's neck and into a merciless and hard-driven kick, the Inquisitor swept his cape-like coat as he swung his foot and delivered another bludgeoning kick to the dog's skull. The Mercenary staggered back with the Inquisitor's feet mounted on his face, firing his blaster rifle blindly.

PRATTA-PRATTA-PRATTA!

The yellow blaster shots flew and whistled past the Inquisitor's face, as he sneered resentfully before leaping down behind him.

SHERAATTIKKK!

He latched his blade around the dog's neck from behind and began to pull it back against his strangling victim's already-splattering neck. The dog tried to splutter and scream, and attempted to buck back and throw some of his weight on the young man's smaller body.

But the Inquisitor, his blade retracting back into his sleeve, sprang back out of the way grabbing his victim by his terrified face and slamming it into the ground. With his hand over the dog's face, the young tyrant dug his gloved fingers into flesh.

"_HRMMM! MMM-HRM MRRRM!"_

The dog let out a muffled scream, his feet wriggling and struggling like a helpless insect caught in a flytrap, his flesh starting to pop under the Inquisitor's intense finger-grip, until-

_SHRA-SHIIIING!_

From the sleeve of the same hand that was crushing the dog's face, the Inquisitor shot out an extending blade into the dog's hung-open mouth, delivering the final blow. He pressed his other hand onto the back of his hand, his eyes fixed and expression unchanged without even a flinch, until the gagging noises and writhing of legs came to a stop.

He didn't even have to look up to see the horrified look on the other mercenaries' faces… He only heard a few distinct stifled gasps of the more fearful and terrified observers, while the rest bore terror-stricken lungs that were too choked up with senseless, pure terror to allow them a comforting breath.

But the insane fear that twisted and numbed their plagued minds only drove them to attack out of instinct.

A Dalmatian sprung forward, his boots splashing in the dark red puddle streaming from his dead comrade's gauged-mouth, his sub-machine gun raised for a blast.

The Inquisitor's tall ears picked up a similar noise coming from behind. The nearly-identical splashing noise warned his senses that a mercenary was approaching from behind…he could already hear the sound of a gloved finger starting to clench around a polymer trigger of a rifle.

_They're trying to surround me… an attempt to catch me off guard by limiting my space…_

_..Tch. Fools._

With a low snarl, the Inquisitor rose to his feet and slashed out with his blade.

_Slrtchhhh!_

"GARGH!"

The Dalmatian screamed and staggered back, his face hacked brutally with a savage cut. Clutching his eyes with hands that quickly seeped with blood through the fingers, he fired his blaster around blindly.

PRATTA-PRATTA!

As the mercenary behind him edged closer, the Inquisitor twisted his feet and spread his black coat back before launching himself into a huge back-flip. The mercenary's gunshots plowed uselessly in the aftermath spot where the Inquisitor had just been standing.

_Shra-shoom! Shra-shoom!_

The Inquisitor, still in mid-air, pointed his blade that extended from his sleeve at the dog's back.

CHRI-CHAAANGSHHH!

A spray of blood and a glint of steel flew in front of the dim blue lamps that faintly illuminated the room, throwing a brief shade of darkness in the room, before returning to normal.

The Inquisitor landed on his feet with a _clatter! _He turned, his arm protruded and his blade extending into not one but _both _mercenaries at the hanging by the end of the blade, both having been stabbed through at the same time. The blade's shining red point jutted from the side of one corpse's stomach.

The Inquisitor clasped the hand supporting the sleeve-blade with his free arm, and swung the blade back around him…

_SLAM!_

The Inquisitor swung his blade back into a mercenary standing by, the two bodies crashing straight into him like giant weights at the end of the blade.

_KRAAK!_

There was the sound of bones splitting from the smashed mercenary's body as the blade and weighted carcasses sent him smashing into a wall.

SPLLLRTTCCCHHHOOOOMMM!

Granite and blood flew from the pressurized impact as the three bodies smashed into the wall all at the same time. There was a chilling sound of a blade grinding and scraping against broken ribs and bones as the Inquisitor drew his long blade from the pile of unidentifiable, mangled heap of bodies, slinking like a withdrawing serpent back into his sleeve. The remains of the two bodies were completely unidentifiable, only consisting of reddened scraps of fur and muscle combined with yellow bones sticking out from the torn heap. The only thing any observers could identify were two faces ripped from the corpse's heads and lying gruesomely on the floor from their heads, both wearing looks of terrified anguish. The young man gave a glance of satisfaction at the mess of tattered flesh and bones that left a red splatter on the wall before sweeping his coat back.

_Klekka-klak….Kle—klakka-klak…._

The Inquisitor turned at the echoing sound of rattling metal.

Dozens of blasters from the by standing mercenaries in the room were all shaking at the same time. The room was filled with the horrible rancid stench of bodies and a traumatized silence that radiated pure fear. They were too terrified to speak, to breathe…even think. Their human functions had shut down on impact of their disturbed souls witnessing such a hellish sight. Some of the mercenaries, grown men, were trembling to the point where their faces were growing hot and their eyes were shimmering in reflection of the crimson pond that dominated the floor with its wicked ripple. They wanted to run, but the Inquisitor had broken off the door switch. They wanted to scream, but their throats were scrunched up with cold fear. They wanted to curl up in a ball like scared little toddlers and cry themselves to a much less painful death. They wanted to close their eyes, at least, to block out the menacing figure in front of them, but their gaze was locked onto him.

They were hypnotized in terror by his very presence. Grown men, mentally crippled by a single, adolescent child. This was the true mark of chilling, nightmarish malevolence that characterized the Inquisitor. Every bone, cell, sense, and instinct were all warped and twisted with fear to the point where they told them all to pray to him for a quick death.

Most of them had fought in the Lylat Wars. They had killed men, and heard their dying screams and seen them bleed….but above all, they had seen them die. But all those times, the deaths were usually something like a laser-blast to the head or a missile to their cockpit. Whatever those deaths were, they were quick, mildly painful and over within seconds.

This was entirely different. The Inquisitor didn't kill men. He _annihilated_ them. _Destroyed _them.

He slaughtered them slowly, squeezing every ounce of agony and suffering to the point of insane tears of frustration and desperation before leaving behind a pool of blood and heap of mutilated limbs. He left nothing behind. His destruction consumed everything, including his victims' sense of courage, their will to fight. He made them fear him. He made himself a reminder of what fear is to those who foolishly assumed the ignorant mental illusion of courage. His unstoppable willpower, his unfeeling demeanor and his radiation of his merciless cold heart made them believe that they only existed for him to collect.

He existed to be their end.

Finally, to break the terrified silence, a Schnauzer mercenary stepped forward. His eyes were huge with scared desperation, and his mouth twitched on the verge of a whimper.

_Clat-atter!_

He dropped the rifle at his feet.

The Inquisitor narrowed his eyes behind his glasses. "What are you…?"

"P-Please…" The Schnauzer breathed fearfully. "Please spare me… I _beg _you… I surrender, I'll do whatever you want, don't kill me…"

A Sheppard Mercenary next to him gaped angrily. "Lieutenant! Have you lost your mind?"

"PLEASE!"

The Schnauzer dropped to his knees, his face twisted and trembling in the stage that happened shortly before tears would spring from his huge eyes.

Despite his usually indifferent and unchanged expression, the Inquisitor raised his eyebrows in an almost amused fashion.

"I never did anything, I swear!" The dog sobbed. "I don't wanna die here, please! Just let me live, take me as a prisoner, _anything!"_

"You idiot!" The Sheppard kicked at him. "Where's your head? There's no way in hell he'll-"

"WE CAN'T FIGHT HIM!" The Schnauzer screamed, tears streaming down his face. _"He's fucking unstoppable! _He'll rip us to pieces if we don't hand ourselves over, I know it! HE'LL DESTROY ME!"

He dropped his body into a cowering position, his forehead on the ground, arms raised above his head. The other dogs stepped back in shock.

"I don't wanna die like this…_I don't wanna die like this…_" His hands gripped his forehead. _"Fuck… _don't kill me… I didn't sign up to fight someone like him…I DON'T WANNA DIE FIGHTING SOMEONE LIKE HIM!"

He sat there, rocking back and forth sobbing like a child, while the others looked at him with sympathetic eyes.

"Fight?"

They all looked up alertly at the sound of the Inquisitor's echoing voice.

He looked up, his pale orange eyes scanning past their skin and engraving their gaze into their terrified souls.

"You worthless worms of filth…. You still think that this is a fight do you?"

_SHWA-SHING!_

There was a glint of steel and the mercenaries recoiled in fear. Their eyes widened to see a _second _hidden blade slink out of the Inquisitor's left sleeve, so that now he wielded two yard-length blades, instead of his subordinates who were only permitted to wield one.

"'I don't want to fight someone like him', he says… Tch. Stupid pathetic waste… you think that you're fighting me? A fight is a clash of combat between two sides, both at the same level and with even grounds and chances of victory over the other." He started to walk forward.

_Clunk. Clunk._

The mercenaries, their blasters still hopelessly raised, fearfully stepped back with every step in advance that the Inquisitor took.

He clenched his tightly gloved fists, blades gleaming terrifyingly before them. "Fighting is a term used between two groups on the same level, of the same class. The lowly likes of you have no reason to use it. You know why? Because I am not fighting you, and you are not fighting me. This is not a fight, a spar, a form of combat." His glasses shown dangerously. _"This is extermination. _You are not on the same level as me…you are not equal foes, you're targets. I am not going to fight you because you are not a threat to me. I'm going to paint this room with your blood." _Clunk. _"I'm going to scatter your organs into dust." _Clunk. _"I'm going to carve your flesh into ash." He stepped forward. "I'm going bury you with your own bones." They stepped back. "I'm going to terminate each and every one of you until you feel every sin that you've ever committed..." His cold orange eyes began to burn fearsomely, his voice raising to an unusually angry state. "...until I've crushed whatever's left of your repulsive remains under my foot like the dirty, foul, insignificant, loathsome insects that you are!"

_CLUNK!_

The mercenaries, all stepping back in terror from their far-shorter tormentor, backed up absentmindedly too far and all bumped their backs onto the surface of the door at the back of the room.

They were cornered like livestock for the slaughter.

All of them panted, terrified, the color drained from their faces. Their hands scrambled all around the door, trying to find a handle or switch, _anything. _Some began banging on the door till their hands bled, screaming and tearing their fur out. Their eyes were huge and horror-struck and their faces had become gaunt and desperate. The grown men had turned into desperate cornered animals.

_KRRRRTZZZ..._

The mercenaries turned alertly at the scraping sound.

The Inquisitor walked towards them ominously, his arms lowered so that his dual blades dragged and scraped across the smooth floor, their cunningly-sharp steel points creating sizzling trails of orange, hellish sparks in his wake.

"You think there's hope to escape? Don't spend your last hours struggling for nothing, you weak little vermin," The Inquisitor said, resuming his quiet, icy tone. "You think you can find a way out? The door switches have already been dismantled. You think you can run? I'll dismember your limbs before you take a step in any direction. You think you can call for help? Go ahead. We're in the darkest pit of the galaxy, and there's no power or comm. system. No one will hear your dying screams that I'll tear from your miserable throats."

Swa-SHANG!

In a sweeping gesture, he swiped his blade up in their direction, causing them to let out muddled screams of terror. They began to scramble against the wall, clawing at it with their bare hands, looking back at the Inquisitor approaching, almost a yard away now. Their hearts were racing at rapid speed, now. They felt horrified and desperate and alone... they had never been afraid like this in their lives, never felt this helpless, or this afraid to die...not to mention this afraid of the killer.

The Inquisitor's indifferent, calculating adolescent face was absent of any kind of mercy or remorse for his victims. His face was dark and stern, too angry and too murderous for someone of his age.

His black coat flapped behind him, both glinting blades ready for the kill, his presence draped in a cold essence of pure, unstoppable willpower.

His analytical eyes bored past them, cutting into their thoughts as easily as his blades could.

"You think you can fight me? My blades are enough to cut past those mediocre weapons of yours. You think that you will die quickly? I'll destroy you all in so many ways so that you're going fear staying alive far more than ending up as a corpse. You think that your bodies are going to be found by others, buried mourned and remembered long after the dust from your bones are gone?" His eye brows became hooded in quiet rage over his glasses. "Tch. I will annihilate your pathetic bodies to the point that no soul will ever find any trace that you existed, until all that's left is the stench of your pain and the aura of your pitiful defeat. No one is coming to find you, and no one is coming to bury you! You will all die alone and forgotten... You will all die knowing that I am the only inevitable form of judgment that you'll answer to... you'll all die..." He scraped his blades together in front of him like an X, his glare illuminating with controlled, merciless fury. "...learning one final lesson of how cruel life can be in its last moments."

Fwa-_SHAAANG!_

The Inquisitor sprang his blades aside and dashed forward into a leap, his black coat gliding and his gleaming steel clanging and cutting drowning out the final, agonizing screams of the mercenaries.

_Meanwhile, in a neighboring room..._

"Quick! Move'em out!"

Ayxal barked orders to all the scurrying mercenaries around him, waving his hand in the direction of the escape pod bay. The other dogs were rushing to escort frightened and confused civilians into the escape pods like hapless children. The Rottweiler prodded any civilian stragglers who were trying to head back with his Mk. IX blast-cannon.

"You, there! Get to the pods, now!"

"But, sir, my family-have you seen my family?"

"There's no time, just get to the-"

"Please, you've got to find them! One's a little girl named Delilah, she's four with green eyes, and-"

"Look, we've got people scouting the rest of the ship for any survivors. If there are any, your folks'll be with 'em."

"But, sir, my family-"

Ayxal prodded him back impatiently. "Listen, just get in a pod, now! We'll find'em! Now, you wanna live or not? _Get into a pod!" _He sighed reproachfully as another merc guided him to a pod. "Jeez... I'm not cut out for herding this bunch! I'm a retired soldier, not a Sheppard!"

Bernard, escorting some confused kits to a pod, chuckled. "Guess it was a bad idea to send the sheep dog to the other group, huh, Ayx?"

"Bernard, shut up." Ayxal muttered something, before widening his eyes in realization. "Wait... the other group! They must be done with handling the civilians on their floor! They should be able to lend some hands down here..."

He pulled out his comm.

"Come in, Stevens Group? This is Ayxal Group down in the Pod Bay. What's your position? Hello?"

There was a buzz of interference before a voice blared from the comm.

"HELLO? HELLO? CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME?" A mercenary's voice screamed from the comm., his voice choked and cracked with terror. "SOMEBODY, ANY BODY! _PLEASE! _HE'S GOING TO KILL ME, HE'LL KILL US ALL! IS ANYBODY THERE? PLEASE, HELP US!"

Ayxal's ears pricked his eyes becoming huge. "What the hell-? Who's in command there, what's your position? Who are you-?"

"IT'S A TRAP! FOR THE LOVE OF FUCKING GOD, IT'S A TRAP! IT'S HIM, HE PLANNED IT! HE USED DEAD CIVILIANS TO DRAW US ON RADAR AND NOW HE'S FUCKING KILLING EVERYONE! I'M HIDNING, I'M ALONE, HE HASN'T FOUND ME YET... EVERYONE ELSE IS DEAD OR DYING!"

Bernard swung around at the comm.'s screams. "What's-?"

Ayxal threw up a hand for silence. "Wait a minute, who are you engaging? Agents, Liberators, who? How many are there? How many men are left?"

"OH GOD...OH GOD..." The voice whimpered, his voice cracking into a terrified sob. "THERE'S JUST ME...THERE ARE TWENTY LEFT...I THINK...AND THERE'S ONLY ONE...HE'S KILLING EVERYONE!"

"Only twenty?" Ayxal clutched the comm. in disbelief. "At the hands of _one? _That's impossible... I sent a garrison of eighty for the escort group only a few minutes ago! How can there be only-?"

"IT'S _HIM!" _The mercenary on the comm. screamed. "IT'S HIM! HE'S RIPPING US TO SHREDS, OH GOD... HE'S JUST A FUCKING KID! HOW CAN HE BE THIS FAST? HOW CAN HE BE THIS POWERFUL? HE'S NOT HUMAN... HE'S NOT FROM THIS EARTH... GOD... _WHAT THE HELL IS HE? _PLEASE, WHOEVER, SEND HELP! HE'LL KILL US ALL! HE'LL FUCKING TEAR US APART! OH GOD... I DON'T WANNA DIE... _PLEASE DON'T LET HIM-_OH GOD..."

There was a pause. Then there was a sound of scraping steel...

Both Ayxal and Bernard looked at each other, eyes huge.

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU FIND ME-? GOD, NO!" There was the muffled sound of blaster fire, before a clicking sound, and a clattering noise. "PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! _DON'T LET HIM KILL ME! _PLEASE, GOD, _NO! _I'LL DO ANYTHING, JUST DON'T... NO...GOD, _NO! NO! N-_AHRUAHHHARGHHHAHHAHHHHHHHH!"

The rest of the comm. was drowned out by the noise of the mercenary's blood-chilling, terrified screams of agony and horror, before being overridden by the noise of splitting flesh and clanging metal.

Both listeners' mouths were wide open, fur standing on end.

_Krrrrrr..._

The interference noise clogged up the comm.

Bernard snatched the comm. "Hello? HELLO? _Come in, _anyone?" He looked around helplessly before looking back at Ayxal with confused fear.

The battle-scarred Rottweiler's eyes were distant...and feverish. "Sixty men killed by a sole person in less than half an hour?" He clutched his blast-cannon. "There's no mistake. It's _him _up there."

Bernard's ears quivered. "Him? Him as in...?" He looked at the already anxious civilians in the distance before mouthing: _The Inquisitor?_

Ayxal nodded grimly. "God...I've hoped since the day I became a mercenary I'd never have to run into him..."

The Husky gulped. "If he's as bad as all that... then he'll come here too... the civilians, he'll..." His eyes darted around fearfully.

"Or worse...he'll get to Captain Nelson...and hijack the ship...take us back to Corneria..."

Bernard paled. "We have to hold him off. It's the only way."

Ayxal rubbed his temples. "Yeah, but we'd have to ambush him... take him by surprise... only a stealth maneuver could kill him..."

"But... wouldn't he suspect that? From what I've heard, he's smart. Damn smart. Hell, he'd almost expect us coming..."

"We've got to try to hold him off at least..." Ayxal turned to a group of ten escorting a family of quails. "You bunch! Take care of the rest of the civilians! Make sure everyone's off and safe... and don't even think of sneaking on one to save your own hide, otherwise I'll personaly kill you before those God-damn Agents get you first! The rest of you, come with me!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Yessir."

They all gathered their weapons and hurried to opposite ends of the bay.

Bernard gripped his FAL. "I don't know about this Ayx... something's not right here...those bastards have already opened fire on our ship... so then why are they bothering to kill everyone on board?"

Ayxal loaded his blast-cannon. "Isn't it obvious? The Inquisitor's killing everyone individually, not in masses like he usually would, or at least in the stories I've heard."

Bernard cocked his head.

"Which means?

_Klak!_

Ayxal pumped a fresh clip of blaster ammo into his cannon.

"It means, he's lookin' for something, Bernard. Or someone, rather. He's on their trail like a hellhound after the damned... 'cept when the Inquisitor's hunting somebody, he wants him alive... and whoever it is..." He shouldered his weapon. "I just pray to God that he kills the poor bastard, because whoever the Inquisitor keeps alive, he makes their life slower and more painful than his kills... and turns it into a livin' hell."

_Later, On the farther side of the Anatarres…._

"Haagh…_haagh…"_

Wolf panted raggedly, limping slowly, his tattered coat dragging behind him.

_Shit…_

_My bones feel so rigid…it's almost like they've been melted down…_

_I can barely move…I can't even run…_

_Where's this coming from…?_

With flinch of discomfort, he remembered the 'incident' from earlier. His Inner Power…screwing up like that…

_It's never caused pain before…_

_So what, is it, like, linked to my bone marrow or something? Why does it make me feel weak and aching…?_

He gritted his canine teeth.

_Crap…_

_Only Andross knows the details about this thing…he made it after all…._

_Maybe I should've asked the old disembodied freak some questions before killing him…_

_If he really _is _dead…_

He let out a relaxing breath before leaning against the wall tiredly. It was times like these where his fur coat became hot and uncomfortable, and he wished he was born as some kind of short-furred dog instead of a bushy-furred wolf.

He lifted his Claw weakly.

_There's no way I can fight in this state…I can barely stand…_

He let that thought run through his senses. Then hot anger and resistance began to boil his blood.

_No…_

He gripped his Claw's handle with determination.

_I'm not some pussy child like Fox who gives up when he's wounded…I don't care if I'm missing every limb except for an arm, I can still drag some weaklings down to hell with me…_

**KLAK!**

There was a pinching throb of pain as a rock hard object slammed into the back of Wolf's skull.

CLUNK!

Wolf fell to the ground with an angry snarl of pain. The cold floor brought his senses back, allowing him to lift his head with a grunt of effort.

_Splatch!_

A cold, wet, and hard surface of imprinted material clamped his face back to the ground. As it dug down on his head between his tall ears, his skin recognized it as the resentful yet nostalgic feeling of a combat boot sole on his face. His ears heard the familiar click of a rifle, and his nose was clogged with the unmistakable stench of Cornerian Armor rubber fastenings exposed to canine sweat.

_A Liberator. _Wolf grinded his teeth. _Perfect._

The Liberator grabbed Wolf by his head-fur and hoisted him up so that they were face-to-face. The dog grinned at him brutishly from behind his yellow-glass C.W.A.T. helmet visor, the holographic HUD illuminating his face. He was a filthy terrier of some sort, fresh from some alley-gutter. Wolf could barely tell from the yellow glass visor whether or not his teeth were actually that disgusting.

"So _you're _the one who stopped the Liberators upstairs? Pretty brave, considering a refugee whelp like you would've saved his own skin on any other day. Your blocking of the troops let a score of passengers get away…but don't worry…" His gloved hand ripped at Wolf's head-fur to where it really stung, and he clenched his teeth to prevent him let the soldier have the satisfaction of seeing him wince. "…you'll be joining your passenger friends in dead space soon enough." He glanced at his flight coat. "Ah, pilot, huh? Well, you'll be happy to know that the Cornerian government outlawed private mercenary pilots like you on pain of death…more good news for me…"

Wolf wriggled his numb limbs uselessly hatefully under the Liberator's grip.

_What's with this piece of shit?_

_He's way to sadistic to be Cornerian…_

The Liberator pulled Wolf's face back to get a better look at him. He eyed his rag that served as a makeshift eye-patch with a smirk.

"What do we have here?" He laughed cruelly. "Lose something?"

Wolf glared at him intensely.

"Looks like somebody didn't finish what they started." _Click. _He pressed the barrel of his rifle in the direct Wolf's remaining eye. "Good thing I turned up to finish the job. Don't worry…my gun's at an angle where it won't kill you…it'll just blast your other eye, so then I can kill you as the blind, weak whelp that you are!"

Wolf growled dangerously. "You can make me blind, deaf and dumb… but I promise, you wretched scum, even with only bleeding sockets left to rely on, I'll still be able to paint this hallway red with your filthy brains once I rip them out!"

The Liberator let out a vicious laugh. "Yeah, I'll bet… now do me a favor and shut the fuck up, will ya?" He fingered the trigger. "I wanna enjoy this…I'm going to blow your freakin' eye out and watch you squirm like a blind little bug, till you bleed to death. I know it's my job to kill the likes of you…but sometimes, I need to have a little fun with it, ya know? Some pain and struggle for satisfaction. Point-blank range is the best way get the real pain out of the kill…to get the satisfaction of killing you like a pathetic mutt!"

His finger curled around the trigger. Wolf shut his eye.

_SHWA-SHING!_

There was a whistle and a ring of steel as something flew through the air in the surprised Liberator's direction.

"_!"_

Wolf looked up in confusion as blood sprayed from the Liberator's unarmored and vulnerable throat. He clasped his neck and screamed in bawling agony, his voice cracking and tearing from his gruesomely punctured throat. He stared at the crimson essence staining his hands, allowing Wolf to get a glimpse at an object embedded in his throat.

It was the handle of an illegally-modified switch-blade.

A vibrant and deep laugh echoed from the darker side of the room, followed by a familiar drawling voice filled with sarcasm and theatrical menace.

"Nothing like the fresh scream of victim in pain to wake you up from the foggy state of losing sleep…but I must say, I'm almost disgusted with this worthless bunch of misfit that these people sent to kill us."

_Thunk!_

Out of the shadows at the end of the hallway, almost melting out of the darkness, there appeared a pair of electric-blue and intensely charismatic eyes, soon to be followed by wide, malicious grin. The silhouette of a head and body came into view, and Wolf recognized it with relief.

"But I guess…" Leon looked up, the light clearing the shadows over his face. "That's the kind of people I enjoy killing the most… the _disgusting _ones. Foul, lowly, imbecilic cowards like you, who think they're at the top of the world because they have a gun."

Wolf sighed in relief.

"But I guess

"Who the fuck are you?" The bleeding Liberator spat.

Leon's mischievous smile grew wider. "Someone who tortures his prey in a much more professional way than you do, I'm sure." He sighed in a lazily disgruntled manner. "Does the Lylat System only consist of amateurs these days? But like I said… the amateurs are more fun to kill. But as much as I'd love to make you bleed and squeal like a gutted pig, I'm in a hurry not to rouse enough attention for your master to find me, and…." His grin disappeared into a dangerous scowl. "That's my friend under your filthy boot."

Wolf smiled, despite his pain.

"Yeah?" The Liberator shot him a bloody smirk. "Well, then I guess you two buddies can hit the corpse pile together!" He raised his rifle.

Leon darted forward in a green blur.

_SHWA-SHOOM! SHWA-SHOOM!_

The yellow shots tore through the air above Wolf's head, but Leon dodged and ducked the laser blasts with ease, his long reptilian body giving him skillful agility. Leon's grin returned and he sprung up like a cat into the air. The Liberator was foolish enough to point his gun after him, but Leon was already plummeting down on him.

_KLAK!_

Slamming his foot on the rifle-barrel into the ground like a gas-pedal, Leon looked up to see the both furious and disbelieving face of the dog, who was still gripping the still-firing gun under Leon's foot.

The soldier's hand shot for the combat knife at his belt, but Leon was too quick. Both hands jabbing forth rapidly like bullets, Leon punched quickly at the dog's tendons, arm muscles, knees, and chest.

The Liberator let out a cry of intense pain, falling to his knees. His arms fell to his sides like they were glued to his body, and his body grew rigid and still like a plank of wood.

Leon smiled cunningly. "You can hide under as much filthy armor as you want, but every human body has pressure points…and my paralysis technique makes no exception!"

The Liberator looked furious and would gladly shout some filthy curses, but his lips refused to quiver, only allowing his cheeks to inflate into red balloons.

"You think you're real tough, don't you? You think you know something about pain, or torture?" Leon sneered. "Don't make me laugh. You're nothing but an amateur. But as a final testament, I think I'll educate you on how an assassin kills a victim."

He drew his blaster.

"The only lesson I can provide, is this: don't always resort to just using a gun. That's the cliché thing to do nowadays and it doesn't induce enough pain. A _real _tormentor chooses a simpler weapon for the majority of his kills, like a knife. You know someone's a master if they can turn simpler and less damaging weapons into devices of bone-splitting torture well…" His eyes glinted fiendishly. "It just says a lot about the guy…about how _creative _he is…"

_Click._

He pressed the cocked blaster to his head. "Oh yeah…there was something some guy said earlier, about killing people more effectively and more painfully…by shooting at point-blank range, wasn't it? Well, you're going to find out if he was right, aren't you?" He chuckled, lowering his blaster to his neck. "After all, why try it out on a miserable wounded wolf when you can try it yourself? You can never know anything for sure unless you experience it firsthand…" His voice simmered dangerously. "…_can you?"_

He pressed the barrel against the pommel of the blade jutting out of his throat.

"Well then, sayonara and all that…oh, and one more thing…" Leon's smile widened. "If you do wind up…_downstairs, _be sure to tell the Devil that Leon Powalski still remembers his killing technique!"

_Shra-__**SHOOOM!**_

The point-blank laser blast sent the blade ripping straight through the back of the Liberator's throat. The dog fell face-forward into a pool of his own blood.

Leon sneered and slung his blaster back into his coat.

Wolf looked up amusedly. "So the Devil taught you that one, did he?"

"Pff, nah…I just said that for theatrical effect. Besides…" Leon grinned. "The Devil couldn't teach me anything I didn't already know."

Wolf laughed. "I'm sure." He rose himself with his arms for a brief moment before falling with a painful grunt.

Leon rushed over and helped him up, making Wolf feel embarrassed that he had to be attended to like an old man.

"Don't worry, I'm fine…" He protested weakly.

"Like hell you are…what the heck happened to you up there? Run into more trouble than you can handle?"

Wolf looked away grimly. "You can say that…_argh…_" He winced as one of his ribs began to throb.

"Man, you look terrible…where'd they shoot you? Did one of your wounds open up?"

"No…it was…something with my Inner Power…it…it acted strange…"

Leon's eyebrows furrowed. "What, you mean, like, it malfunctioned?"

"No…no…" He shook his head. "It was more like….it backfired, or something…"

Wolf knew there was no easy way to explain what had happened. He himself barely remembered what happened, but Leon didn't understand most of the concept of Inner Power. It was probably because he only knew what Andross had revealed about it, in addition of not having it himself. He didn't know about the Devourer or James's "ghost", or anything.

Leon shrugged. "Maybe it's because you haven't used it in a long time. You were in prison for five years and you didn't use it once, right? It might be like a joint or muscle you haven't stretched in a while."

Wolf looked at his hand. "Maybe…"

BOOOOOM!

Both of them looked up at the thunderous sound.

Leon looked around cautiously. "Whatever it was, it'll need to wait. That ship outside started firing on our cruiser about an hour ago. We're going to be part of the wreckage if we stay here."

Wolf glared at the ceiling where the sound had come from. "Well, that just says that they're not interested in taking prisoners." Then his eyes widened. "Wait, what about you? Did you get any civilians out of here while I was gone?"

A grim shadow passed over Leon's face. "I got them away, but…"

"But?"

He clenched his fist. "They were waiting for us when we got there. Those Liberator guys….a whole garrison. I don't know how I missed them, I should've seen past their stealth…but as soon as we entered, they tossed in gas batteries…poisoned half of the civilians. The rest they finished off with their blasters. I tried to get as many as I could into the pods, but…" He clutched his arm, which Wolf just noticed was bleeding. "Some kind of assassin arrived and opened up my arm wound from Venom. The civilians called him an 'Agent'."

"Agent?" Wolf looked puzzled. "Of what organization? Cornerian Security Bureau? Government intelligence?"

"No…he wore a badge with a strange insignia…a 'C' with a cross stuck through the middle. It wasn't a gang symbol, or cult insignia…and it didn't match any military call-signs I've ever seen."

"A cross?" Wolf looked puzzle. "So, what are they, some kind of murderous religious extremists?"

Leon shook his head. "I don't know. Whoever they are, they've been trained well. They're deadly, to the core. That one Agent moved faster than any assassin I encountered during the war. He moved differently…and seemed to know every move I was about to do. He didn't even have any blaster arsenal…just some blade device. This one was different, though…it was too long to conceal, ten feet at least, and it retracted back into his sleeve like it had never come out."

"What kind of device could pull that off? That's beyond normal technology…"

"Anyway, I just barely managed to escape, but he he summoned some more of his men and they cut through the civilians. Men, women…children…all of them."

Wolf said nothing. His eyes were fixed and cold.

Leon shook his head. "There was nothing I could do….it wasn't like Fichina, or Zoness, or Bolse, or Papetoon…it was like…" He looked away grimly. "It was like Kew all over again…"

Wolf looked up. "Don't ever mention that place, Leon. That's behind us, now…"

"I know, I know…" He shuddered briefly, and continued. "But anyway, these guys…they're to organized to be Venomian, but they're also to merciless to be Cornerian. Who are these guys?"

"You tell me." Wolf rubbed his wrists. "I was in that penitentiary place for the last few years. You've been out of the pen, out in the galaxy…don't you know anything about this?"

"I was running jobs in the corner of the galaxy with Pigma, remember?" Leon pointed out. "We were on one of the off-world Star Trader Colonies in the Sector Z area. All I know are the rumors that were thrown around. I never heard about anything like this."

Wolf rubbed his temples, muttering in frustration.

"Damn…a bunch of cold-blooded government forces who kill civilians? Who could be behind all this?"

Leon drew his switch-blade from the body on the ground. "Whoever it is, he's still on this ship...and neither of us can afford to meet him. I've found a way off the ship."

"You have?" Wolf's head whirled around. "Where?"

"I passed a private docking bay on my way here. There's one shuttle left. It's small and barely armed, but it'll hopefully get us out of here in one piece."

"A shuttle, huh?" Wolf stretched his arms, trying to adjust his body to his rigid condition. "Fine, then. The smaller and less armed it is, the less attention we'll get. It's not like I wanted to pick a fight with a ship that massive anyway. We'll be lucky to outrun'em, let alone-"

He froze in midsentence. His tall ears perked up sensitively.

Leon cocked his head. "What is it?"

He listened, trying to catch every echo in the walls around him. And he heard it again: a faint beeping…

Wolf's purple eyes widened.

"GET DOWN!" He grabbed Leon and forced him to the floor.

KER-SHROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

As they both hit the floor, a roaring cascade of explosive force blasted over their heads from the wall across from them, sending ashen fragments of rubble and glass every around them like a hailstorm of debris. The loud blasting noise rang through Wolf's ears, glass shards ripping through the trailing end of his tattered coat and a destructive wind whistling all around him and Leon. As the smoke cleared, the distant echoes of blaster shots and screams became audible in the distance.

Wolf hoisted himself up on his arms, coughing up today's second dose of ash. "_Acch…_damn it…"

He looked up, his ears picking up the noise in the distance.

The giant hole blown open through the wall revealed a massive hallway traversing into the one they were in. Hundreds of people-dogs, cats, birds and all other manner of civilians-were screaming and running in their direction, appearing in wave after wave of panicking groups. They were all shrieking and yelling, bolting and pushing over each other like a pack of startled and stampeding beasts. Many of them were dragging upset and panicking children with them, and running and skipping over flaming debris and corpses of less fortunate civilians. They were all running in terror from a line of black-armored Liberators that were blasting civilians, one by one. Too many stragglers fell behind the chaotic crowd and became vulnerable prey for a slow, painful death at the shredding laser bolts of the soldier's rifles. No one stopped to help them…they were only deserted by the panicking crowd, everyone rushing to save themselves without a second thought of remorse for the weaker victims.

Death, panic and chaos had literally turned them into mad, mindless animals.

The crowd was approaching swiftly, screaming louder and more fearful with every pace.

"RUN! THE SOLDIERS ARE COMING!"

"God, they're on us!"

"_They've killed people! _OH GOD, THE BODIES, THERE-"

"MOVE! THEY'LL KILL US ALL!"

"OUT OF THE WAY! _RUN!"_

Leon stood up. "Crap…the dock's on the other end of that hallway…we've got to get through that crowd, now! We can't be separated, things are already crazy!"

KAR-SHWOOOOOOOMMMMM!

The screaming reached a higher of octave of mad panic as a grenade went off near a fleeing group of cardinals. The explosion blasted a group of them from view, the flames consuming their bodies like rising waves crushing a victim in its waters. A few poor souls ran from the explosion, their bodies ablaze and smoldering into chunks of burnt flesh and feathers. Their agonized screams were soon drowned out by the crackling of growing fires and the continuous clamor of the retreating crowds.

_BRUNNANANANANANANANA!_

Yellow shots tore through civilians, ripping past their clothes and fur and sending them to the ground in a grave of blaster-scorches. Women screamed and covered their children before being engulfed together in a wave of shots, falling to the ground lifelessly.

Wolf growled intensely. "Cold-hearted sons of bitches… No mercy…no honor!"

His hand snatched for his blaster.

"No, Wolf, stop!" Leon glanced at him hurriedly. "This isn't our fight! You can't fight in your condition!"

"Innocent people are being slaughtered, Leon, I can't just stand around like coward!"

Leon fixed his blue eyes on him. "There's a difference between being a coward and being wounded. You'll only be killed, and you're no good to these people as a trampled corpse! It's not like I don't want to help them too, it's just that it's not in my power! There's nothing we can do except get away ourselves!"

Wolf gripped his blaster under his coat, eyes shut in frustration.

"Shit….shit…._shit! _Then I won't….but I'll meet these bastards again when I'm stronger, but when I do, I'll be sure to make up for now…and deliver _twice _the blow!"

His eyes opened, their purple aura glinting furiously.

"Fine, then! Let's get to this shuttle! You go on ahead through the crowd, I'll catch up. In the meantime, try not to get shot!"

Leon nodded. "If we get separated, just keep going in the shuttle's direction and we'll meet there! Now, go!"

Wolf charged straight into the crowd, pushing past each civilian that rammed into him and shoved roughly past him.

The atmosphere inside the crowd was completely insane. The small hallway made the crowd squeeze in and scurry over each other like rats. Dozens of sweaty, fear-stricken people pushed past Wolf roughly, their hands thrusting out and elbowing him sharply in the shins and ripping past his tightening clothes. Screams and shouts deafened all other noises from audibility. It seemed that the wave of people just kept growing in number inside the crowd, horrified faces dashing past and more reappearing in front of his vision.

Wolf was doing horrible in the crowd. His fractured condition was already bad enough to just get around places, but inside of a crowded area, it was a living nightmare. More and more people ran straight into him, nudging and ramming into the sore spots in his body where it really hurt. He winced and gritted his teeth as more people sped past him.

"OUTTA THE WAY!"

"GET OFF! _MOVE!"  
_"THEY'RE COMING, GET OUT OF THE WAY!"  
_Thunk!_

One clumsy Beagle smashed hard against Wolf's shoulder and sent him off balance.

"_Oomf!"_

With a grunt, Wolf toppled over his aching legs, falling to the ground, hitting his forehead on the hard ground.

He clutched his head. _"Damn it…_Ugh…"

Now, instead of a tidal wave of faces drifting past him, a forest of stampeding feet took off all around him. Wolf, to weary to get back up on his feet, crawled around on the ground, his vision muddled from the fall and the heat of the panic around him making him hot under his fur.

Pairs of feet stomped and sprinted all over the place, a few of them smacking roughly against his face. But Wolf kept going, the screams above his head provoking him to crawl faster.

In the midst of the screaming and shots going around, his sharp ears picked up a snuffling sound.

He looked over to see a child, a young pup, crying and huddled in the in the middle of the crowd. People walked and ran right past him, and he occasionally looked up pleadingly with his tear-stained face, as if looking for his parents.

Wolf glanced sympathetically for the pup.

_Jesus…_

_The parents, where are the kid's parents?_

He looked around hurriedly and then looked back painfully at the child. Maybe he was lost…what if his parents just never turned up?

_Shit…I don't need this right now, I…_

_I need to get to the shuttle…_

_Shit…_

Finally, he tore his gaze from the pup and reached upwards with his hand, grabbing onto some bypassing person's coat.

"Hey!"

Wolf struggled back on to his feet, using the person as a levy. The man shrugged him off and ran past him, and Wolf continued making his way through the crowd.

Just as he was being shoved in the shins again, he looked back.

The child was out of sight. He couldn't see him anywhere.

_I should've helped him…I know I could have…_

_But how much help could I have been…?_

The more he thought about it, the more guilty he felt. The kid wasn't his problem…he never usually stuck his neck out to help anyone, so why should he now?

Still, though, the kid's face…

Whatever unpleasant thoughts he had were briefly shed aside to avoid being pushed over in the chaotic mess of the crowd.

Finally, Wolf managed to squeeze out of the mass of people, panting from the exhaustion on his weary body.

"Wolf! Come on!"

He looked over and saw Leon in the distance, sprinting past the straggling bunches of people.

Wolf let out a breath of relief that he hadn't lost him in the crowd. He winced as he made his way past the back of the hallway, which was dotted with small craters and flames as well as littered with bodies.

As he walked by, he noticed some of the men on the ground were armed…some with faded Cornerian uniforms.

With a shock, he realized that they must have been the mercenaries sent to protect this crowd of people.

_Poor bastards…they weren't really mercenaries, not according to my standards…_

He glanced at the giant holes in their uniform from Liberator guns.

…_but they didn't deserve this._

BRUNANANANANANANANANA!

Wolf's ears perked up. He looked around.

A line of Liberators were marching forward, blasters out and firing mercilessly. They didn't seem to notice him or Leon rushing past them….they were to preoccupied with slaughtering the ones that were running and screaming. People running away from them were only caught in the range of their shredding blaster-bolts, screaming as the yellow laser blasts tore at their defenseless bodies.

A Liberator at the front with greasy-looking face barked orders to the others. "That's right, fire at all of 'em, send'em all to hell! The Inquisitor says no prisoners, just bodies! Don't leave anything….men, women, nothin'!"

_The Inquisitor? Who the hell is that?_

_Does he work for the person in charge? Or…_is _he the man in charge?_

Wolf looked back at the crowd of panicking people.

_Well, if he's the one ordering all this… _He growled. _He better pray that I don't meet him…_

_Heartless son of a bitch….killing innocent people like this…_

_I'm no do-gooder like Fox, but even _I _know the difference between warfare and slaughter…._

Then he heard a piercing scream. He whirled his head around to see a Liberator wrestling a woman to the ground. The soldier forced her down to the ground by her neck and pressed the barrel of his blaster against her tear-stained face.

"NO, PLEASE! I'M BEGGING Y-_NO!"_

SHWA-SHOOM!

Wolf tore his face away from the painful sight, but his ears were still tuned for the horrible splattering sound.

_Shit…_

_Just keep moving…just keep moving, there's nothing you can do here…_

From all sides of the hallway, groans and screams collided with the sound of blaster shots.

_Keep moving….keep moving…_

He clenched his fist, a heat of intense rage burning inside him. He wanted to make them pay…cut their throats, force a gun to _their _heads…

_Filthy bastards….cowards, the lot of them…._

_But I'm no better…_

_Look at me…running past the killing like nothing's wrong…._

_I could save a few…I know I can…_

_But I can barely keep up with Leon in this state….my breathing's already heavy, I can barely stand…_

_Shit…shit…_

_SHIT!_

He felt helpless and frustrated, like he did all those years ago as a student at the Academy whenever James demoted him or when he was denied the chance to fight.

He felt useless. He had the ability to do something, and yet he didn't.

But this slaughter, this murder of innocent people….

It made him sick.

Then he heard another scream, but this one was different, and a lot more like a sob.

"PLEASE! P-Please, sir, I'm begging you…kill me, do whatever you want to me, but let my family live, please, _l-l-let them live!"_

It was a man's voice.

Wolf turned to see a family of Arctic foxes with the male, obviously the father, standing in the front to shield them from a Liberator. His eyes were streaming with pearly tears and his face was shaking in such a terrified manner, it was a pitiful sight for a grown man to look. His family huddled up behind him, his wife looking equally scared, as well as his children, a frightened toddler and his older teenaged sister.

The Liberator, who was a huge Pit Bull, kicked savagely at the male Fox's face, sending him to the ground with his tail quivering.

"Shut up, you worthless little shit!" The Liberator spat. "You think I give a fuck about your stupid family? I've got orders to rip everyone on this ship apart, and that includes you and your bitch's spawn."

Wolf's hand flew to his blaster, teeth bared. He was a good distance away from Leon, but every nerve in his brain was telling him was to send this insect to hell.

"Please, sir…" The Fox whimpered on the ground, sobbing hopelessly. "I'll do anything… think of my children, think about how much life they have left to live…"

The Liberator's lip curled. "You call that groveling? I know you can do better than that!" _SLAM! _He aimed another brutish kick at the Fox's stomach. "Come on!"

The Fox clutched the ground until his face was flat upon its surface, a puddle forming from where his eyes met the floor.

"Please…_please…"_

The wife screamed. "Carter, no, _don't!"_

"Shut up, bitch!" The Liberator prodded the father with his carbine barrel. "C'mon, you old shit…what do you have to offer?"

The fox shakily reached for his pockets and emptied some Lylatians from his pockets, as well as some brooches and jewelry, most likely new profit to feed his refugee family at the destination they would never reach.

The Liberator snatched up the money, but didn't look satisfied. "That's not enough to save you all. I'd probably get paid more to kill you."

The fox family's eyes widened, horrified. They huddled closer.

"Wait."

The Liberator seemed to change his mind.

"What about that girl? She doesn't look half bad…I could take her in exchange…she's pretty well-developed." He smiled, showing his yellow teeth. "How old is she?"

The young teenaged vixen covered her body, horrified. Her white fur seemed to get paler.

The Liberator kicked at the fox impatiently. "How old is she?"

The father coughed up some blood. "F…Fifteen…" he spluttered weakly.

"I'll bet she's a virgin, too…." He smiled greasily. "I suppose the master won't mind if I bring back a decent prize for myself… "

Wolf's eyes grew larger and flashed. A pulsing void of fury blazed inside him as a deep growl rising in his throat. He holstered his blaster and rolled up a sleeve.

_That's it...there's no way I'm shooting that pile of filthy-minded trash…_

_**Now I'm going to rip his pathetic body apart with my bare hands!**_

The vixen hid behind her mother as the Liberator started to walk forward.

"The master only pays me if I kill the rest of you. But this one will have a different purpose in mind…I'll bet with her, my nights aboard the _Peacekeeper _will be a lot more comfortable…."

_SLAAAAM!_

A blurry object smashed into the side of Liberator's stunned face. The yellow-glass visor shattered into useless shards, and his cheek tore with blood, the impact sending him to the floor in a bludgeoned state.

He spat blood and cursed before a boot stomped onto his chest, forcing to be pinned to the ground.

Wolf stood on top of him with his face seething and livid, blood dripping from his curled fist from where he had punched the soldier.

He bared his teeth menacingly. "You fucking worm…." His hand shot to the Pit Bull's throat, his steel grip causing him to gag and choke on his own blood. "You think you're so intimidating because you're stronger than they are… you think that because you can oppress and kill them like a bully that you're above them?" His eyes were simmering with so much hatred that even the family of foxes cowered in fear. "I don't know what's more disgusting about you…that you'd kill an innocent family for money like a lowly insect, or that you be so vulgar and so foul that you'd take that girl as a prize…you filthy bastard…_you make me _SICK!"

_THUNK!_

The Liberator grunted triumphantly as he delivered a swift blow to his face with his free hand and kicked Wolf off of him. He grabbed his blaster.

"What the hell is this shit?" He grinned. "There some pathetic bastard trying to be the hero here?"

Leon, a good distance down the hall, turned at the noise. His eyes were huge.

"Oh no…not good...not this…"

Wolf glowered at the soldier. "How many times do I have to tell it you people?" _Shwa-shing! _Wolf unsheathed his claws. "I'm not here to protect them…" He glanced at the fox family, and back at the Liberator. "I'm here to kill _you!"_

The soldier snarled and charged at Wolf, swinging the butt of his carbine at him in an attempt to bludgeon him.

_KLAK! _

_WHAM!_

Wolf brought his wrists up to block the coming blows, wincing as the barrel's hard surface struck his already numb bones.

"HUAAARGH!" The Liberator brought the carbine down on Wolf's face.

SLAM!

Crossing his arms in front of his face for protection, Wolf grinded his teeth as the Liberator tried to force his weight onto the barrel that sank achingly into the gap where Wolf's arms crossed.

Another Liberator nearby, taking notice of the melee across from him, raised his rifle.

Wolf's ears fell back in surprised panic as the soldier aimed his blaster for his unprotected back.

_SHAAANG!_

The Liberator yelled as a steel blade gauged through his neck from behind, crumpling dead to the ground.

Leon snatched his switchblade from the body, muttering. "I was hoping we could avoid this…but now it looks like we're gonna have to fight our way out after all."

Another Liberator came charging at him, but Leon rolled onto his back and aimed a savage kick to his face.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Wolf thrust his arms upwards, pushing the barrel out of his face and punched him in his armored chest.

The Liberator cursed angrily and swung his carbine at Wolf.

SLAM!

Wolf caught the barrel of the blaster, his hands clutching the carbine's long exterior along with the Liberator. It was a battle of weight and strength, as both of them attempted to push the barrel that they both gripped, snarling into each other's faces.

Normally, his muscles would be able to take more abuse, but right now Wolf's muscles and bones ached and seemed press hard against the inside of his body, failing him against the massive Pit Bull's brute force.

The Liberator laughed nastily and thrust his weight against the barrel. Wolf staggered back with a grunt, and the soldier kneed him in the stomach.

He coughed and winced as he fell to his knees. He looked up in time to see the butt of the soldier's carbine block his vision.

_**KLAK!**_

Wolf let out a cry of pain as the Liberator slammed the butt of his gun into Wolf's forehead, sending him to the ground face-first.

He coughed and seethed through his fangs, every muscle and bone in his body throbbing and pulsing painfully.

_Shit…_

_There _is _no way I can fight in this condition…_

_Whatever that Inner Power thing did, it made me completely immovable and restricted…like I have rusty joints, or something…_

Sweat dripped down his brow, his mind rushing.

_Just like Leon said…_

_I should've listened to him…._

He heard the Liberator's laugh behind him. "Hah… weak little turd…looks like you were no match for me…"

Wolf grunted in effort, trying to concentrate all of his stamina to his arms. He heard the carbine click near his head-

_SLAM!_

Wolf rolled over and kicked at the Liberator's knee joint.

The soldier yelled in pain, but Wolf jumped to his feet with difficulty and slashed at his face with his claws.

_SLRRRTHH!_

"YYYYYAAAAARRRGGHHH!"

The Liberator howled in agony as he clutched his bleeding face. Wolf grabbed his arm and smote his wrist with the side of his hand in a chopping motion. There was _snap!, _and Wolf wrenched the carbine from his grip, before flipping it so that he held it by the barrel like a bat and smashed it on his skull.

The Liberator yelled and fell to the ground. He looked up, a dripping red claw-mark across his face, staring at Wolf with intense anger and disbelief.

"Let's see how confident you are without this."

Wolf tossed the carbine in his teeth and snapped it in half with a single canine bite.

_Smattt!_

The halves of the blaster fell near the confounded Liberator's feet. He roared as he got to his feet and drew a combat knife from his belt.

Wolf dodged as he sliced and stabbed at him with the knife, the blade's razor edge humming through the air, just inches from his face.

He snarled and grabbed the Liberator's arm with one hand and clutched the dog's fist holding the knife with the other.

"You think you're real brave, don't you?" Wolf seethed furiously. "Picking a fight with a woman and a bunch of kids…does that make you feel tough? Make you feel good?"

He clenched the Liberator's hand so hard, his claws began to gig deep into his fingers. The dog hissed as blood began to drip down his hand. He fixed his heated gaze at Wolf, before turning it to the frightened family behind him, who were too vexed with fear to run.

"Look at me, you scum!" Wolf snarled, digging his claws deeper. "Look me in the eye. You got the guts to kill defenseless children but you don't have the guts to look into the eyes of the man who's gonna kill you?"

The Pit Bull yelled and wrenched his hand out of Wolf's grasp. He clasped the knife with both hands and stabbed for his chest. But Wolf jumped to the side quickly, and grabbed his arm with a steel grip.

"Those hypocritical Cornerian bureaucrats….they call me a murderer and a Venomian traitor and a cold-hearted slaughterer….they condemn me and leave me to rot in that miserable hell-hole…"

_Rrrtttchhh…._

There was a painful scrunching noise as he wrenched the soldier's arm in the wrong direction.

Wolf's stare blazed into him. "And I come out of that prison five years later, and _this is the shit they hire to do their bidding?_ Cowardly piles of shit, like you?" He turned the arm until he could hear the joints crack. "They talk of justice, and peace, like they're better than me and the rest of the world, when they have cowards like you murder innocent people! They're shit….you're shit…their morals are shit…and their justice is nothing but _fake shit!"_

The dog yelled in pain as his arm snapped, forcing him to drop the knife. Enraged he tried to grab Wolf by the collar and strangle him with his functioning arm. But Wolf grabbed his arm with both hands and flipped him over his body, smashing him into the ground.

_CRAAAAAAAAASH!_

A dent cracked through the granite floor from the impact of the soldier's fall.

_Shing!_

Wolf drew his Claw from his coat, pointing it in the direction of the Liberator on the floor.

"You said you wanted to be more comfortable? Well… I'm sure all those people you've murdered in cold blood will be more than obliged to make you comfortable where you're going…" He raised his weapon for the kill. "…'cause God knows I won't be as charitable!"

Just as Wolf brought down his blade, the Liberator rolled to the side on his back and pulled something small and metallic from his belt.

"You…_acchh…_smug bastard!" He spat in a contempt but wounded snarl , rising up and jabbing Wolf in the stomach with the object.

A small, piercing sting that crawled through Wolf's skin transformed into sudden blaze of sizzling energetic agony that seemed to tag at his nerves with a venomous, splitting singe.

He staggered back painfully, cursing as his damaged senses recognized the sting as the familiar jolting pain of an electric taser.

Wolf, clasped the burn at his stomach, grinded his teeth hatefully. _Cheap-ass trick…_ He resumed his stance.

_Let's see how his weapons help him when he's dead!_

He rose his Claw, snarling aggressively, and prepared to strike at him.

And then…

It came back.

The electric current's painful sting vibrated as an ache, slithering up his body like serpent of senses against his already rigid body. Any electric pain after the years, of singeing agony of the prison energy chains as well as Andross's chip reactant electrical-repulsor, was nothing to his battered and enduring body. But with its condition now, after being thrown into state of rigidness to the point where his bones felt like twisted metal, was indescribable. The pain traveled up his body till it radiated its electric wave of excruciating pain over his deadened bones until it collided with the one portion of his body that he dreaded damage to the most…

His weakened, pulsing spine.

Wolf didn't even scream in pain. All the muscles in his body froze and tightened, and his eyes seemed to radiate the intense agony that shook his entire body. He heard the pounding noise blurring his eardrums, and his mouth hung open in shock.

_What…?_

_My body…what's happening….?_

He tried to move in protest, tried to shake himself out of this trance of pain, but his body stood still as a rock, unmoving to his screaming will.

_It won't move…_

_I can't move!_

_No…no…_

_Not now…of all the time…why'd it have to be NOW?_

CLANG!

The Claw slipped from his unmoving fingers and fell with a clatter at his feet, his face melting into a defenseless and scared expression.

Leon turned at the noise, his eyes widening as he saw Wolf fall.

_Crap…not now…not now!_

_No…not this…_

_Why's this… happening…?_

Then his eyes widened.

_Wait….it must be….that Inner Power thing!_

_But…no…I didn't try to use it…why now…_

_It became hard to breathe right after the shock…so it must be my bones still lacking strength…._

_My bones and body should've recovered by now…_

_But that shock…it inflicted damage on my spine after it was already recovering from that 'malfunction' thing earlier…_

He managed to force his face into movement, clenching his teeth in pain, his face twitching.

Then he felt a horrible looseness in his legs. They began to bend, giving out to the lack of control…

_Damn it…damn it!_

He tried to force some muscle into his legs, trying to maintain his standing. But it was too late…

_CLUMP!_

He collapsed weakly, unmoving and sorer than he had ever been. The inside of his skin and muscles were churning in a blazing outburst of pain and numbness. His face dragged helplessly over the cold floor.

_Get up…get up, dammit…_

_I'm vulnerable...I can't move…_

_He's gonna kill me like a helpless pup if I don't put up a fight…_

He tried to wriggle some movement into his body, but he wouldn't budge.

The Liberator's surprised expression was surprised. He glanced at him curiously as he got up, prodding his frozen body with the toe of his boot.

His mouth grew into a filthy smile, and he started to laugh brutishly.

"Heh…heheheh…"

Then he broke in to filthy cackling.

"HAHAHAHA!" He kicked at Wolf's rigid body. _"You stupid, weak whelp! _Not so smug now, are you? What's the matter, huh? I wanna see you make me comfortable!"

_SLAM!_

"_Kaach!" _

Wolf gagged and winced as he aimed a powerful kick to his chest. The pain jolted against his sore ribs and caused his body to vibrate.

"Come on! Where'd all that courage go now, huh, shit-face? Not so tough anymore, are ya?"

_SLAM!_

_SLAM!_

Wolf saw a black shape fly at his face before it smashed against his cheek and fluctuated his vision. A pulsing and throbbing pain tore at his face, as the Liberator laughed viciously and kicked at his face…over and over…

_Crap…get up…_

_Get up…get up…_

"HA! So that's all, then?" The Liberator sneered. "You stopped moving…. Was it that shock from my taser? Ha! Well, whatever…I dunno why, and I don't give a fuck. Whether you stopped movin', or that paralyzed you… you can't do shit to me now, you arrogant little cock-face!"

_SLAM!_

"GAARGH!" Wolf spat blood as he kicked him in the mouth. His body flew back a few inches and landed on the hard ground roughly.

"WOLF!"

Leon hurried over, drawing his switch-blade as he took off to where Wolf was. But a Liberator, appearing from the line that wasn't continuing the shooting, grabbed him from the back, wrestling to the ground. Leon tackled the soldier fiercely, trying to reach Wolf, but the dog's grip was firm enough to strangle him and pin him to the ground. Leon's eyes darted to Wolf helplessly, hand outstretched to reach him.

Wolf's unmoving face regarded Leon.

_No…not Leon…_

_You bastards…._

_Taking advantage of someone who can't move…_

SLAM!

SLAM!

Wolf yelled and panted as the Liberator kicked him viciously, laughing in a triumphant but somewhat psychotic way.

_Get up… _He thought as he winced

"Yes…yes…YES! I'm gonna fuckin' kill you, you little turd!" He planted his boot on Wolf's neck squeezing raspy chokes of breath out of his petrified throat. "You thought you could get all tough and take me on! Well, guess what! I'm gonna kill you…and that shitty family you tried to save? They're all gonna die…'cept that little bitch, of course! I'll have some fun with her first!"

Wolf managed to find enough angry will to clutch his fists. He felt helpless, not being able to move, like a stupid turtle on his back. He was vulnerable and useless, like a child. He couldn't help anybody, who couldn't fight….he might as well be handicapped.

_SLAM!_

The Liberator continued to kick him, the blows where he hit turning into bruises and gashes. The way he beat him like a helpless mutt…the way he laughed and enjoyed seeing Wolf suffer at his filthy hands…

It reminded him of that bastard Warden, Slayter. Boiling hatred spurned inside Wolf, feeling all those years of being abused and being helpless soaring back into him. He was going to continue to let him beat him…to humiliate him, to make him feel weak…there was nothing he could do.

_There's nothing I can do…what a lie…_

He thought about the people dying around him, the little kid in the crowd…the innocents he couldn't help…all because there was nothing he could do…

_I feel so weak…sitting here, taking all this shit like I can do nothing…._

Rebelliousness streamed into him…

_I'm not going to be a damn weakling because I can't use Inner Power!_

SLAM!

_Come on…get up…Get up!_

SLAM!

_Don't just lie here and let him beat you like a common dog…_ he told himself fiercely.

_Get up! GET UP!_

SLAM!

_Get on your feet and fight him! Get up and tear him apart, COME ON!_

SLAM!

The kicks grew more and more painful…he started to wince in pain…

_Come on… So what if you can't move? That's never stopped you before…don't be weak…GET UP! You've been pushed around and beaten like a whelp for five years in that goddamn prison…are you going to take more from this worthless trash?_

SLAM!

Wolf gritted his teeth and shut his eyes as his forehead gashed with blood from a brutal kick from his boot.

_If I just sit here like a weakling than I'm no better than Fox! _His eye shot open. _Leon's been beaten…you've been beaten….and that family's going to die because you were to weak…now GET UP AND FIGHT HIM!_

**SLAM!**

He let out a canine whimper and fell over his back, the blow biting into his already-damaged spine. He panted, cursing in his mind because his lips wouldn't move, before he felt the Liberator plant his foot on his back. He managed turn his eye back to glare hatefully at his tormentor.

_Fwump!_

The Liberator snatched Wolf up by the collar, bringing him up face to face. Wolf painfully raised his bruised, bleeding face up to him, his eye twitching to stay open. He panted weakly, his nostrils filled with the Liberator's hot, rancid breath.

He foggily made out the soldier's grimy grin.

KLAK!

Wolf felt a smashing, hard object collide numbingly to his face, his cheeks throbbing and his teeth rattling.

The Liberator laughed as he raised his fist for the second punch.

"Stupid ass…look at you now…whimpering and bleeding like a newborn mutt!"

KLAM!

Wolf felt the punch smack blaringly across his battered face, coughing blood as his senses feebly recuperated for more pain.

KLAK! KLAK! KLAK!

The punches rammed into Wolf's face, each with a soul-crushing laugh from the soldier, and a cold douse of defeat that pounded in his chest more painfully than his fists.

His cheekbones and jaw felt like smashed concrete, and he grunted and panted with every hit. He had never felt more helpless and humiliated in his life. The Legendary Wolf O'Donnell…the myth no one believed in…being pounded into a pulp by a common bully. The faces of the Warden, Andross and Dark Wolf singed into his brain…

_My life story…_ he thought miserably.

The other Liberator grinned in nasty pleasure, holding up Leon so that he was forced to look upon the pitiful scene. He looked at him helplessly.

"Wolf…_no…" _His face was torn between rage and sadness.

KLAK!

Between the next spray of blood from his mouth and the next helpless cough from his throat, Wolf caught a glimpse of the Arctic Fox family behind the solider.

Their faces were frozen and tear-stricken, gazing at Wolf with horrified anguish.

A cold clawed-hand of guilt and misery clutched Wolf's chest.

_Look at me…_

_Have I stooped so low…? To be the subject of pity by people weaker than me?_

The image of those terrified people in the burning embers of Kew flashed in his mind. That one young boy his forced to kill…

_Is this my destiny? To be the false savior of innocent people doomed to be destroyed because of me?_

SLAM!

The Pit Bull Liberator forced him to the ground. The pain after the punches left him with an extra set of skin made up of blisters and bruises, as well as a veil of cold defeat in his mind. He was so frustrated…so alone and without a will….he would've broken into tears of frustration, if the long lonely years in prison hadn't drained him of whatever human sorrow he had left in him.

The Liberator laughed, as he pressed his hand against Wolf's punctured throat.

"HA! It's over for you….you worthless little shit!"

"_No!"_

Wolf looked over in surprise as the little Fox toddler wrenched himself away from his mother's grasp and ran over to him.

He started to beat his little hands against the soldier's armored back, which made little _pat-pat! _noises.

"Leave him alone, you big freak!" He cried, slapping his hands uselessly on his armor, tears in his eyes. "Let him go!"

The Liberator turned amusedly. "What the hell…what's this crap?" Letting go of Wolf's collar, he rose to his feet.

The mother vixen screamed. "WALTER!"

_Slap!_

The Pit Bull struck the little fox pup across the face, causing him to stagger back and plop down timidly.

The color drained from Wolf's face. He managed to force his mouth to move, and hissed frantically in the parents' direction.

"_Get him away…get away…_all of you, NOW!"

The Liberator smiled cruelly. "Oh…he's _your _spawn, is he?"

All of their eyes widened in horror.

Wolf managed to raise himself on his arm. "YOU IDIOTS! GET AWAY, NOW!" He tried to get up. _Get up….get up and protect them, dammit!_

_Get up…DO SOMETHING!_

The Libertator snatched his blaster.

"_NO!" _Wolf screamed.

BRUNNANANANA!

The yellow shots ripped away at the young fox's, blood sprouting from his body. With one last look of shock and sad confusion, his small body crumpled to the ground with a small thud.

Wolf's mouth remained open, shaking with fury and anguish.

"NOOO!" The father fox screamed, tears gauging from his eyes. He charged over and grabbed his son's blood-stained body. "_No…no…_Walter…WALTER!" Hot tears sprang down his cheeks as he stroked the boy's fur out of his bloody face rapidly, as if cleaning him up. "_My boy…my boy…my brave boy…my little…"_ He shook him, hopelessly waiting the responding movement that would never come.

The Liberator cocked his smoking carbine. "Stupid kid. Meddling in adult affairs…"

The father's tears splashed down on the dead boy's face. He sobbed and whined pitifully, rocking the carcass. The mother and daughter watched in tear-stricken horror, to impacted to move or cry.

With a bolt the father sprang up, his small fox claws out.

"_YOU MURDERER! MURDERER!"_

The Liberator raised his gun in amusement.

Wolf's eyes widened. "Stop! NO!"

BRUNNNANANA!

A second volley of blaster bolts pounded mercilessly on the father, shaking him with heat and blood before letting his holey carcass fall to the ground.

Wolf stared at the pair of bodies in horrified shock. He looked around helplessly.

_Get up…get up, get up, GET UP! Defend them…get up and fight before more die….DO SOMETHING, ANYTHING!_

Both the mother and the daughter screamed.

"CARTER!"

"DAD!"

The Liberator pumped his carbine and turned it on the last two.

Wolf's fur rose, shaking with fear.

_No…_

"…And two more to go." The Liberator grinned. He held up his blaster…

"_NO!_ Wait, stop, _please!" _Wolf reached his bruised hand out helplessly, his heart pounding horribly.

_BRUNANANANANANA!_

At that moment, time seemed to slow down as too many events blurred the room. The wife and girl fell to the ground as the yellow waves of laser-fire shot their lives out before they hit the floor. Their bodies fell curled around each other in fear, cuddling in a final bloody embrace of terror. A crimson puddle flowed from inside the space where their bodies met the ground, flooding past the Liberator's feet.

Wolf stared at the cluster of bodies, caught between helplessness and tormented grief.

_No…no…._

He reached a quivering hand over the son and father's bodies.

_They…they were innocent, just bystanders…_

He touched the boy's splattered face gingerly, pain tearing at his heart.

_Shit…shit...SHIT!_

_They didn't deserve this…they didn't do anything…_

His eyes burned while his throat became clogged and choking.

_Stupid fools…stupid kid…stupid, brave, innocent kid…._

_Why…why'd they have to get in the way…_

He blinked back tears that he was terrified would draw out beyond his control.

_I told them to leave…I told them to get away…_

He shut his eyes, trying to suck in the sob that was looming in his throat.

_Why'd they get in the way…_Why'd they have to die_?_

He looked at his hand, which was shaking in front of him. His eyes widened.

_Oh God…_

_It's my fault… _His eyes shimmered with terror. _It's all my fault…_

_I couldn't save them…I couldn't do anything to help them…_

_All I did was crawl around helplessly…I didn't do anything…_

_I LET THEM DIE!_

Click.

His ear twitched and he turned around.

"Don't get too depressed," The Liberator said with a smirk. His gun was facing Wolf's forehead. "You're about to head after them."

Just when he was about to pull the trigger, they both heard a shout.

"Oh, shit! You! Get over here now!"

The Liberator's head turned, annoyed. "Argh…_what?"_

The other one that had been holding on to Leon, who was clutching a bleeding arm nearby, grabbed his rifle and pointed at the opposite end of the hallway.

"The civilians have made it to the Docking Bay! If we don't take them out before they escape, the Inquisitor will have all our heads! Get your ass over here and help out, now!"

The Pit Bull pressed the barrel against Wolf's forehead. "Lemme kill this whelp first."

"Quit screwin' around with him and get over here, now!"

The Liberator sneered. "Fine. This one can rot here, then."

He glanced at him, as if examining the damage done to him. Seeming satisfied, he heaved his gun up and headed after the first soldier.

Leon panted and got to his feet, clutching his bleeding arm. He wrenched his blaster pistol out forcibly from his scorched pocket, and tugged on the back of the barrel.

Click.

_Out… _He thought. He tossed the useless gun away and gritted his teeth. He glanced at where Wolf was lying previously. His eyes widened.

_What…?_

Slrrch…slrrt…

Leon turned at the noise and saw a blood trail dragged in a dry stain across the floor from Wolf's previous spot to where he was now, in the direction of the sol. With his clawed hand, only functioning limb, he crawled and dragged himself painfully across the cold floor.

He panted for a moment, and then looked up, glaring at the Pit Bull walking away in the distance.

"Where the hell…_do you think you're going?"_

The Liberator stopped in his pace. He looked back lazily. "What…?"

Wolf hoisted himself on one weak arm, and raised his face. His purple eyes gleamed menacingly.

"GET THE HELL BACK HERE, YOU COWARDLY PIECE OF SHIT!" He roared. He winced and coughed weakly as blood seeped from a deep wound in his shoulder.

The Liberator turned with a loutish grin. "This one's a persistent little insect…_ha…" _He lowered his gun from his shoulder. "He won't stop shittin' around till I blow his stupid head off!"

Wolf dragged himself forward, his weak bones slowing him, but his raging fury filling him up with endless motivation to keep going. "Don't you even think of running, you bastard…get back here…_get back here…._get over here so _I can rip your fucking head in half!"_

The Pit Bull cocked his gun. "You must be made of steel to still be alive, you little runt…" He smirked as he raised his carbine. "But there's no way your laser-proof…"

Leon reached for his switchblade hurriedly, then gasped in pain at the opening wound in his arm.

He seethed through his teeth for a moment. _Damn…there's no way I'm fighting with a wound this bad…I'll be vulnerable…_

_And Wolf most certainly can't…_

He looked over his shoulder at the mess of laser-scorched bodies of the fox family.

Then he looked back at Wolf, who was still crawling in the Pit Bull's direction.

"_You fucking cockroach…_do you feel tough now, killing a bunch of children? Get your cold-blooded ass back here so I can kill you myself!" The pain in his body stung and seared everywhere, sweat coiling down his brow, but he kept dragging himself along. "You scum…you don't have the guts to come over here and fight me.._.all you can do is skulk around and kill innocents like a loathsome _RAT!"

The other Liberator grabbed at the Pit Bull's shoulder. "Are you deaf, you idiot? Stop fooling with him and _come on!"_

The Pit Bull sneered and turned. "Pfft…all right, all right."

But Wolf was still going after them. He dug his claws into the floor, heaving his battered stomach over the sliding surface of the ground, biting fiercely to choke up the pain.

"I said GET BACK HERE!" He yelled, his face twisted with anger. _"You have the guts to kill kids but not enough to fight me?"_

The Liberator whirled around. _"What'd you say?" _He forced a smile, trying not to show his stung reaction to the taunt. "That's it. The commander can go shit himself. This one's corpse is mine to tear apart!"

Leon gritted his teeth.

_This isn't good…_

_Knowing him, Wolf won't accept defeat…he'll press on…_

_But we can't…not like this…_

_I want to avenge that family too, but…we can't fight them like this…_

_My arm's not functioning, and he can barely move…_

_And if provokes that guy, then the others will notice and our chances of escape will be gone…_

He turned around, seeing the open door at the end of the hallway. Their get-away was so close, so easily accessible…

He turned back, a determined look on his face.

_We're leaving. Now._

_I'm getting him out…there's no way in hell we can face off against a battalion of those guys…_

_I don't care how determined he is…it's not his life to throw away…_

The Liberator turned back and headed towards Wolf.

Leon grabbed Wolf's shoulder. "Come on, Wolf, let's get outta here!"

Wolf gave an irritated growl and tried to shrug him off.

"Get off of me, Leon…this one's mine to kill! I'll make him pay…" He unsheathed his claws. "I'll bring him to the ground and send him to the depths of hell, even if I have to take him with me!"

"Don't be stupid, you can't!" Leon hissed. "You can barely move, let alone fight someone…"

"He killed them, Leon…" Wolf's deep growl radiated with rage as he fixed his burning stare on the approaching soldier. "The woman…the kids…and all I did was sit there like a helpless infant and let him murder them! Don't get in my way, Leon, I swear…" He tried to wriggle out of his grasp furiously.

"You idiot, stop being a hothead for a minute and think of the risk!" Leon shouted in frustration. "For God's sake, you can't fight him right now, you're wounded!"

Wolf tore out of Leon's grasp and spat some blood. "The hell I can't…."

_CLANG!_

He kicked at his Claw, and it flipped into his hand. He staggered forward feebly, his rigid body refusing to move in extreme steps or stances.

_I'll kill him…_

_I'll rip him apart and send him to his master in pieces…_

The old anger from the Lylat Wars was coursing through him like a river of fire. He could feel the furious heat tingle in him again…that feeling of rage that he hadn't felt since Venom…

With Fox…

_Fucking child-killer…he's no soldier…he's no man!_

_He wasn't there on Kew when the city burned to the ground…when all those people were murdered…if he had, then he'd know that killing a child in cold blood…_

His purple eyes blared angrily, tasting blood from where his jaw bled.

…_is the lowest, most unspeakable sin to ever disgrace the field of battle!_

He tossed his blade to his right hand, raising it weakly.

"You gonna kill me, runt?" The Liberator laughed filthily. "You got angry 'cause I killed that bunch of shits?"

"You killed the innocent…you spat on the unwritten law of the battlefield…" Wolf spoke in a low voice, half shaking with hatred and half shaking with weak trembling. _"How do you walk away from that…_HOW DO YOU LIVE WITH YOURSELF?"

_Spfff!_

Blood oozed from his shoulder wound, and Wolf's legs numbed at the sudden impact of pain on his weak body. With an agonized grunt, he fell to his knees clutching the wound, his head slumped forward.

Leon dashed to his side, latching Wolf's limp arm into his shoulder.

"That's enough, damn it. You're gonna get killed, Wolf…"

Wolf's head rose weakly, fur matted and splattered. "Have you no shame…?"

Leon grunted as he hoisted him up. "Stop it, that's enough…"

Wolf struggled forward and shouted in the Liberator's direction. "HAVE YOU NO HONOR?"

The Pit Bull nudged the soldier next to him. "Hey, forget the others. Let's rip this one up…he's starting to piss me off…"

"Come on, fight me, FIGHT ME!" Wolf yelled. "Let's see if you can kill a man as easily as you can kill a child, you _cowardly scum-faced _ROACH!" For a moment, his eye wavered, and his head slouched forward.

Leon tackled Wolf by the shoulders and carried his weight on his burdened and bleeding arm.

They heard the voice of more Liberators gathering behind them.

"Those two are escaping! Get'em!"

"Hold your fire, their almost out of range!"

"Wait, you bunch, stay on the others' trail. The rest of you, come with me and let's go after those two!"

Leon dragged Wolf with him down the hallway, his feet moving sluggishly with his weight on his shoulders. He panted, darting his head back every now and then and picking up the pace.

"KILL THEM, _NOW!"_

BRUNNANANANANANANANNA!

Hundreds of yellow shots seared through the air, ripping and whistling past Leon as he trudged fiercely towards the end of the hallway, his long and skinny body just barely avoiding the pursuing blaster bolts. He winced as the heat of a few grazed his face and neck, scales splitting like cuts.

He heard the synonymous thumping of all the Liberators behind them, their threats and curses flying through the air as quickly as their laser fire.

"Leave me…" Wolf murmured weakly. "Let me go…_argh…._let me fight them…"

"Shut up…" Leon hissed, eyes locked on the door at the end of the hallway. "Save your strength…or you won't be any good to anyone…"

The ground rumbled as the pounding footsteps grew closer. Then, Leon heard a coarse, drawling voice from the back.

"They're out of range!"

"Blast'em, then!"

_Beep-eep! _

Even though the noise was small, it's echoing and familiarly synthetic ominous tone was enough for Leon's heart stop.

_Shit!_

He dove to the side as he heard the sound of a humming object being flung over him, flinging his coat over Wolf and himself…

It touched the wall quietly…

_Beep._

PERSHWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

An orange flare blew a pulsing shockwave across the ceiling as the grenade's explosion shook the hallway and ripped at the ground, producing craters and flames in multiple directions. Ashy debris and granite rained from the ceiling as it collapsed all around Wolf and Leon, a dust cloud cloaking them in its indistinguishable ashy mist.

Leon flung an arm over his face for protection, and seethed through his teeth as shards of broken glass embedded themselves into his forearm.

He yanked a few shards out with his teeth and spat them on the charred floor.

Looking at the cloud of dust that had covered the room, he saw no sign of the Liberators. The door at the end of the hallway was only a few feet away…

_This is our chance! _Leon thought. He lifted Wolf's limp body back on his shoulders and dashed through the door.

"THEY'RE GETTING AWAY! STOP THEM!"

BRUNNANANNA!

Streams of yellow shots tore blindly through the smoke, blasting and banging against the wall and doorway's metal surface.

Leon dropped Wolf roughly onto the floor, and snatched something from the inside of his coat…

_I didn't want to use this in there…_

_Not with all the civilians running around…_

_Besides, this is the last one I have…now's the right time to use it…_

He pulled a silver artillery shell from his coat and yanked the safety ring off of it.

_Fssh!_

A spout of steam rose from it and Leon rolled it hastily into the other room before slamming his fist on the door switch.

KRRRSSSSSSHHHH!

There was a series of spraying noises, coughing and retching from the other side of the door as the gas conducted its purpose down the nostrils and lungs of the soldiers on the other side.

Wolf groaned in the corner.

Leon turned around hurriedly. "Just hold on a little longer, Wolf…we're almost outta here!"

He latched Wolf's dangling arm around his shoulder and headed towards the shuttle docked a few feet away.

"Hold on…" Leon's voice started to fade in Wolf's mind. "Hold on…"

_FSHHH!_

The slide door of the shuttle opened and Leon hobbled inside. He dropped Wolf's unconscious body onto the leather seats of the Passenger's Quarters and went to the front of the ship's wide cockpit.

He collapsed in the pilot's chair, panting for what seemed hours.

_Damn…_

_That was WAY too close…_

_I should leave all this 'escaping' stuff to Wolf….he specializes in it, not me…I'm never caught long enough to have the need to escape, most of the time…_

He grunted as he lifted his badly-wounded arm. Blood seeped from numerous cuts and burns, and the wound that the Agent had opened up was now raw-looking and disgusting.

With wince of aching pain, he stood up and tapped some buttons near the Emergency Supply rack, and a white and chrome tray-table opened from part of the wall, as well as a shelf of iodine, bandages, dressing, alcohol rubbing, and a water thermos. Heaving his battered arm onto the table, he started to dress his wound.

_Whatever…Wolf can keep his escapist skills….he still can't heal himself for shit…_

He looked back at him, tightening the bandage on his arm.

_I still have to treat his wounds when he wakes up…_

He walked over to him. Wolf was still lying still on the seats, his ear twitching occasionally. Leon checked his pulse, which was at a steady pace.

His eyebrows furrowed.

_He hasn't received too much damage…no broken bones…no fluctuated tissue…no torn muscle…he has barely any paralysis symptoms at all…_

His blue eyes teemed with concern and confusion.

_He's just fine…_

_Strange…what was wrong with his body, then?_

He looked around and then went back to the pilot's seat.

_I'll get this ship's engines to kick in, but I won't be able to pilot it by myself…it's a two-passenger shuttle, so it needs two pilots…_

A surge of cold guilt took him.

_We could have easily snuck a few people with us…if we had been more careful_

Leon clutched the controls painfully.

Then he heard a shuffle behind him.

He whirled around, hand curling around the handle of his switch-blade. Then he let out a breath of relief when he realized it was just Wolf, sitting up and rubbing his head.

"Oh, it's you. How are you feeling?"

Wolf averted his gaze, a sullen look on his face. Leon knew he must've been thinking about everything that had happened a few minutes ago.

"Did I…pass out?" He asked, outstretching his hand, feeling his movements again.

"Yeah," Leon answered. "You were in some kind of paralysis. You seem fine, though…a few cuts and bruises, but nothing serious. But just because you can move a little bit doesn't mean you can put your body into any drastic situations…it's probably still vulnerable in your condition."

Wolf glanced at the room around him. "And we're…in the shuttle?"

"That's right. It's still revving up the engines, but it should get us out of here. I'm gonna need another pilot when we flight it outta here, so could you give me a hand?"

Wolf stood up, looking away again. Now, Leon couldn't tell what he was thinking about. Then, almost abruptly, he walked over to the slide door.

Leon's eyes darted to the handle. "What're you doing?"

Wolf's fingers hovered over the door-switch, his back to him. "I'm finishing what I started. I'm going back."

Leon rose from his chair. "Don't be ridiculous…you can't go back now!"

"Yes, I can. And this time, don't get in my way."

"Listen," Leon protested. "There's no way you can-"

SLAM!

Wolf hammered his fist furiously on the door before swinging around to face Leon. _"Don't you tell me what I can and can't do, Leon! _All I've done is sit around and do nothing! I sat in prison for five stinking years because I could do nothing! I've had the Warden and everyone else disgrace me and kick at me like a weakling because I could do nothing! And I let that family die, that bastard kick at me like a helpless insect and let him get away, proud of what he had done, because _I could do nothing! _I'm through with standing around like a filthy coward and refusing to fight!"

"And what good would that have done?" Leon shouted angrily. "You would've been dead if I hadn't gotten you out of there!"

"That wasn't your place to get into my fight, Leon! Even if I did die, at least I could've taken him with me, as well as the others! It would've made some difference! But, no! All we did was scuttle away like sniveling cowards!"

"Sniveling cowards? Not my place?" shouted Leon, now in a real rage. "I saved you because I wanted you to live, not because I wanted to get away with my skin on my back! How is it not my place, Wolf? We're a Team! We fight together and die together! It's not up to you to make decisions by yourself and take on an enemy alone! What was I supposed to do, leave you to die?"

Wolf jabbed a clawed finger in his direction. "You were supposed to follow my orders! I'm the Leader of this Team! I told you again and again to let me go and finish the fight, but you disobeyed me! I gave you a goddamn order!"

"Your order was suicide! I wasn't going to stand around and let you die like a dog because of your hotheaded stupidity!" Fuming, he stood right in front of Wolf, his face inches from his own. "You talk of making decisions as the Leader when you don't even know how to act like one!"

Anger burning and face twisted, Wolf turned around. "I don't need this bullshit. You don't understand how I feel…what it means to feel helpless and unable to fight….to feel crushed and humiliated at your opponent's feet…how could you? You never have. Whatever, then…I'm going back. If you want to sit in here and huddle like a coward that's your own damn problem, but I'm going back to finish this."

His hand reached for door switch.

Leon grabbed Wolf by the shoulders and swung a furious punch to his face.

WHAM!

Wolf, dazed and confused, muttered angrily before Leon grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall, shaking angrily.

"What're you-?"

"I've had enough of this, Wolf, so listen to me now! I've had enough of you being a pig-headed asshole who rushes blindly into a situation out of his reach! That's your problem, Wolf…that's always been your problem, right from day one! You're too stubborn! You're so caught up on your own decisions and logic that you don't listen to anyone else! You have this streak of independence that makes you think that you can accomplish everything yourself, and it's cost us enough already! You're always talking about how much you hate Fox, but you don't know how similar you two are when you're both acting like brainless idiots! You've always stood on the prowess of the Team, always pursuing your revenge relentlessly without thinking about me! You think I don't know how you feel? You think I'm just some emotionless grunt in the Team? I knew how you felt, Wolf! I was always there! You talk about what Fox did to the Team, when I was there to feel the pain when the authorities condemned us to crimes we didn't commit! You talk about how James and Andross suppressed you…when I was right there next to you to feel the humiliation and helplessness! And I _was _there, like it or not, when that family was murdered back there, and I felt also helpless! You think I didn't want to help them too? I know we never usually help other people…you always told me not to 'help the voice that will condemn you later'….but I wanted to save them too! I wanted them to live! But I didn't want to see you die, just like you didn't want to see me die on Kew when you had to make that choice! I was always there, Wolf!"

Wolf stared at him, half astounded and half anguished at what he was saying. Leon never broke out emotionally like this, and had always kept cool until this point. Everything he was saying made him feel horrible, and he knew it was all true…and the guilt increased with every word.

"But sometimes, your own rage blinds you to the point where I can't reason with you, and you do things without thinking! And this wasn't the only incident! Did you once, in all these years, think about how _I _felt when you deserted me and went after Fox that one night on Venom? I sat there, flesh burnt and bones broken, telling myself that you did it for a reason…that you were the Leader, so my life didn't matter!"

Wolf's chest twisted up painfully, feeling heartless and agonized at the memory. He stared painfully at Leon, the tormenting sorrow clutching him.

"Leon…I'm…I didn't…"

"Wolf, I'm not _trying_ to question you… I'm not _trying _to challenge you as the Leader…_you're _the Leader, and I've always honored that because you were the one meant to be! But, damn it, you can't always rely on your judgment and refuse to consider mine! We've always fought together, side-by-side, because I'm not just your Team Mate, I'm your best friend and you know that! I didn't fight alongside you all this time to see you get killed by your own stupidity! It's not always on just your shoulders! It's not always just your emotions! I wanted to make that bastard pay as much as you did, but I knew my limits even when you didn't! You can't fight, defend, or protect anyone right now! I don't know why your body's undergoing this condition, or why you enter that paralysis, or if it has anything to do with your Inner Power, but the fact remains that you can't defend yourself! And if you can't even do that, how the hell do you expect to protect anyone else? You can't risk yourself in this state, and you can't keep fighting out your frustration just because you're too stubborn to let your own body set limits on what you can do! And the more you try, the more you endanger us and the more people you'll get killed! Is that what you want?"

Wolf continued to look at him, both stung and ashamed. He tried to say something, but just this once, his usual heated retort or rebellious argument wasn't present.

_God…_

_He's right….about everything…_

_I can't believe it….he kept this bottled up inside for this long…and he never told me…_

_What kind of a Leader am I…?_

_No…_

_What kind of a _friend _am I?_

Leon stood there for a moment, hands shaking as they clutched Wolf's collar, before sighing and walking away.

"Look, Wolf…" He stopped and looked back. "I'm….I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"No."

Leon turned in surprise. "What?"

Wolf turned away, voice shaking. "I'm sorry, Leon. You're right…about me, about my decisions, about you….and honestly, if I would've been in your place, I would've punched me harder. I…I am a horrible Leader. I've made so many mistakes…but the one I feel the worst about is…" He looked at him painfully. "…taking you for granted. Not a day went by when I sat in Denique Fatum without feeling horrible about leaving you behind. It was stupid…and heartless…and I don't deserve to stay being the Leader after that. I don't care about that…I just want my best friend to forgive me."

Leon's eyes lost their anger. "No, Wolf…I forgave you a long time ago. I could understand why you did it…"

"That isn't an excuse. You've stuck with me this whole time, Leon…and I couldn't ask for a better Right Hand Wing….or friend. It's just that…" He clenched his fist. "When I sat there…paralyzed, watching that family get murdered…I felt like…I let them die. It was almost like they expected me to protect them, but…I was too weak. And for me…to be unable to protect anyone…being unable to fight, it's…."

He didn't finish his statement.

"I know," Leon said comfortingly. "I know how that feels."

"If you had been there…seeing what that bastard was going to do…hearing him taunt you, watching helplessly as he murdered those people…you'd know even more. But…it doesn't matter. It was stupid of me to try to take them alone…and I'm grateful you got me out of there…and I'll make it up to you somehow…and make up for the rest of my mistakes…"

Leon nodded. "Understood. And listen…about what I said…" He shuffled his feet ashamedly. "I didn't meant that…about you being a bad Leader…you've been a good Leader…you always have…"

"No…" Wolf turned sullenly. "I haven't. I'm the one who dropped us in with Andross and the Venomians. I'm the one who started this whole thing. But I'll make it up to you…I swear it on my good eye."

Leon smiled. "Well, you can start by helping me pilot this thing. I can't do it alone."

"Right," Wolf set the door switch to _Lock. _"The ship engines are probably still revving up…damn slow thing….but how's the hyperdrive and the boosters?"

"Hard to tell…" Leon tapped his fingers on the touch-screen controls. "Judging by the ship's condition, it hasn't been in use for a while…"

Wolf turned to a green panel on the side of the radar. "I'll check on those, then. Chances are, we'll need them more than ever to out run that ship outside. You check the fuel supply."

"Any ideas on where we're headed?" Leon asked while he glanced at the holographic fuel gage.

"Anywhere …anywhere but here."

He tapped some buttons absent-mindedly, his mind lost in thought.

_I'll make it up to Leon…somehow…_

_I'll make up for everything…_

Another cold splash of guilt hit him.

_But I can't make up for that family back there…_

He clenched his fists.

_Damn it…_

_Why did that have to happen…?_

_Why'd they have to die?_

He looked out the window of the cockpit.

_It's because of me…I couldn't protect them because I was too weak…_

_Because of my Inner Power screwing me up…_

He glanced at his hand.

_Damn it…what the hell is wrong with me? Why'd this have to happen now?_

_There has to be an explanation…_

_This is only going to get worse…_

He shut his eyes painfully.

_No…_

_It can't get any worse. I'm weak and I can't defend myself, let alone fight to protect anyone else…_

_Shit…_

Even now, Leon's words from earlier still stuck painful thorns of reality in to him.

"_You can't defend yourself! And if you can't even do that, how the hell do you expect to protect anyone else?"_

Wolf cursed under his breath, frustration pulsing inside his head.

_I have to find a way to overcome this…_

_I need to find out what's wrong…_

_Otherwise I can't fight…I'll be nothing but a stupid weak burden, like an infant child…_

_And place everyone around me in danger…even Leon…_

"Wolf!"

He looked up. "Ugh….uh, what?"

"You okay?" Leon's eyes regarded him concernedly.

"Yeah…it's nothing." He looked away uncomfortably.

"If you're still thinking about those people, it wasn't your fault…what happened to them was because we couldn't do anything."

Wolf stared out the window, teeth grinding.

_That bastard….he got away…_

_Just wait until I find out who's behind all of this…_

_Who's ordering all this to happen…_

He looked down. "No, Leon…" He rubbed his forehead angrily. "It was because _I _couldn't do anything."

_Meanwhile, on the upper decks of the ship…._

The weakened Mercenary, covered in blood from the endless cuts all over his mangled body, crawled pitifully on the ground. Every now and then, he'd bawl in pain, as his bleeding stump of a leg dragged agonizingly over the sea of shattered glass beneath him.

Horrors and the echoes of screams still lingered in his skull, the flash of steel still blaring into his sight.

As a horribly familiar smell drifted up his nose, he shut his eyes and crawled faster, attempting to avert his sight from the string of corpses around him…or at least, what was left of them…

They were dead…they were all dead….

His strained voice cracked and moaned as he heaved himself on one of his punctured arms, blood dripping from a horrible wound in his neck.

Then, his tall canine ears picked up an ominous sound behind him.

_Clunk. Clunk._

The dog uttered a whimper of terror and tried to crawl faster. He cried aloud as more glass buried itself in his crimson-trailing leg stump as he hobbled his pitiful body away quicker, until…

_Trrtchh!_

The Mercenary screamed in both fear and pain as a gloved hand, with mercilessly strong iron-clad grip, seized a hand-full of his head-fur and hoisted him up until his feet-or foot and stump-were at their knees before him.

The Mercenary, gritting his teeth as his fur was pulled, looked up and saw the cold, orange stare of the Inquisitor piercing through his stunned gaze.

"Trying to avoid your comrades' fates by deserting them, are you?" The boy's lip curled in distaste. "Cowardly simpleton. You cannot run from the judgment that fate chases after you like a ravenous hellhound."

The Mercenary, half wincing at the pain of his fur being wrenched in so tight a grip and half with terrified desperation, muttered pleadingly.

"P-Please…don't kill me…I'm begging you, don't-"

_SHANG!_

The dog screamed as a steel blade shot from the inside of the sleeve but stopped short, its razor-sharp point pressed deeply against his throat.

"Silence…do I look like the kind who sympathizes with licentious low-lifes?" The Inquisitor snapped icily. Then his orange eyes went back to their calm, calculating state. "And at any rate, I need answers before I kill you…otherwise I gain nothing. Now tell me…you all entered my trap and were killed (save for you), but you did not come here on your own accord. You were ordered by a commanding officer…who is he? Where can I find him?"

"W-we…" The Mercenary swallowed painfully, sweat dribbling with blood as he cowered. "We came in search for civilians….we thought that we found-_Agh!_"

The blade pressed tighter against the sobbing mercenary's throat, the Inquisitor bared his teeth slightly with impatience. "You lie. You were commanded to come here…by who? The commander of this ship? Where is he?"

The Mercenary, confused, terrified and desperate, shook his head rapidly, tears streaming down his face.

"PLEASE! Please don't kill me! _I'll do anything, just _DON'T-!"

_SHRRRRLLLTTTHHH!_

Blood tore from the Mercenary's throat just moments after a bone-chilling scream did, as the Inquisitor ruthlessly sliced his throat open before tossing the body into the air in front of him.

With a furious snarl, he unsheathed both blades from his sleeves and cut vertically and horizontally in two, blazing-fast slices of terrible precision.

FSHHHHH!

Blood streamed in front of him, just missing his clean coat and stainless glasses, as the body fell apart, divided into fourths as it disassembled in a cross-shape before falling at his feet.

Sighing frustratedly, the Inquisitor spread his arms out and retracted the long blades into his sleeves.

_Useless. _He thought. _A waste of time and stress…_

_If such sniveling sacks of flesh and bones simply remain useless, why do they bother living at all?_

_Ugh…if they had any honor, they'd take their own lives and save me the trouble of dirtying my hands and doing it myself._

Retreating to a calm, tempered mood, he sighed and straightened his glasses.

_Incompetent. At this rate, how will I find him?_

_I cannot search the entire ship…my Agents are few…and those brainless dolts that serve in my Army can't do an efficient search while they destroy everything in sight…_

He walked to the other side of the demolished room, reaching for his glove. _Fine, then. If he can't be found, then he mustn't be allowed to leave this ship… _Pulling it up, he talked into the comm. attached to his wrist.

"Agent Curizio! Status report, now!"

A voice garbled onto the scratchy communications interference.

"Yes, master. We've received absolute annihilation reports from our Liberator forces on Decks A, B, and C."

"Very well. Abort the original plan. We're ending this operation quickly. Inform all of our Liberator and Agent forces to regroup back at the _Peacekeeper."_

"It will be done, my master," The voice answered. "Oh, and the Lead Commander asks me to insist on providing security for your return to the ship."

The Inquisitor's glasses flashed dangerously. "Then be sure to inform him that I do not feel the need to sweep up the corpses of more fools who get in my way when I'm engaging the enemy. Make that clear to him."

"Yes, my master, oh and master….do forgive me, but what about any stragglers who turn up in our way?"

His orange eyes glanced out the window. "Do as you've done for the past hour, only quicker. Dispose of them. Kill every man, woman, child and mercenary that you see. And don't let any misjudged sense of remorse stand in front of you...what matters is your duty, and nothing else, otherwise you will find me a less merciful leader."

_PESHOOOOM!_

The Inquisitor halted in his tracks as soon as he heard the shot, his pointed ears twitched from where they stuck out in his fedora. With swift reflex, he bent back his cat-like spine and let the green shot skim the scorched air on the surface of his cheek. A small, singeing burn appeared on the side of his face where it had grazed his cheek.

His blank expression unchanged by the sudden event. He narrowed his eyes at the direction where the laser blast came from.

_It would appear that more scum has arrived…looks like my work won't be finished until this deck is red with their miserable Godless bodies…_

_But they may have use…_

In the distance, numerous shouts and echoes of simultaneous running feet shattered the deathly silence that had drifted over the battlefield.

A mob of Mercenaries came charging towards the Inquisitor, all armed to their teeth with blaster rifles and machine carbines. At the front of the charge was Ayxal and Bernard, who was holding a smoking sniper rifle from when he had targeted the Inquisitor. The rest of the canine mercenary unit was galloping in a grouped battalion. They had managed to get into the room quietly, soon enough to see their last comrade get killed. Most were still recovering from shock at the sight of the figure they had all heard about but never seen, still in disbelief at his young age and small form. But they had arrived in time to see what a ruthless killer he was despite his unsuspecting appearance. Most were tough Lylat War veterans, and were going feeling more prepared now that they had seen the enemy's fighting style.

"Left flank, break off!" Ayxal yelled. "Right flank, break off! All in the middle, drop down for firing positions!"

As the right flank of mercenaries broke off from the group, a grinning Dachshund loaded his Mk. X Revolving Rifle. "Let's see if this Inquisitor's as deadly as the stories say!"

"Don't get cocky, Liam!" Bernard shouted over the gunfire. "You saw what he did to the last bunch. Take caution!"

The right flank moved to the side, and the middle flank with Bernard and Ayxal dropped to their bellies on the battered floor, raising ground-mounted Fichanese blast-cannons on metallic stands, all aimed in the Inquisitor's direction.

"Hold fire and position!" Bernard shouted from behind the scope of his mounted . "Don't even touch the trigger till he makes a move!"

The left flank squatted in groups to the left, half of them pulling out small detonators while the other half shouldered black-and-yellow NCX-09 Locking Missile Launchers, all aimed at the Inquisitor.

The right flank, led by the Dachshund, all gathered on a giant upturned granite block, all standing mounted above ground, guns loaded.

_Click! Click! Click!_

Rapid clicks and shifts of rifle-safety and metallic missile-system mechanisms went all echoed from numerous spots around the room.

All weapons, sights, concentration and men's gazes were locked on the surrounded Inquisitor, who looked even smaller surrounded by the spread out battalion.

A concentrated bead of sweat dribbled down Ayxal's brow.

_We've got him surrounded…_ He thought. _He's got no room to move about for any kind of attack…_

_I've watched him…all he has are those extendable blades from his sleeves….no ranged weapons of any kind…_

_If he makes one move in any direction, he'll die…_

_We've got him!_

And yet, with such a hopeful situation before him, with the advantage literally in the palm of his hand, the tense Rotteweiler couldn't help but feel grim foreboding creep in the back of his head. Even with this advantage, his mind still couldn't ignore the fact of who they were facing…

The Inquisitor remained in his spot indifferently, his black coat flapping behind him. His stiff orange stare darted around in an unimpressed glare from behind his glasses.

Ayxal looked at him confusedly through the blue glare of his blaster-scope, trying to study him back.

_What's going through your mind…?_

_What are you calculating in that murderous mind of yours…? I know you're no mere child…_

As the Inquisitor raised his arm, Ayxal raised his gun with caution, only to relax as he only straightened his glasses, eyes closed.

"You've brought weapons and men against me."

Ayxal, stunned that he was speaking, retorted back. "Yeah? What of it?"

The boy's orange eyes opened. "You intend to oppose me…and to oppose me is to oppose the law. Any opposition against the law is punishable by death."

"If we were afraid of death we wouldn't have shown up at all!" Bernard spat.

"And if we aren't afraid of death, then there's nothing that would make us fear a runt like you either!" Another mercenary called.

More of them shouted in agreement.

"Then tell me, gentlemen…" The Inquisitor cut in tartly. "If you aren't afraid of me, why was your first instinct to charge in here fully-armed and in a mass number?"

Ayxal flinched as the Inquisitor turned his gaze to him, immediately realizing that it was _he _who the Inquisitor was addressing.

"You come here without attacking me head-on and prepare an attack group with full strategy and precise decision… a trait of a former-Cornerian soldier, not common mercenary filth. You must be Ayxal."

All of the mercenaries turned their stunned gazes to a shocked-looking Ayxal.

"You are to be commended for attacking in such military manner. But you and everyone else are worse than outmatched….your dishonest to yourselves." His eyes glared from behind his glasses. "You come here with a full battalion with complete arsenal just to kill me, and you still fill your minds with useless confidence and false hope that you may stand a chance. But even now, you fool yourselves. Do not soil your mouths with worthless lies of confidence…for you all know you stand no chance against me. Why else would you attack in such a manner? Let me guess…" He adjusted his glasses, almost amusedly. "…to kill a 'mere child.'"

Ayxal froze.

_How did he….?_

"I can read your expressions and calculate your senses. You've seen what I've done to your comrades, and that is why you've surrounded me. You haven't killed me yet because you're afraid of what I'm capable of. You attack out of fear, not confidence."

No one spoke. All the mercenaries felt cold and fearful at his analysis that was almost identical to their thoughts. How could he figure out what they were thinking? How was he seeing past their strategy, their courage and confidence? He made them feel like insignificant children who had were barely grasping what was going on.

Ayxal was completely shocked. He had fought against many opponents, but no one as cunning as this.

_How can he see past my mind like that?_

_How does he know how I'm feeling?_

_Stinking little bastard….he's no kid….what the hell are you?_

"You all know perfectly well that I am not just a 'mere child.' And don't look at me with those dumbfounded expressions of confusion. I am not reading your mind…I'm making an observation. You aren't the first to misjudge me by my appearance." He rose a gloved finger to point in their direction, eyes on Ayxal. "Now…you are the defendants of illegal refugees and outlaw mercenaries. My duty is deliver the death sentence on sinners like you…but I am in need of information. So I offer this one last chance to abandon your stupid thoughts of resistance and admit surrender…and receive a quick painless death as an alternative to having your screams join the dead echoes of the rest of the common filth aboard this ship."

Ayxal raised his rifle.

"You can take your manipulative whispers to hell, you poisonous little snake! _Detonate them, now!"_

The flank of mercenaries with launchers all pressed their thumbs on the buttons of their detonators.

_SHWOOOM! BAAAAM!_

_KAKROOOOOOOM!_

Mines placed in the ground secretly went off in explosive bursts all around the Inquisitor, who remained rooted in his spot, expression unchanged. The scarlet blasts tore and shook the blackened granite out of the ground, blasting small laser-born shockwaves around the cracked craters. Grey smoke and the blinding blare of explosions buried the Inquistor out of view, with more mines going off around him.

Bernard tossed a hand into the air. "Launch all missiles at target, now!"

_Fwo-PAAAAM!_

_Fwo-PAAAAAM!_

Blazing purple rockets shattered through the air and flew straight into the dust cloud, the Mercenaries holding the launchers recoiling their bodies at the immense repulse of each rocket's release.

_SHRA-SHOOOOOOM!_

_SHRA-SHROOOOOOOOOM!_

More blasts exploded against the dust area, yellow blares sparking at random and multiple spots within the cloud like cloud-veiled lightning in a storm. Ash and debris swirled around and blasted from inside the giant dust cloud, scattering with hissing heat from the inside of the explosion area. Flames crackled from open spots, flickering and sending embers up in the room.

Then, Ayxal signaled the men on the ground with him.

"Lock and load all heavy artillery….and FIRE!"

_PRASHANANANANANA!_

_SHWA-SHOOM!_

_BLAM! BLAM!_

_KRINATTATATATATA!_

A horizontal hailstorm of heat-bursting blaster-shots snared in endless waves against the massive explosive column of smoke and flames. Green laser shots, hazy blue carbine blasts, rapidly-firing purplish-white carbine pumps and streaming red blast-cannon beams tore into the cloud. Ayxal, Bernard and the rest of the artillery flank kept their sights fixed as their arms and shoulders shook on impact of their rattling assault guns.

After a short halt and the simultaneous clatter of empty blaster ammo clips, Ayxal barked towards the crouching flank on the granite mound."Assault flank, charge at the enemy!"

The Dachshund raised his rifle. "Let's give'im hell, boys!"

There was a roaring yell from the whole flank as all the mercenaries leapt off the massive heap of rocky debris and jumped into the cloud, all several feet in the air with knives, batons and pistols in their grip. One by one, they disappeared into the wafts of smoke, until the last one vanished…

_SHAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNG!_

A flashing-white glint rolled off some steel glow in the midst of the flames and clouds, the ominous sound of metal humming and the sickening noise of blade meeting flesh.

Ayxal gritted his teeth.

_Shit!_

He rose to his feet and detached the ground-mounting legs off of his blaster. "Arms at the ready to engage!"

"HO!" The rest of the men yelled in response, rising to their feet and dropping their metal mounts with a clatter in unison. _Cling-cling-cling!_

They all raised their rifles and carbines as the dust started to clear.

"Did we….get him?" Bernard asked nervously.

The Rottweiler didn't answer, his eyes scanning the area ahead.

_Splrt._

Ayxal turned his blaster to the noise. A small droplet of familiar dark-red sat in a small puddle on the floor.

_Splrt._

Another drop of blood dripped silently, this time falling from a high place.

The mercenaries glanced at each other, and Ayxal's eyebrow's furrowed. _What?_

He and the rest looked up.

Drifting slowly out of the dust cloud, turning from silhouette to an actual physical object… a pair of feet dangled far above their heads. As they tilted their heads farther and looked up, it formed up into a pair of legs, and a body…

…with the point of a steel blade jutting from its back.

As the dust started to clear, everyone's faces melted into pure terrified disbelief.

"Impossible.…" Bernard gasped, fur shaking.

"God…." Ayxal murmured, eyes huge.

Speared in a long row, blood seeping down to the ground, were a collection of mercenary bodies impaled on a huge, 20-foot-long blade extending from the inside of the Inquisitor's sleeve. Every mercenary that had leapt into the dust cloud was hanging from the raised blade like meat on a skewer, caught in mid-jump. They each impaled in multiple places: one in the eye, one in the head, one in the neck, one in the stomach…some still twitching helplessly, all wearing shocked looks and bleeding mouths hanging open.

The Inquisitor himself hadn't moved a step in any direction, a collection of explosions and blast-holes around him. A corpse of a mercenary from the earlier slaughter lay near his feet, covered in smoking holes and covered in blood from serving as a human shield.

All of the terrified mercenaries stepped back, gazes locked on the string of bodies on the long blade. It was now they realized the truth about the haunting stories that surrounded the Inquisitor's shrouded legend…the bodies serving as proof for rumor about him being able to slaughter a group of men without taking a step or changing his stance.

The Inquisitor lowered his blade to point in Ayxal's direction, bringing the line of corpses down so that the tips of their boots skimmed the floor's surface.

"You possess both courage and strategy, Ayxal. But…"

_Shwa-SHIIIIING!_

He flicked his wrist so that the blade twisted like a key in a lock through the penetrated bodies, causing blood to seep from their wounds and killing off the few that still twitched agonizingly. Then, with a ray of light shimmering down its steel surface, the long blade retracted through body after body back into his sleeve so quickly that the corpses still stood after the blade was absent.

"…you are still a pathetic fool to come against me."

_Fwooom!_

The Inquisitor swept back his fluttering coat and a small shockwave gusted over the room, the small impact causing all the bodies to fall to the ground simultaneously.

_Clump! Clump! Clump!_

Ayxal stared at the Inquisitor, a newfound sense of fear filling him. Around this simply-dressed underage boy, he saw shadows of death coil ominously….a feeling of fearful dread he hadn't felt since the Lylat wars.

Then he resumed his glare, clutching his blaster defiantly. "You think your stupid little tricks are going to prevent me from killing you? I've fought in the war…I've met sadistic performers like you…and despite your calm-attitude and random weapons, you're still just a man! No…not even that. You're just a whiny little _brat!" _He pumped his blast-cannon. "Now get your ass over here and _fight me!"_

The Inquisitor raised his eyebrows. "Such provocation is most unlike you. I'd have thought that a soldier of your experience would keep a tempered attitude of superiority."

He took off his glasses and wiped them clean. "Nevertheless…it still irritates me that I have to enforce the same message on more of you common scum…"

Bernard raised his blaster in an attempt for courage. "Message? What message?"

He put his glasses back on. "The message of the Eternal Creator… who demands a tribute of sinner's flesh and bone to deliver to Lucifer's flaming prison…and as a humble messenger, to oblige with judgment for the sake of salvation…" SHANG! A hidden blade extended from his sleeve. "…or damnation." SHANG! Another appeared from his left sleeve. His orange eyes glowed like red-hot embers, and his snarl grew large enough to reveal his surprisingly-sharp teeth. "Be wise, gentlemen, and pray that the fires of the next life will be more merciful on you…" _Shiiing! _He crossed the two blades in front of him, sparks illuminating his eyes and glasses. "…because _I won't be!"_

Stricken with fear and anger, a dog at the front raised his sniper rifle. "KILL HIM!"

_Shwa-SHRAAAAM!_

_Ker-SHWOOOM!_

Laser blasts flew across the room in searing tides as the Inquisitor dove forth and skimmed out of range with his quick reflexes. The mercenaries stopped firing and charged with numerous yells into the Inquisitor's direction, igniting the battle to begin. They swung their rifles savagely, as the Inquisitor leapt back with blurring agility and tore about with his blades with killer's precision. A few in the back fired desperate missiles that erupted all around, causing smoke to rise and granite to explode in ashy blasts and fumes.

As the battle ensued and the Inquisitor was muddled out of view, Ayxal called to the group of mercenaries surrounding him.

"Keep a distance and spread out as far as you can! Don't even think about engaging him head-on in close-combat, just keep yourselves ranged and him in your blaster-sights!"

The other Mercenaries raised their assault rifles and carbines and pressed back, firing green and red volleys into the chaos ahead.

As they pushed back, Bernard backed up near Ayxal.

"Shit… we won't be able to hold him back for long…" The young Husky turned to him. "What's gonna happen now?"

Ayxal looked down. "I…I don't know…I don't think we'll be getting out of this one…"

Bernard's ears drooped. "A-Ayxal?"

He sighed. "Dammit… I always expected to go down someday with a gun in my hand, ever since I joined the army during the War… but not here…not like this. Not by someone like…_him…."_

"You…you really think it's going to end here? For the both of us?"

"Not for you." Ayxal glanced at him. "You're young. You've got your whole life ahead of you…but I should've died years ago, so many times before… and I think my time has finally come…. I just wish I could've seen it coming…"

A Corgie Mercenary stepped back with them. "Lieutenant Ayxal! Orders sir!"

"Just hold him off as long as you can…we need to buy time for Captain Nelson and the rest of Command! That Inquisitor bastard wants to get there 'cause he knows that the Captain of the ship will have knowledge of whatever he's looking for! We may not make it out of this one…but if we don't, we would've least held him off long enough for the rest of the refugees to escape! Now, let's MOVE!"

The mercenaries nodded, and raised their blasters to take aim into the muddled mess of fighting in the distance.

"Hey, Bernard…"

The Husky turned. "Yeah, Ayx?"

"You were always the best scout…always surviving and reaching a new place no matter the conditions….so, could you do me a favor, and, uh…give this to my wife for me?" The Rotteweiler pulled out a grubby envelope from his tattered uniform pocket and handed it to him.

Bernard looked at it. "What's this?"

"Twenty-two thousand Lylatines…" He sighed. "All the money I've made as a mercenary. I figured that maybe she'd…she's see that I was thinking about her, and…" He looked away sadly. "…and that I regret leaving her."

Bernard clasped the envelope. "Don't worry, Ayx. We'll give it to her…together, you'll see."

Ayxal smiled doubtfully. "Sure, pal. We'll do it together."

_SPLAAANCH!_

Just then, Ayxal and Bernard's ears perked as they turned to see a body fly at them. The unfortunate mercenary cluttered to the ground between them, both legs gone and a raw chunk missing from his stomach. He gagged blood and groaned between them, before becoming still after once last wince.

Ayxal cursed furiously and turned his blast-cannon on the direction from where the body had been thrown from.

The Inquisitor was fighting off the rest of the angry battalion, blades blocking rifle-butt swings and laser-blasts grazing his coat. He leapt up into the air with unbelievable speed, stabbing and slicing down on his victims rapidly.

He sprinted forward with his arms at his sides, diving into a ground-roll whenever laserfire came in his direction. A roaring mercenary raised his carbine and shattered the air with the pulse of his rotating laser.

_PRATTATTATATA!_

The red shots flew past the Inquisitor's unchanged face as he jumped into the rifle, feet balanced on the barrel, and stabbed the mercenary through his forehead.

_SPLRRRTCH!_

Blood gushed from the wound as the dog's eyes rolled to the back of his head. As the gun fell from his hand with a clatter, the Inquisitor turned with a glare to a yell from behind.

"Surround him! Close in on his movement!"

A trio of Bulldog recruits charged, assault rifles with jagged bayonets protruded out like pikes. One snatched a pair of discs from his belt and flung it at the Inquisitor.

Pes-SHWEEEOOOM!

The discs transformed in the air as they flew towards him, sprouting curved blades that glowed blue with compressed energy, with a blinking red sensor in the middle.

The Inquisitor recognized them from a foot away…. Energized and Explosive Mortar-Launch Discs.

He snarled maliciously and ran towards them.

_FZZZ!_

The bladed discs hummed through the air like ninja stars, as the Inquisitor recoiled and leaned back to just barely dodge them, one just hovering inches in front of his cheek.

_Cling!_

The mercenaries gaped in disbelief as the Inquisitor's hand shot out behind him and snatched the second disc out of the air. His merciless gloved grip crushed the machine until it gave an electrical whine before sizzling out of power. He clutched it and ran forward before tossing it to the ground.

"_HYAAAAH!"_

SHER-_KROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!_

Bernard, Ayxal and the other mercenaries ducked from the pulsing explosion that shook the room and chiseled the air with flames and rubble, the impact shattering the ground with a shockwave and sending the Bulldogs into the air.

The Inquisitor spat soot from his mouth as he charged at a nearby mercenary, sliced his gun and his head in two with a sickening splatter, and kicked off his body so that he propelled like a black missile into the air.

_Shwa-SHAAANG! Sher-RAAAAANG!_

Blinding flashes of steel sliced through the air as the Inquisitor savagely hacked and slashed at each Bulldog in the air around him. He back-flipped and kicked off of one of the Bulldog's torn-open chest and dashed forward, blades crossed and ready to spread back like a giant pair of scissiors.

Hurr-_AAAAAAAANGGG!_

SMASH!

The Inquisitor rolled in mid-air swiftly and landed with a slam on the ground, crimson-dyed blades spread apart and black coat flying.

_Splaaach! Splaaach! Splaaach!_

The decapitated and brutally dismembered bodies fell from high up in the air, their bodies butchered into such a fragile state that they shattered in a bloody mess upon hitting the ground.

The other mercenaries angrily fired their machine guns on him, Ayxal and Bernard included. The Inquisitor sneered and leapt back and to the side nimbly, dodging every blast that sped in his direction.

_Damn it…_ Ayxal thought from behind his scope. _I can't land a single shot on him…he moves way to quickly…_

_How the hell can he dodge so many shots…how can he remain unscathed for this long?_

_And he killed those men so effortlessly…trained units that fought in the Elite during the Lylat Wars…_

He gritted his teeth. _Shit…._

_What the hell is this guy, this….this kid?_

Cursing furiously, he fired his blast-cannon in the chaotic fray ahead.

_She-THOOM! She-THOOM! She-THOOOM!_

The purple blasts exploded past the Inquisitor as he stabbed clean through a mercenary next to him.

A Prairie Dog trooper called to his back-up Vanguard ally. "Come on! If we can't shoot'im, let's torch'im!"

Both of them heaved up their NCX-09 Locking Missile Launchers, both eyeing their targeting-scopes on their prey ahead.

The Inquisitor sneered as he unhinged the impaled corpse on his blade and kicked it into their direction. The Prairie Vanguards pushed the body aside, repulsed and launched their homing rockets.

_SHIRA-SHOOOOOM! SHIRA-SHOOOOM!_

The orange missiles, beeping as they locked onto the Inquisitor, flew through the air with a by-passing moan-like screech from their flares. His concentrating eyes darted from one to the other, before he dived forward under the missiles before they spun back and pursued him relentlessly.

The Inquisitor jumped up and spun in the air above the two mercenaries, blades flailing around him like a whirlwind of deadly steel.

_Sher-PLAACH! _

Both dogs' heads sprang off in a bloody decapitation, both stained faces frozen with a last expression of fear and shock. The Inquistor, eyeing the missiles approaching behind, kicked off of the two heads in mid-air with each foot to propel him into a spinning somersault.

KER-SHWOOOOOOOM!

There was a scarlet blast in the air that illuminated the entire room, as the tracer missiles collided, miscalculating the spinning jump and revolving straight into each other. The blast shattered in a fiery X-shaped explosion just a few inches behind the Inquisitor, who landed cat-like on his feet with both blades spread apart.

Smoke coiled around him from the blast, as he looked around at the mess of corpses with silent satisfaction that his face didn't express.

"_HAAAAAGH!"_

His pointed ears perked up as he turned to see Bernard running angrily at him with his rifle in his hands like a bat.

Bernard gave a canine snarl as he swung his heavy rifle-butt down on the Inquisitor.

_CLANG!_

Orange sparks drizzled off the razor-sharp edge of the Inquisitor's blade as he brought it up to block the metalloid rifle's dented surface. Bernard growled in a low voice as he tried to push his weight against the rifle, hoping to gain some advantage with his larger size.

The Inquisitor bared his small teeth as he pushed the rifle's weight off with his right blade and stabbed forward with his left.

_Oh no, you don't! _Bernard thought quickly and slided his feet back so that he could barely rush a quick and nimble dodge from the blade's merciless swipe.

He spun back into place and clutched his rifle.

_I'm beginning to see his fighting pattern….he's using his arms as an advantage…_

_He may not look like it, but he can flex and bend those arms with quite a finesse…but he does so quickly, without either hand awkwardly slowing down, so he must be ambidextrous…_

The young Husky exhaled in concentration. _If I can fix all attention to my footwork, I can dodge his attacks and exhaust him!_

He charged forward with a yell and jabbed his rifle forward.

_Shra-SHOOM! Shra-SHOOM!_

The blue blasts from his rifle soared above the Inquisitor's head and hummed in the air, and he bent his spine back to dodge them, bringing his blades up.

_CLING!_

The Inquisitor crouched to one knee and held his blades crossed above his face, the barrel of the blaster locked into the gap in the "X' where the blades crossed. Bernard continued to fire shots from his barrel, even the blades hoisted the barrel a good distance above the Inquisitor's head, the laser blasts skimming the crown of his black fedora.

_Shrr-iiing!_

As the Inquisitor twisted the blades and wrenched away the blaster that was caught between the two steel edges like it was locked between a pair of chopsticks, the steel point flicked deeply across Bernard's palm as he released the blaster forced away from his grip.

"_Gagh!" _He winced as the sharp wound stung, and curled it into a dripping fist while glaring at the Inquisitor.

The Inquisitor tossed the blaster up in the air with the flat side of his blade. _Shwa-SHING! _His left blade sliced clean through the metal-alloyed rifle, leaving it to fall with a clatter in steaming pieces at his feet.

Ayxal, watching their fight from a distance, barked at a nearby mercenary. "You! Give him some laser-cover!"

The Dog next to him raised his sniper rifle, pressing his eye through the blinking scope.

Then, as if struck by a dangerous sense of realization, Ayxal grabbed the sniper barrel and swerved it away. "Wait, no!"

"But…sir! Shouldn't we give him aid?" The Dog asked confusedly. "He's without arms against the enemy!"

"I know! But…" He narrowed his eyes on the fight ahead. "It's too risky. The proximity of their distance in their fight is too close and too fast for a single shot…you might hit Bernard!"

The others glanced at each other anxiously. "But…then what do we do, sir?"

Ayxal cursed under his breath. "Just keep your rifles ready….but don't shoot unless I say or if you see an opening for a clear shot!"

Swa-_thunk!_

Bernard dodged away from a slice of the Inquisitor's blade and grabbed his arm, but the Inquisitor leapt over him with a flip and kicked Bernard from behind.

_SLAM!_

Bernard slid across the floor with wincing grit of his teeth, but opened one eye determinedly and strapped something metallic on his fist.

With a snarl, the Inquisitor swept his arm back and jabbed forward with a sprinting charge, blade outward for the final stab.

Bernard leapt onto his feet and swung his fist with a yell, a blurry and sliver something on his fist, swinging directly at the point of the blade.

_Krachingr-!_

As the blade-point and the fist met, a ripple of blue electric energy shot from the glowing metallic object that hung on Bernard's fist like a brass knuckle, and forked and writhed around the Inquisitor's blade until it burst with white light upon impacting the Inquisitor's sleeve.

The young feline-canine mix snarled angrily as he swept his arm back from the electric repulse, his coat-sleeve singed with numerous smoking holes. He looked up, with a tempered face expression that didn't match the blazing rage in his orange eyes. Bernard clenched his fist which was cupped in a metal fist-guard equipped with an electric pulse-enhancement, still sizzling from its impact on the steel like lightning on a rod.

The Inquisitor raised both of his blades. _Shwa-SHING! Swa-SHING!_

There was a flash and an echo as they retracted automatically into his sleeves like claws. Then, he swept his coat back and clenched his gloved fists as he rose them into fighting position.

Bernard, accepting this challenge of hand-to-hand combat, charged forward with his fists flying. _"Huah!"_

CLAMP! SMAP!

Bernard's fists jabbed and swung forward and back, striking at the Inquisitor at various places with close-quarter expertise. But for someone as young and meager-looking as the Inquisitor, his reflexes were rapid. With an unchanged expression of analytical concentration, the Inquisitor's orange eyes darted right and left at every attack as he blocked them speedily, as if expecting each one to come.

Getting frustrated and exhausted, Bernard yelled and swung his fist forward.

_KRTCH!_

Bernard's eyes widened in surprise as the Inquisitor caught his fist between his gloved hands just inches in front of his face. The Inquisitor glared at him menacingly from behind his gleaming spectacles, as he clenched the shaking fist in front of him with a shockingly iron-clutching grip.

Bernard winced and seethed through his teeth in pain, trying to wriggle from the painful grasp. The Inquisitor snarled as he began to mercilessly twist the Husky's fist until his bones started to crack.

"_AAAGH!" _With an agonized yell, Bernard shoved his weight against the Inquisitor's smaller body and elbowed him in the chest.

The Inquisitor clasped his chest for a moment before Bernard charged at him and aimed a savage kick at his face.

_KLAAACK!_

The Inquisitor grunted with teeth gritted as he fell back, glasses being falling from his face and clattering to the ground. He lied on the floor seething as blood dripped from his mouth.

Bernard ran at him with a snarl, foot raised to stomp on the Inquisitor's face.

SLAM!

In a rush of action, the Inquisitor jumped up and landed with agile precision with his hand on the floor, his feet clasped around Bernard's neck in a fierce scissor-lock. The Inquisitor snarled as he flung Bernard in the air behind him, before swiping up his glasses and jumping up to kick him before he hit the ground.

_**SLAM!**_

Bernard fell with a scream into the ground, the floor vibrating and dented from the impact of the fall, or rather, the kick. The Inquisitor dove after him and rolled onto the floor back onto his feet.

_Wham!_

Bernard grunted and spat blood as the Inquisitor kneed him savagely in the ribs, and the Inquisitor grabbed his face with his clawing hands.

SCRUNK!

There was a splitting noise as the Inquisitor slammed his skull with a pulverizing head-butt that sent him into a dazed clatter to the ground.

Now in a real rage, Bernard jumped to his feet and threw punch after punch at the Inquisitor, before-

_SHZZZZZZZZZZ!_

There was an energetic impact as the two opponents smashed their fists against each other and clenched each other's hand in a locked wrestle, the hand with the electric pulse-knuckle being crushed and sizzled under the grip of the Inquisitor, whose face was illuminated by the knuckle's blue electric charge and not even wincing as the burns tore through his hands.

The two opponents' faces were inches from each other as they wrestled with frustrated effort, while neither would budge.

The Inquisitor leaned forward and hissed so that only Bernard could hear. "I have no time for games, fool, so I'll make this brief….you are most likely to have been sent here by the captain of the ship, and there for have knowledge of this vessel that I require…"

Bernard growled angrily. "What makes you think that I'd help a heartless brat like you? You'd have to kill me first…"

The Inquisitor's eyes flashed dangerously. "Do not test me, you imbecile… fortunately for you, I am in need of information, not corpses. Now… there is a passenger aboard this ship, of whom I am in pursuit. A grey canus lupus with purple eyes…"

Bernard's eyebrows furrowed. "A canus _what?"_

"A wolf, you fool!" His voice rose unusually angrier for someone as calm and cool as him. "A grey wolf, missing an eye, about twenty-four years old! He escaped more than a week ago and I've been looking on every civilized planet in the galaxy for him!" His eyes narrowed. "He escaped from my prison after all the effort I took to confine him…but he escaped and I know he's on this ship! Now, tell me where he is!"

Bernard scoffed. "I have no Goddamn clue what you're talking about, but it wouldn't matter if I did. It's not like I examine each passenger that gets off and on this ship! You won't find what you're looking for!"

The Inquisitor's eyes became cold. "Is that so? Well…in any case, it is by law to exterminate all ships harboring illegal passengers anyway…and seeing that you serve no use, you will join those the heap of bodies of worthless people you hopelessly tried to protect."

Bernard's eyes glowered and he bared his teeth, forcing more weight on him. "God, DAMN YOU! _Why the hell are you doing all this?" _

The Inquisitor regarded him interestingly with his analytical eyes. "What do you mean, fool?"

"ALL THIS!" Bernard clutched his fist angrily. "Killing innocent people…making the Lylat System a freaking hellhole…why are you doing all this? What do you hope to accomplish?"

"I think the better question is…" The Inquisitor looked up. "Why are _you_ doing this?"

"What?"

"You strive to break all the laws the government has made….you harbor the weak and sinful under your wing, willingly defending them when you know they will never reward you, and you'll face inevitable death by the government and punishment from God. Indulge me. Tell me what do _you _intend to accomplish?"

Bernard's eyes glimmered determinedly. "I'm trying to do some good in this galaxy! Even if I'm not rewarded, I can still help these people and give them a chance to live and be happy. I can at least give them hope, that there's still a reason to be alive after something as horrible as the Lylat Wars, with an economy this bad, and times this hard… and let them know that life has yet to give them something! To make them happy, to spread some warmth! They still have a chance to fulfill their lives….to be human. It'll let them know that there's still good in this galaxy….that life still is something worth living, and there's some hope in the world!"

For a moment, the Inquisitor looked away, not saying anything. His expression was distant, as if contemplating his words. "There was once a foolish boy…who thought as you did….who thought that life had value…who thought there was a light of good in everything…that the world had some little good to offer. But life taught him how false and unkind the world is, as well as the people in it…and that the only way to wake up from foolish illusions of happiness and compassion is to learn how cruel life can be…"

He spoke in such a regretful, almost sad manner, that Bernard couldn't help but look at him curiously. It was rare that the Inquisitor gave any kind of emotion on his usually unfeeling face…

_Why is he…?_

Then his eyes looked up icily. "…as you will now."

_SLRRRTCH!_

There was a massive spray of dark red blood from Bernard's shoulder, as the Inquisitor hacked brutally through his skin with a long blade out of the sleeve of his free hand. A deathly silence hung over the room, before it was interrupted with the sickening _clump! _of Bernard's severed arm hitting the floor.

"_DAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!"_

Bernard screamed with agony as he fell to the ground, pain-stricken tears streaming down his cheeks as he clutched the gushing stump where his arm used to be.

"BERNARD!" Ayxal yelled. He ran past the shocked mercenaries that stood around him, who were too paralyzed to move.

"_My arm…my _ARM!" Bernard whimpered.

The Inquisitor's face showed no remorse as he fell to his knees at his feet, as he raised his blade above the young Husky's bare neck.

"GrrrrrAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!"

SLAM!

Ayxal roared angrily as he stormed over with sparks of fury crackling in his eyes. He sprinted over and smashed his body into the momentarily surprised Inquisitor's shoulder.

The Inquisitor stumbled back at the powerful Rottweiler's weight, only to regain his balance and slide back on the smooth floor, blade raised.

But Ayxal was too quick. He pumped his blast-cannon and slammed the barrel against the blade.

_Swa-SHOOOOM!_

The purple blast erupted at point-blank range with contact to the steel, and the blade snapped off with impact and flew in the air before landing with a _ping! _on the floor behind them.

Glancing quickly at the broken-off blade stump that stuck out of his sleeve, he retracted it back and shot out another blade from his right sleeve.

CLANG! CLANG!

Ayxal blocked the blade's deadly swipes with his rifle-butt before swinging it down on him.

Shwa-SHANG!

The Inquisitor sliced upwards and cleaved the barrel of the blast-cannon so that the handle was all that was left in Ayxal's hands. The Inquisitor swept his arm back and dived for the final plunge.

Ayxal cursed and drew something that looked like an iron bar with a handle from his belt.

CLANG!

Grabbing both ends of the iron bar, Ayxal yelled as he shoved all of his weight on the Inquisitor's blade. The Inquisitor, having trouble coping with the massive Rottweiler's size against his own, jumped back.

Ayxal hacked brutally at the Inquisitor as he jumped back, and then drew his iron bar back and pressed a black button on the side of it.

Ker-SHAAAANG! _Shing!_

Instantly, large curved blades sprouted out from the top portion, out of the back and out of the front, until Ayxal held a large battle-axe, with slanted mechanical grind-marks on the axe-blade, in his hand.

He barked orders to his men, but his raging eyes fixed on the Inquisitor. "Get Bernard outta here, and guard all the exits so that he doesn't make it past this deck in case anything happens to me. And whatever you do, _don't you _DARE fire at him…." He pointed his massive axe at the Inquisitor. "His heart is mine to tear out!"

The Inquisitor's cold eyes regarded him. "I make it a habit not to engage in sparring or dueling with the low likes of you. However…" He raised his hidden blade and pointed it at Ayxal. "If that is how you wish to die, so be it."

"_HAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGHHH!"_

Ayxal snarled as he charged at the Inquisitor, his mighty axe swinging lethally in the air.

_CLANG!_

A stream of sparks sprang from the crevice of impact that sizzled in the spot where the two blades met. Ayxal growled menacingly as he pressed all of his weight onto the axe in his hands.

For a moment, the Inquisitor gave an unimpressed sneer, but it soon disappeared as he began to shake and be pushed back by the Rottweiler's massive weight. His eyes widened as the Rottweiler wrenched the blade away from him and rammed straight into him, his large shoulders cracking into his ribs.

The Inquisitor leapt back as the axe-blade grazed the front of his coat, and snarled as he leapt up, kicking Ayxal in the face before back-flipping across the room.

_Swa-TIRRR!_

The Inquisitor drew three small throwing-blades from his coat and flung them at Ayxal.

_FIRR! FIRR! SHHRRR!_

The small but lethal blades whistled through the air, the light from the lamps around the room dancing across their reflective surface, as they soared towards the battle-scarred Pit-Bull.

Ayxal gave a canine grunt as he charged. _"Huargh!"_

_Cling! _CLANG! _Splrtchh!_

With impressive reflexes, Ayxal cut through the air with his massive axe, banging the steel against the flying blades and knocking them away with impressive blocking. He winced as blood dripped from his muscular shoulder from where the blade he missed was embedded. He growled and snatched the blade from its wound and threw it in to the ground so that the blade was plunged into the floor.

_Fwoosh!_

Ayxal sprinted forward and leapt with one foot on the up-stuck handle of the embedded blade, using it as a platform to launch himself in the air, axe raised.

_CRRRRRSHHHHHHTTCCCHHHH!_

The Inquisitor glared briefly as he managed to dive his smaller, nimbler body away just in time from being crushed under the axe that smashed into the floor, placing a shattering crater into the floor. Ayxal roared and stomped his huge boot down onto the Inquisitor, who cautiously rolled out of the way before leaping back onto his feet.

The Inquisitor dived forward, blade raised.

_Cling-_CLANG! Per-_Shwiiing! _CLER-_shwing!_

The Inquisitor sliced and swung his blade rapidly, the weapon becoming a sweeping silver blur in the speed he was striking at. Sparks exploded and showered in all directions as Ayxal blocked every attack swiftly with the wide blade of his axe, grunting with effort to keep up with the Inquisitor's blazing speed.

The Inquisitor curled his lip upwards and exposed his teeth, frustrated that he couldn't land a hit. He looked down at his enemy's feet, which were stepping back rapidly with incredible footwork in order keep a swift pace for the battle.

His orange eyes narrowed calculatingly, examining the pattern of the movement of his feet. Something was wrong…

PANG!

Ayxal halted the rapid slices with a swift raise of his axe, tightly lodging the blade's point between the axe's curved blade and its thick handle.

"_HAGH!"  
_He pushed back on it, shoving the Inquisitor back, and quickly flipped his weapon in his hand before slamming the end of the handle into his stomach.

The Inquisitor slid back but absorbed the recoil so that his body halted and leapt over Ayxal, about to perform one of his signature aerial attacks-

_Clamp._

The Inquisitor's eyes widened in sudden fear, as Ayxal reached up and grabbed the surprised boy by his leg and swung him back down to the floor.

_SLAM!_

Rubble and dust were smashed under the Inquisitor's body as he slammed into the ground on his back, face remaining completely calm but eyes darting upwards. Ayxal tossed his axe up and swung it down to cleave the Inquisitor's head in two.

CLANG!

The Inquisitor brought his blade in front of his face just in the last breath of time to block the massive axe-blade, which was so close that the beard of the axe was grazing deeply into his forehead.

As blood trickled down his face, the Inquisitor looked up indifferently with a quiet glare at Ayxal's face.

"Surprised that I caught you off guard, aren't you?" Ayxal sneered from behind his axe. "I've watched you take out more than half of my men with that cheap air-move, where you jump and then take out your opponent with your blade while still in the air. I managed to study your move long enough to adjust my eyes to your speed…and now I can take you out without worrying about being killed by your stupid little tricks!"

_Ker-tting…_

He pressed more of his weight down, grazing the bottom-tip of the axe deeper into his opponent's brow.

The Inquisitor didn't flinch. "Don't let whatever foolish cockiness you've achieved in the last few minutes delude what meager brains you have left. It doesn't matter how often you can corner me into a spot, or find a weak point. The distance between our strengths is like the distance between Solar and the lost planet, Cerinia. You cannot hope to defeat me with your worthless skills….let alone kill me."

"Hah!" Ayxal tightened the grip on his axe. "You're pretty obstinate, aren't you? You're awfully good at disguising your age and your size with those big words of yours. But you don't scare me with your little whispers of manipulation. There's nothing about your speed, weapons and overblown reputation that changes the fact that you're still just a kid! A mere, vulnerable human being. I know for a fact that even a menacing, analytical little prick like you can still bleed. And once I cut your stupid little head open…" _Clank! _He pressed his hand on his axe, digging it deeper. "…everyone else will know too!"

He tore his axe from the limitations of the block and swung it down.

_PHRRRRRRRRRRRZZZZZZZZZZ!_

Ayxal froze, an electric pulse shattering up his leg, blood exploding from it. Time seemed to slow as the shock ran up his bones and shook his body from the inside. Sweat dripped from his forehead, an indescribable sensation of pain drawing from his leg that he hadn't felt in years…a scream absent from his frozen throat…

_Damn it…_ Thoughts blurred briefly in his numbed head. _Not…there…_

The Inquisitor remained on his back, hand still curled around Bernard's severed arm with the electric knuckle still attached, stabbing its sizzling pulsor straight into Ayxal's leg.

"Tch. I knew it."

_SLAM! _SLRRTCH!

Mercilessly kicking Ayxal's stunned body off of him, and leapt onto his feet before slicing him triumphantly across the chest.

"_Gaa-_AARGH…"

Blood exploded from the deep cut across Ayxal's chest, as he fell back to the floor like a rag doll, the axe falling from his senseless hand.

"_No!" _Bernard yelled from across the room, where the other mercenaries were trying to escort him safely. "AYXAL!"

The Inquisitor kicked Ayxal's stunned body so that he was lying on his back, tossing the severed arm away.

"Is that all you had? Tch…what a disappointment." _Thwat! _He swept his blade back, shaking the blood from it and sending splattering to the floor. "It seems that my calculations were correct. You see, I too was watching _your _movements, Ayxal, earlier while I was trying to land a cut on you. And I soon noticed a very particular pattern in your footwork that you've hopelessly tried to conceal: a shift of weight on your right leg. This could only mean one thing…" His orange eyes traveled to Ayxal's leg, which was raw red and bleeding. "… an old wound. An unhealed scar from the Lylat Wars… most likely from a pistol-shot …from three or four years ago, correct?"

Ayxal's eyes widened, his blood running cold with stunned terror.

_How did…how did he…?_

"I told you before, Ayxal…" The Inquisitor's glasses gleamed ominously. "You possess some decent tactical skill…however…" _Huang! _He raised his blade so that the light rippled off of its stainless surface. "…from the beginning, you were no match for me."

Ayxal coughed up some blood, gritting his teeth. "D-Damn…it…_acchhh…."_

_Shwi-SHIIIING!_

"AAAAAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH! _EEGGGHHHH!"_

The Inquisitor stabbed his blade straight into Ayxal's bleeding shoulder, face unmoving remorselessly as he twisted the blade and dug it inside until there was a cracking sound from where the blade drove between the joints of his collarbone. Ayxal screamed and writhed, unable to squirm with the blade pinning his helpless body to the ground.

The Inquisitor's eyes studied him as he struggled agonizingly, his gaze lit with grim and cold satisfaction that his expressionless face didn't show. "Tell me…how does that feel?"

_Trrch! _

The blade dug in deeper, and Ayxal's excruciating and painful screams grew louder.

"It hurts…doesn't it? Makes you wish that you were dead…" The Inquisitor turned away, a hand in his pocket as the other continued to torture the Rottweiler. "Well….you'd better learn to love that feeling…because it's going to seem like the loveliest feeling in the world compared to all the infliction you'll receive in the Abyss of the next world."

Ayxal coughed up some blood and weakly rose himself with his other arm. He looked up feebly out the massive ship window, watching small explosions in the distance.

_What?_

With horrible realization, he saw that the small explosions outside were the remnants of the escape pods….all the people he had tried to save, all those divided families…innocent people with the desperate hope of escaping to freedom…being blown to bits in the cold drifts of space by the _Peacekeeper's _laser cannons.

Boiling anger and frustrated mournfulness rose inside Ayxal's weak body. "Damn it, you…YOU MISERABLE SNIVELING BASTARD!" He was too weak to turn around and face the Inquisitor, but kept his gaze on the massacre in the distance, each explosion filling him with more enraged anguish. "How loathsome could you possibly be? Feel might damn proud of yourself, don't you…killing off hundreds of innocent people that have done nothing to deserve it! You don't even have the nerve to kill them yourselves! You just destroy them from a distance and watch! If there's any real justice, you'll rot in a miserable hole in hell!"

The Inquisitor raised his eyebrows, almost amused. _"Me? _Burn in hell? How absurd…"

"SHUT UP!" Ayxal roared. "You worthless coward! How dare you sit there, swallowed up by your own inhumane principles and still defend them? How the hell did some messed-up kid like you gain power, and more importantly _why are you doing this? _What kind of fucking freak are you? What fucked-up, twisted will of fate made you like this? What, did your parents rape you at birth, or something? Were you neglected? Why the hell are you taking out whatever happened to you on the rest of the world? You're nothing but a cold-blooded killer! A rotting insect too foul to know anything about human compassion or mercy! You know nothing about how people suffer, what they sacrifice…all you know is to stain your hands with the blood of the newborn and children like a coward! You know nothing of being human, you're not even human yourself! You don't have a heart or soul in that filthy body of yours, just hate and bloodlust and merciless-"

_THUMP!_

The Inquisitor's hand snatched at Ayxal's throat with blazing speed, slamming him against the window and hoisting him up till his feet dangled, his hand shaking as it brought him up to face him. The Inquisitor looked livid with rage, his young expressionless face transformed into a terrible mask of twisted fury and hatred that was to horrible for someone so young, his orange eyes blazing with flames of rage, teeth bared to expose horribly-long fangs too big for his face.

"_**SILENCE! **__How dare you question my soul and humanity, you pathetic filth! _You dare talk to _me _about the evils of the world, to _me _about savagery? _You wouldn't _DARE _talk to me about humanity or the goodness of the world if you'd known how much I've lost! You know _NOTHING _about the sacrifices I've made! The things I've lost! The wounds I've suffered from this horrible world! You're just a _THING! _You know _NOTHING _of despair, or loss, or anything that destroys a human being! You know _NOTHING_ about me or where I come from or all that I've endured! How could you know what it's like to live a living nightmare everyday of your life? To be constantly wishing every day of your living life to be dead, to end the pain that the cold cruelty of fate thrusts upon you! You don't know anything about losing everything dear to you, wishing to end your own life, to walk around the edges of the abyss while desperately dying to leap inside! To live in a world that's filled with decaying cockroaches like you that demolish everything based on ignorance and greed! To be willing to give every drop of blood, ounce of flesh, and dust of bone to get back what you've lost! _**NO, YOU DON'T! YOU KNOW NOTHING! YOU **_**ARE **_**NOTHING! YOU DETESTABLE PARASITE-RIDDEN PIECE OF FILTH!"**

Ayxal cowered, both terrified and stunned to see someone as calm and sophisticated as the Inquisitor to lose his temper and blow up like this. The Inquisitor stood staring at him, seething through his vicious teeth, before reverting his eyes to their calm, cold state and straightening his suit, hat and fur that had come out of place, resuming his expressionless stature.

"But I suppose it's too much to expect someone as low and vile as you to understand….barely being human yourself."

_SHWA-SHIIIING!_

There was a flash of silver and a spray of blood, as the Inquisitor turned around and retracted the long blade back into his sleeve, Ayxal's head falling to his feet.

"_AAAAYXAAAAL!" _Bernard screamed, and desperately tried to wriggle free from the other mercenaries' grasp.

The Inquisitor gave a detested glance at Ayxal's body before it hit the ground, the rage inside of him not cooled down yet. He straightened his glasses, trying to exhale temperedly.

"_HUAAAAAGGH!"_

SLAAAAM!

With a roar of unpredictable and sudden fury, the Inquisitor spun around and aimed a savage kick at the decapitated body, the impact of the powerful strike so hard that a small, bursting distorted shockwave pulsed from the spot where his foot hit the corpse. The impact sent the body flying like an air-borne torpedo straight at the glass window.

_SHATARRARER!_

_**SHWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

The glass shattered into millions of gleaming and flying shards, the windows destruction opening up the interior out into the anti-gravitational pull and sucking everything out into space. Intense winds sucked everything from blood to bodies, and glass to debris out into the cold reaches of space. The mercenaries screamed as they tried to grab onto something to prevent themselves from being sucked out, clutching door switches and wall-gaps as they dangled above the ground by their feet, the winds pulling at them. Bernard grabbed onto the wires of the shattered door-switch, hanging desperately with his only arm.

The Inquisitor stood with his feet rooted in the spot with impossible balance, just inches away from the wind-torn window, not budging as the winds tore through the room.

Suddenly, various screams echoed across the room and were caught in the intense wind's screech as less fortunate mercenaries lost hold and flew out the window like dry leaves and were thrown out into the cold, dark depths of space.

Bernard watched in disbelief as granite and glass flew past the Inquisitor's unchanged face as he looked out the destroyed window, his cloak-like coat billowing in the intense wind. More and more objects flew past him, their reflection flashing across his glasses as he stared out into the muddled confusion of distorted space ahead.

_Without a soul, am I?_

His eyes shot open, burning with rage. The fury from what Ayxal had called him still rang in his ears like a tormenting knell.

His ears twitched at the sound of screams from the soldiers that flew past him, being sucked out the window by the mercilessly drawing winds of deep space.

_Shwa-THANG!_

The blade retracted back into his sleeve. He clenched his fist, his stare piercing into the starry space ahead, the explosions in the distance reflecting across the surface of his glasses.

_These scum dare try to accuse me….to judge me…_

_When they're nothing but corrupt, sinning fools themselves…_

_The only reason scum like them survive this long is because they rely on the mercy of the world…_

_They don't fear punishment…because they can always come back tomorrow and poison the galaxy with their presence…to corrupt it even after I've tried to perfect it…_

_They don't fear the law…because they don't know what fear is…_

…_not yet…_

More and more mercenaries flew out into space, the gusts flinging them out until they remained still and drifted away…

The Inquisitor turned slowly and eyed the bunch of mercenaries that had managed to hold on to the room and fight the intense winds of the exterior suction.

_And they'll keep coming, like a virus, no matter how many I destroy…_

FWOOOSH!

He turned around at the sound. Outside the window, hovering just a few feet away was a Cornerian Ship, most likely sent by the mercenaries at the top deck to escort the escape pods safely. As the ships' headlights streamed over and caught sight of the Inquisitor, the ship's laser cannons tilted into place, taking aim…

The Inquisitor looked up into the blinding white light with his indifferent, cold glare.

_KER-SHOOM! KER-SHOOM!_

Green laser blasts exploded past the Inquisitor as the ship fired its laser cannons in his direction, just barely missing him.

_They don't deserve to die…._

He spread his arms back.

_They deserve to suffer…like I've suffered!_

Swerr-ANG! _Shwirr-ING!_

Spiraling chains shot out from the inside of both of the Inquisitor's sleeves, with large scythe-like blade attached to each end.

_Fwoosh!_

The Inquisitor dashed forward, the intense winds flapping his black coat and sending a ripple through his fur. He swung both chains back and thrust them straight at the ship ahead.

CHAAAAANK!

The scythe-blades tore through the ship's tough, steel-enforced hull, sinking their silver fang-like points through the ship's exterior. He grabbed onto the chains that slid from his sleeve's inside, and pulled it forward.

_RRRRRRRR!_

The mercenaries watched in terrified disbelief as the Inquisitor hauled the ship inside with impossible strength with his long chains, swerving it out of the pilot's control so that its laser cannons fired around aimlessly.

_KER-SHOOOM! KER-SHOOM!_

Dogs clutching the ground screamed as the blasts hit the floor and scorched them in a burning volley of laser-fire, sending their flaming corpses off the ground and flying past the Inquisitor, before being sucked out the window.

_KRRRRSSSHHHHH!_

Sparks and wall fragments crumbled off the scorched walls as the swerving ship was dragged across the wall of the room and farther inside the room-right above the mercenaries that still clung to the ground.

They looked up in terror and cowered as the ship's shadow passed over them, looking at the Inquisitor who held it above them like a guillotine about to be released. Their gazes widened as they realized what was about to happen…what he was about to do…

They screamed cries of desperate pleas for mercy.

"NO, PLEASE, _DON'T!"_

"I'M BEGGING YOU! DON'T KILL ME-!"

"_FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, HAVE MERCY, PLEAAASE!"_

The boy's icy gaze stared down mercilessly on the tear-stained faces of the grown men that were pitifully cowering before him, pleading with every sob of emotion for their lives to be spared. They all looked at him desperately, hoping for the smallest amount of humanity, of mercy….

But not a fragment of human warmth or kindness shown in the seemingly lifeless eyes of the Inquisitor. His gaze was cold and pitiless, his heart and soul iron and unforgiving as the grazing steel of an executioner's axe, his face expressionless and callous for someone so young, his sneer harsh and unsympathetic at the pitiful souls whose lives he held. There was no kindle of compromise in his iron will, no light of forgiveness in his heartless gaze, no pity in his gesture of self-proclaimed justice…

"Repulsive vermin. The likes of you don't deserve the luxury of death….only the rightful punishment of being destroyed!"

_!_

The nose of the ship plummeted down on the helpless mass of mercenaries, their faces buried under the dented metal and steel outer-shell of the ship. A pulsing shockwave blew across the room, sweeping up the hull the ship and twisting the creaking metal until it shattered completely. A mess of flames and whirling explosive inferno tore out of the ship and blew heaps of ashy debris and flaming shards of metal all over the room. Patches of dust flew up and buried the ground with ash and smoke, flames uprooting from cracked craters riveted through the floor. The flaming ship stood up for a moment before toppling over and exploding in a crackling repulse of flames that shot upwards into the air, the glass windows bending loose and shattering into a spray of shards. Flames engulfed the wreckage, screams of all the crushed and burning men underneath drowned out by the explosions and crackling of flames.

_CLAAANK!_

The emergency air-shaft shield closed over the open window, and the hurling wind from the outside was shut out.

Finally, all was silent. Flecks of ash and flickering embers billowed in the wind, heaps of cracked debris crumbling silently with a veil of swirling smoke over the room.

Bernard had barely managed to survive, having been out of the falling ship's wake. He was lying on his back, his clothes scorched from the explosion, but not wounded anywhere on his body. He huddled there, eyes shut with fear, feeling more alone and frightened than he had ever been.

_Oh God…_

_I can still hear them…_

_I can still see them burning…_

He whimpered out loud as he clutched the raw stump at his left shoulder, wincing painfully, tears trickling down his face.

_Ayxal's dead…_

_They're all dead…_

_W-who….who the hell….is he….?_

His heart raced, blood churning so fast that he felt sick with terror.

He wanted to go home…he wanted to be with his parents…his mom, whose comfort he neglected….his dad, who he argued with constantly…

The young Husky sobbed, as he curled away in pain-ridden anguish.

He wanted to be away from here…away from those horrible bodies…burnt up corpses….blood-curdling screams…and…

…_him._

Those horrible orange eyes flickered in Bernard's mind as he shuddered and huddled away.

Finally, he managed to gather the last strand of courage in his mangled body and opened his eyes.

He gasped and recoiled with horror as soon as he looked.

The ship was still crashed in the middle of the room, up in massive, heaping flames. All the floor fragments were upturned and twisted, craters dotting the area around it. But what was horrifying was what was underneath the twisted metal remnant of the ship.

Sweat dripped down Bernard's brow, his heart choked up into a terrified pulp. Fear was wrapped around him like a coiling mist. His breath was broken up into shivers of deprived breath and terrified sobs or horror. His mind and eyes were numbingly fixed….his body wouldn't move…

Sticking out of the bottom, where flaming ship met the ground, hundreds of arms peeked from underneath the wreckage, their bodies crushed and burnt from underneath. By some dreadful miracle, all the hands were still raised, hands outstretched. But there was no uniform or fur to veil these arms. The flames wafted around them and had already eaten away at their flesh, until only black, charred skeletal arms stuck out from underneath.

The Inquisitor's dark silhouette stood before the massive wreckage and atop a mountain of debris and cracked rock, his cloak-like coat fluttering in the wind, with the flickering embers floating past his black suit and fedora. The mass of burnt skeletal arms near his feet looked like they were reaching up to him, as if pleading for mercy even in death. But he stood remorselessly at the edge of the massive wreckage, the flaming ship serving as their final tomb. The sparks and flames flickered across his glasses as he stared into the embers of his victims' grave with his merciless stare.

Bernard hobbled back in terror.

_Oh God…OH GOD…._

_He's killed them all…_

_He's no child…he's no human…_

_Damn it…what kind of a monster is he? _

He rose himself weakly, nursing his arm stump that gushed open painfully with his every movement.

Tink.

Bernard's heart almost stopped. Shaking in terror, he looked down and saw that his legs that dragged across the floor as he crawled back had nudged a heap of shattered glass.

The Inquisitor's ears twitched at the small sound. His head shot around, and he fixed his illuminated orange eyes on Bernard, fist clenched.

Bernard eyes widened, his breath bottled up in his throat so that he couldn't choke another sob. His heart-rate was beating so quickly…

_Oh God…he's seen me…_

_He's after me….he's going to kill me…_

_Like _them_!_

He looked around in horror, at the wreckage ahead. A nightmarish mess of burning flesh and splattered blood surrounded the spot where the hull was rammed into the cracked ground, heads deformed to flaming skulls around the room.

He screamed in terror and hobbled back on his legs, his good arm supporting his crawl, unable to tear his gaze away from the Inquisitor in front of him.

The Inquisitor regarded him with his glasses. Then, he took a step forward…

_Clunk. Clunk. _

Bernard crawled back rapidly, sweat drenching his face and hot springs of tears streaming down his battered cheeks. His heart was at his throat, his mind racing with desperate panic and fear, until-

Thwat!

He flinched and whimpered a scream-like sob as his back hit something. His good arm felt around behind him before he felt the lined surface of a slide door.

_Clunk. Clunk._

His blood churned into a rippling wave of sickness as he reached around desperately for the switch….until a cold feeling a dread hit him like icy water when his fingers touched the ominous and unmistakable feeling of dangling wires.

The switch had been torn loose from earlier. The door was barred.

_Clunk. Clunk._

Bernard choked out a sob and huddled in the spot, weeping in fear like a child alone in the dark, trapped….helpless…

_He's going to kill me…_

_He's going to destroy me like the others!_

_I don't want to die…not at his hands….not be killed by him!_

He looked up and his blood ran even colder, as the Inquisitor was edging closer with every step.

_GOD…I DON'T WANT TO DIE LIKE THIS!_

The tears sprang from his face as he backed up against the wall as he came nearer, his heart pounding like an avalanche, his mind fixed with horrible images and fears of how the Inquisitor would kill him…

Slowly…and painfully…

Then, an idea hit him. A horrible, terrifying, insane idea. Bernard suddenly felt excruciatingly sick as he thought about it, his hand shaking and buzzing on the inside as it reached for his holster.

_I'll take anything…_

The tears dripped from his face and into his lap…

_I'll take any death but this! I don't want to die slowly, I don't want to die with every ounce of pain drawn from my body! He'll rip me apart…and put me back together…and tear me up again…and again…he'll torture me until I wish I had done this!_

He unhinged the cover of his holster and drew out his blaster pistol, his arm shaking, his heart racing…

_Clunk. Clunk._

The young, terrified husky raised the gun shakily, pressing the cold and sickeningly hard barrel against his sweat-drenched head.

The Inquisitor kept walking forward, his expression without emotion, without mercy…

Every voice from every sense inside Bernard screamed for him to pull the trigger. It would be fast…it would be over instantly…all he had to do was move his finger just a little…

_Clunk. Clunk._

Bernard's hand shook, the gun feeling colder against his fur. Do it, he told himself. It would be much less painful than being cut up into pieces, or having his flesh torn and his bones split.

But nothing could make him do it. His finger wouldn't move…his senses were bleak and unresponsive…he was dead already with fear…

_Clunk. Clunk._

The sound of the Inquisitor's footsteps woke Bernard from his trance. The fear gripped him, and the fear-shattered fragments of his mind were made up…..he was more afraid of the Inquisitor than he was of dying.

The Inquisitor was close…so dangerously close…

Bernard shut his eyes….he bit his tongue…he curled his tail. Every joint and muscle in his body scrunched up with anticipated terror as his sweaty finger shook the trigger…

_Clunk!_

The closeness of the noise made Bernard squeak and his finger pulled the trigger.

Click.

Bernard's heart stopped.

_No…_

He desperately fingered the trigger, his mind rushing with horror and body freezing completely…

Click. Click. Click.

_No…_no…_NO…NOOOO!_

Tears exploded from his eyes as his shaking fingers became so numb that he absentmindedly dropped the empty pistol.

_Clunk. Clunk._

The Inquisitor was a yard away. He seemed far taller now that Bernard was on the floor, his menacing form becoming more terrifying with every closer inch he drew nearer…

Bernard shut his eyes tight and cried in the spot, rocking back and forth with small whines and sobs…

_God…_

_God, please…_

_If there's a God…please…_

_Please, kill me!_

_Kill me somehow! Kill me!_

_Break my bones, split my skull, stop my heart…I don't care, just kill me!_

Clunk. Clunk.

He cried harder….he rocked faster…

_Please, God, kill me…kill me quickly…I'll do anything, please, just grant me this one prayer…just kill me, kill me before he gets here, PLEASE!_

Clunk! Clunk!

_PLEASE! PLEASE, GOD, KILL ME BEFORE HE GETS HERE, PLEASE! HE'S COMING CLOSER, KILL ME QUICKLY! HURRY! HURRY!_

Clunk! Clunk!

_KILL ME! KILL ME! PLEASE, GOD, KILL ME NOW! JUST END IT RIGHT HERE, BEFORE HE….__**HE'S COMING CLOSER! PLEASE, GOD KILL ME! HURRY! HURRY, AND KILL ME! KILL ME! PLEASE! **_

_**KILL ME! KILL ME!**_

SLAAAAM!

Bernard let out a blood-curdling scream from his terrified and sobbed out throat, petrified with terror with his face drenched from tears, as the Inquisitor grabbed him by the throat and hoisted him up to his level. The husky stared into the Inquisitor's face, his pale orange eyes piercing through his mind and soul from behind those glasses…his iron gloved-grip clenched around the dog's throat, the cross dangling from his neck gleaming in the firelight…

The young boy stared down pitilessly as the trembling man twice his age recoiled and cowered in fear at the sight of him, his demonic gaze blazing through him. No matter how neatly he kept himself, no matter how professionally he acted, and no matter how much he tried to avoid being stained by the blood he detested…he could not conceal the presence of the countless dead in his wake…or the stains of their blood on his hands.

Bernard looked up into his cold, unfeeling face, whimpering and sobbing, unable to think.

"Silence," The Inquisitor snapped.

Bernard choked his sobs obediently, a small whimper escaping his throat now and then.

"Now…" The Inquisitor straightened his glasses professionally. "I'll try this again. You will tell me who you're commander is, and where to find him…."

SNAAAK!

He flung his arm up and wrenched back the long chain from his sleeve, which was still attached to the under-belly of the blazing ship across the room, an object hanging off the blade. As the chain disappeared into his sleeve, and object landed in his hand.

Bernard recoiled and let out a choked scream.

It was a dog's skull.

The Inquisitor's eyes sparked with merciless flames. "…and try not to lie to me."

_KRRNCH!_

The skull shattered into pieces as he closed his gloved hand around it and crushed itwith his effortless and terrible grip.

_Command Deck of the (now-battered) _Anatarres

BLAAAM!

The door exploded off its hinges and flew across the scraped ground, as dozens of bruised and panting mercenary veterans flooded through the door and scurried throughout the room.

Captain Nelson, the senior Doberman that commanded the ship, winced as he wiped blood from his brow before barking to a dog near him.

"Barricade that door, _now!"_

A bull terrier with a gash on his face and cuts on his neck lifted up a slab of granite and heaved it up against the wall with a grunt.

The bunch of mercenaries spread out and collapsed with battle-weary exhaustion all around the room, which was rummaged and wrecked with upturned tables and smashed terminals. Outside the window, lasers flashed and explosions rumbled in the distance from the pounding of the _Peacekeeper's _laser cannons.

Nelson reloaded his PF-R9 Heavy Plasma-Rifle, and shouted a command to his companion, a furry Staffordshire Terrier. "Hey, Corporal! Group status report!"

The Corporal leaned on his Homing Launcher, catching his breath. "12 alive, 6 wounded..." He turned his face darkly. "…and fourteen dead, sir."

"Fourteen…dammit…" _Klak! _He pulled back the barrel of his blaster and muttered in frustration. "Where the hell did that ambush of Agents come from? They caught us completely off guard…" He looked around at the wounded mercenaries. "Alright, men! Reload and attend to wounds."

As the single, busy medic rushed around the room with bandages and useless words of comfort, Nelson sat down and wiped more sweat and blood from his brow.

The Main Command Room had been completely destroyed. Liberators had arrived by the dozens and had detonated the room with Ionic Re-Shock grenades and had ripped them apart with those deadly carbines. They had just managed to escape and thought that they'd had their share of slaughter….at least until they were ambushed by a group of Agents. That was when they remembered what slaughter was.

He glanced with discomfort at the raining green lasers outside that blasted against the ship's crumbling hull. They were outnumbered beyond belief…and the ship was falling apart… There was no escaping this one.

But he remembered how many refugees and families they had managed to get off the ship, and he realized it was all worth it. The mercenaries themselves would probably never leave this ship alive, himself included, but their lives would grant new ones, and that was enough.

He glanced at the Terrier. "Corporal, get your sonar-scanning radar out and check for any enemies in the radius. We don't need any more surprises."

"Roger that, Captain." The dog slung out his chrome radar and clicked the blue holographic search mode on.

The Doberman glanced around the room. "Hey, have any of you received any word from Ayxal and Bernard down at the Escape Pod Bay?"

The Bull Terrier shook his head. "Negative, sir."

"Crap… I got a comm. report from them half an hour ago….they said they were almost finished. I sure hope they haven't run into any of that scum…."

The Corporal blinked as he scanned the radar. "Captain, something's wrong here…"

Nelson turned to him. "What'd you pick up? Nothing in our radar?"

"No, not a thing, sir. That's just the point. Look!" He pointed at the holographic grids that represented levels of the ship. "There aren't any enemy readings on floors A, B, or C of the _Anatarres's _main sector. There isn't a single enemy aboard the ship!"

"What?" Nelson snatched the radar and examined it. He squinted confusedly. "Damn, you're right…they're all gone! They must've received orders to head back to their ship. But…._why? _There's no way they retreated…why the hell would they storm our ship only to suddenly leave it…and remove their troops?"

Then the two dogs looked at each other with the same horrible thought, eyes widening.

Suddenly, a silence seemed to drift across the room. For a moment, everyone looked around to see what had changed and why it was so quiet. Then they looked outside, and it hit them.

The laser turrets had stopped firing.

Á mercenary in the back looked around, trying to hide the panic in his voice. "What…What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know! I-" Then Nelson froze in mid-sentence and stood up.

The Terrier looked at him alertly. "Captain! What is it?"

Nelson placed a finger on his ear-piece. "There's static….I'm receiving a message on comm. It's…"

A dog near the window touched his comm. "Hey, I'm getting it too!"

"Mine, too!"

More mercenaries fumbled their comm.'s out or tapped their ear-pieces.

_Krr-zeewom!_

The static buzzed in Nelson's ear until a voice came through.

"_So you avoided my ship's cannons, my Liberator Force, and my Agents…you deserve much commemoration for your cowardly evasion…but I'm afraid this tiresome chase ends here."_

Nelson was about to respond to the message before his canine ears picked up a rising and lowering in the static's sonar pattern. He realized that this wasn't a live communications line….but a recording. And judging by the message's airwave signature, it was coming from the ship above them, which could only mean one thing….

All thedogs looked at each other with fear. The blood drained from Nelson's face as he stood there, petrified.

It was the Inquisitor's voice.

"_On normal circumstances, whenever I encounter a criminal vessel, I don't take the time or effort to board the ship and exterminate the passengers personally…but on this occasion, I was in search of a target who had managed to escape from my grasp. But seeing how he is not on this ship, there is no motivation for me to hold back its destruction. Everyone aboard this ship is about to receive the lawful punishment as well as the divine punishment for the laws they've broken as well as the sins they have committed. And for you doomed souls on the Main Command Deck…and Captain Nelson as well…."_

Nelson paled as all the mercenaries looked at him with shock.

"…_you will die…not only with the knowledge of that you've failed to save your own lives, but the illegal immigrants and refugees you foolishly tried to harbor as well. Yes…they're still aboard this ship. The few heathen filth that didn't get blasted in their escape pods are captured and imprisoned in the cells of this ship, soon to be executed along with the rest of you."_

SLAM!

Nelson smashed his aggravated fist on one of the broken terminals, his face a twisted expression of torn anguish.

"_No! _NO!" He screamed, enraged and wounded tears shimmering in his eyes.

"_You will spend the remainder of your wasted lives wallowing in the self-pity and shame, that you meaninglessly tried to oppose me, as well as the laws set by God. But you all will receive somewhat of an honor…to be destroyed by the weapon you've only heard about. Not that I care if you see it now…you won't live to spill any secrets about the weapon's identity to anyone. The galaxy will learn from the dust of your charred corpses, what happens how defiance, sin and crime is punished. Let this day be dreaded by man and ghost alike….let our weapon sweep across the black depths of Lylat like a razor…let it claim the flesh of the damned like guillotine of the Reaper himself….let it transcend your unholy bodies into the flames of this world….and the next! Let the men die…let the women burn…the infants decay…and the sinful be slaughtered! _

_May the Lord have mercy on your soul in this life…for you shall receive none in this one. Captain! Prepare all maneuvers for targeting enemy craft! Commence with the destruction of the _Anatarres._"_

Another voice buzzed on the recording. _"Yes, sir."_

_KRZZZZ!_

The record buzzed out. All was silent.

"_HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGHHHHH!"_

The other mercenaries watched in disbelief as Nelson tore off his ear-piece and flung it on the ground, smashing it into a sizzling heap of shattered plastic. Then, the Captain collapsed on his knees and sobbed miserably, hot tears of shame springing down his face as he screamed in anguish.

A sympathetic dog touched his shoulder. "Captain…" He looked at Nelson and back at the other anguished mercenaries, not knowing what to do.

"_It's my fault…" _Nelson sobbed as he held his face in his hands. "I've doomed everyone on this ship… every man, woman, and child…all of you…everyone will die because of how much of a stubborn fool I was…"

"S-Sir…" Everyone turned to see a petrified dog pointing at the window.

Everyone looked at the window.

The _Peacekeeper _had flown past them and had drifted around so that the massive ship faced the _Anatarres. _As their small ship stared into the massive abyss of technological exterior and spine-like laser artillery, ship began to shake. The deck rumbled underneath the mercenaries' feet. The window-panes vibrated, the metal composite of the ship's exterior plating creaked with the screech of rusty steel scraping the iron hull.

_RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMMMMM…._

Suddenly, steam started to coil from the _Peacekeeper's_ hull, a wall of smoke forming right down the middle of the ship's massive nose. Small fissures started to form down the middle, as slowly with echoing creaks and the noises of hatches being unlocked and clicking apart, a linear chasm appeared down the middle of the ship's nose. The chasm opened like a massive mouth opening vertically with its jaws opening from side to side rather than top to bottom, the spinal turrets lining the hull resembling lines of teeth. It was then that the mercenaries realized with a terrified chill down their spines that a canyon-sized chasm wasn't appearing on the nose of the ship. _The nose of the ship was splitting apart…_

As nose opened up like a flower reacting to sunlight, the mercenaries stared inside to find complete darkness. No illuminated windows, no technical lights, no laser armaments, nothing. Until….

_WMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!_

Suddenly, massive objects uncurled out of the chasm, almost as big as the ship's wings. The dogs cowered as a huge shadow veiled an ominous and chilling darkness over the tiny ship, until it became visible:

Three huge claw-shaped metal structures of a massive laser cannon.

Nelson's terrified face disappeared under the darkness, his lips barely moving.

_FMMMMMMMMM!_

A blinding pink light shone from the center of the massive claw-like cannon, as an orb of white light revolved in the middle while the huge claws revolved around it. The pink light started hum and pulse, streams of radiant, glowing energy particles caressing off of it like space-borne embers. The energy reactor in the center began to glow brighter and grow larger, turning into a miniature, rose-colored sun.

The light illuminated Nelson's frozen face.

"God….help us…."

_Meanwhile, aboard a small shuttle nearby…._

_SHER-OOOOOM! SHR-OOOOM!_

Laser blasts grazed the wings and smoldering hull of the slow shuttle, as the laser-cannons of the _Peacekeeper _just barely missed the ship.

"Damn it! Can't this thing go any faster?" Wolf snapped in frustration as he tapped holographic buttons on the ship's controls.

"Stop yelling at me, will you? I didn't build the freaking thing!" Leon shouted in an exasperated voice. "Besides, it's a shuttle, not a Goddamn starfighter, so excuse me if it doesn't run at Wolfen speed!"

"Well, at this rate the engines will exhaust and we're gonna slow down, and our chances of escaping will be deader than shit!"

Leon turned around from his pilot's chair to give Wolf the evil eye. "Fine! You wanna complain? _You _can maneuver the ship while _I _manage the hyperdrive!"

Wolf scowled at him, mouth open for an angry retort, but said nothing.

"Alright, fine. Put it on auto-pilot so we can switch."

Leon pulled tapped the green auto-pilot button and got up, plopping himself down at the hyperdrive controls. Wolf sat down and grabbed the shuttle's navigational lever and maneuvering pad.

"Wolf, our shields aren't looking so good. They've already depleted to yellow zone…your pilot skills better not have rusted after all these years!"

Wolf's eyes darted all around the window. "If we had a decent ship, I'd be able to get us out of here piloting like Slippy. _Damn it!" _He suddenly swerved the ship as a laser-blast exploded above the main wing, just barely escaping the laser's heat. "I don't know how far we're gonna get with faulty engines and a low shield-rate!"

"Wait a minute…" Leon tapped a blue screen on the side of the radar. "Our booster engines are still intact. We can make a jump into light speed if we time it right!"

Wolf mopped sweat from his brow as he glanced outside the window. "No…save those. One jump will cost us the rest of our fuel… we'll use it at the opportune moment…"

Leon grumbled as he turned the transmissions knob. "Yeah, well, define the 'opportune moment'… a shuttle this small won't be able to outrun a cruiser that big. We're not at such great odds here!"

"I've had worse…" Wolf gripped the pilot's lever tightly. "And anyway, we haven't lost anything important yet."

SHRA-SHOOOOOOM!

Both Wolf and Leon grabbed onto their controls as the entire ship shook, red lights blinking all over the controls. There was an ominous metallic clang, and a flaming mass of metal that was once the third wing of the ship swerved past them and drifted into space.

"SHIT!" Wolf slammed his thumb on the accelerator button and the engines ignited as they sped up, but lurched awkwardly at the loss of the wing.

Leon clasped his face. "I think we lost something…"

"Shut it!" Wolf snapped angrily. "You're not helping!"

"Hey, I always told you not to boast your luck! Saying stuff like that is jinxed!"

"How the hell was I supposed to-wait, SHH!" Wolf's ears perked up alertly. "Listen…"

Leon looked up at the roof of the cockpit, listening for anything.

"The laser cannons have stopped firing…"

Wolf checked the radar. "We're not out of range…what's going on?"

Leon's eyes furrowed at the blinking tele-comm. system. "I'm picking up a large energy reading from the other ship…they must have stopped firing the cannons to donate more energy to something else…"

"To what?" Wolf cranked his neck and looked outside the corner of the cockpit window, the _Peacekeeper _just barely in view.

Suddenly, his eyes widened, fur standing on end. The sight that greeted his eyes with haunting nostalgia was a terribly familiar sight…

_No…_

_It…it can't be…_

_It still exists…after all these years…?_

"Wolf, what is it?" Leon looked out the window. Then his electric-blue eyes grew huge. "Oh my…_God…._what the hell is that?"

But Wolf knew exactly what it was…

His memory still remembered when he last saw it…when he had _both _eyes...

A dark reminder that sent him back to that tragic night eight years ago…

"Leon…I've seen that thing before…"

Leon looked at him incredulously. "You have? When?"

"Years ago…when I was sixteen. It's the same device that destroyed Cerinia…" His fists clenched, eyes locked on the massive object. "It's the Planet Disruptor."

Leon gaped at him. "The Planet Disruptor…? Are you sure?"

Wolf looked at the massive, claw-like cannon, reminiscing darkly when he first saw it…seeing it destroy Cerinia…. trapped in the cockpit of the stolen Arwing prototype… feeling helpless, just like he did now…

"Yes…" The pink light reflected in his eye. "It's definitely the same one…."

_Shit…._

_How does it still exist…?_

_I remember…it was on a different ship when I first saw it…_

_It used to be in Andross's possession…so do these people have anything to do with him…?_

_Wait….no…_

_He would have definitely still had it with him when I saw him….so it's in different hands now…_

_It all makes sense now…whoever is in control of that ship, the true master of the Lylat System….he's using that as the weapon…to force Lylat to his will…_

_No wonder the other planets fear him…he has the power to blow them to bits…_

His eyes darted from the _Peacekeeper _to the other ship in its path.

_What's he trying to do with it….?_

Then his eyes widened.

"Leon, we've got to get out of here, NOW!" He turned to him alertly, his heart racing rapidly.

"Why? What's that thing going to do?"

Wolf grabbed him by the shoulders. "Don't question me right now, Leon, just help me steer this thing! If that cannon fires on the other ship and we're in its radius, the energy's going to be enough to disintegrate anything within twenty parsecs, including us! Now, GO!"

Leon rushed to his seat. "Alright, alright….damn…" His now-sweating face turned to the navicomputer. "We need to make a jump, but we need to chart a course first! Where are we going?"

"_Anywhere! _Just look for what's local on the star map and plot a course for it!" Wolf steered the ship faster and faster away, his head whirling back now and then at the window. "Somewhere where we can lay low for a bit, just anywhere but here!"

Leon tapped some buttons and scanned the navicomputer's holographic map. "Damn it…where we are in the sector, we're too far from any planets to land on!"

"What's the closest one?" Wolf asked frantically."

A holographic planet appeared on the solar grid, and Leon cursed. "The closest one is Aquas…but that's two hundred parsecs! With are fuel supply, we'd never make it!"

Wolf gritted his teeth, his eyes fixed on the window. "Shit…shit! At this rate…even if we clear the radius of that thing's fire, those bastards will catch up with us, and…" Then his eyes flashed with determination. "NO! I'm not going back into another cage…I'm not being captured again! Not by them, not by Andross, not by anyone! Keep looking, Leon! Just…just…" He shut his eyes and seethed in frustration, feeling trapped…and cornered like an animal.

Leon's face lit up. "Hey…wait! I'm picking up a nova signature…there's something nearby…"

Wolf turned, heart rising with hope. "What is it?"

"It…it's a warp zone…but…" His look of hopefulness melted. "It's too small…"

"Too small? What do you mean?"

"I mean it doesn't look like it functions with the same density as the warp tunnels in Sector X or Meteo…its composite particles are tightly fixed, and its pathway looks treacherous…if anything bigger than an Arwing travels in there, the density would be like going through a wormhole…the tightness of tunnel could crush the shuttle and blow it to bits!"

Wolf's heart sank, his last hopes of escape smoldering with painful doubt. He knew Leon was right….they'd never make it.

_Damn it…_

_If we stay…we're dead…if we escape, we're dead…_

_This is bullshit….it's almost like all the odds have decided to crumble down on me…_

_I've got no way out of this one…_

_Crap…all that running….all that attempt to escape from that prison…all those answers from Andross…the sacrifices of those people on board the ship…Leon getting hurt…my Inner Power failing…_

_It was all for nothing…_

"Wolf….what do we do?" Leon looked at him desperately.

But this time, the supposed Leader had nothing to say…no orders to issue…no decision of any kind.

Then his eyes shot open.

"Prep the ship for maximum damage… we're entering the warp tunnel."

Leon's eyes widened. "But, Wolf…it's too-"

Wolf tapped buttons on the controls, racking his mind for a strategy. "Keep your control on the booster engines. We'll save the jump for when we enter the warp zone, and when we do, we'll ignite the engines. That way we'll speed faster through the tunnel, so the pressure won't be able to crush us and it'll be forced to let us through. We'll suffer a lot of damage alright, but we'll get through."

"Wolf…I…I don't know…we don't even know where the warp will take us…" Leon looked doubtful.

"If we stay, we're as good as dead," Wolf said with a glare at the ship out the window, which was now a good distance from them. "If they capture us, they'll lock us in that Denique Fatum place…and I'll take the risk of death over rotting for the rest of my life in that hellhole. There's a good chance we won't make it out…but it's our only hope for escape."

Leon looked at Wolf, and then looked at the ship outside. He sighed reluctantly. "Alright…but you better be sure about this."

"I'm never sure about anything," Wolf answered, steering the ship forward. "But it hasn't killed me yet. Now keep your eyes on the hyperdrive, and wait till we're ready to boost."

Just then, a blinding light illuminated the entire outside of space.

Both Wolf and Leon turned away to prevent their eyes to be blinded from the intense light. Neither of the yelled or screamed, for at that moment, when the blast outside occurred, all sound was drawn for a brief moment of deadly silence, before…

_**!**_

From inside the massive, claw-like cannon, a huge pinkish-white beam blasted into a singular, linear, massive beam that drew out like a massive white finger. The impact against the anti-gravitational space around them sent streams of light waving in all directions, making it look like the flowing nebula aftermath of a repulsing supernova. Bits of torched matter streamed and sparkled like embers out in space, as the massive beam hovered above its doomed target ship, rather than clashing against it like a normal shot would have done.

_!_

The claw-like cannon tilted downward slightly, until the beam slammed down the ship like a massive blade, slicing the ship in half. Flaming fragments of metal and iron ship construction debris flew upward as a massive shockwave split open from inside the massive gash that cleaved the ship in two. Small dots that flew around explosion, really being the passengers and mercenaries being destroyed in the destruction, their dying screams buried beneath the muffling vacuum of space. As the dots clashed with the beam, small orange blares sparked from each dot of a person, before disappearing. Each passenger disintegrated on impact with the destructive beam, their frozen expressions of terror and anguish disappearing into sparks and dust from where their bodies disintegrated. Finally, as a flaming waste-making wave of explosions engulfed the ship, the energy from the beam recoiled and sucked back in like a miniature black hole, before splitting with white light like a massive anti-matter collision. The ship's metal was sucked into the metallic void, layer after layer uncurling and being sucked in like an unfurling ball of yarn. The stars surrounding the massive energy explosion glowed brighter, until a light-infused shockwave pulsed across space sector before drawing back into the laser-cannon's center.

The speck-like flaming remnants drifted in space like large embers. The Claw-like cannon closed back up and disappeared back into the shadowy depths of the massive ship's interior. The split nose came back together.

Space was silent again.

Wolf and Leon unshielded their eyes and looked outside.

"Holy…_shit…" _Leon blinked, his electric-blue eyes big in recovery from the blinding light. "What the hell was _that?"_

Wolf rose to his feet, his tall ears adjusting from the sound-suppression of the blast. "I don't know…" He rose to his feet and looked out the window, looking at the flaming fragments in confusion. "The blast wasn't that big the first time I saw it… it didn't cause that much destruction, and it was far smaller. But then…" He looked away darkly. "It destroyed a planet, that time…and this time it was an energy-powered ship…maybe that's why it was different…" He looked at Leon hurriedly. "Get to the navicomputer. We need to leave… now!"

Both sprang for their seats and rapidly started pressing buttons. The shuttle lumbered forward clumsily with its missing wing, but they were putting a great distance between them and the parameter of the _Peacekeeper._

There was a beeping noise from the radar, and Leon looked up. "Wolf! That ship's beginning to change direction!"

"Shit!" Wolf pressed his hand on the accelerator. "It's getting ready to pursue… how far are we from the Warp Signature?"

Leon tapped some buttons and a holographic projection of a swirling object appeared on the radar. "Just a few meters ahead… keep going!"

Wolf glanced at him and then at the ignition controls. "Just be ready to hit the boost when I say. It has to be at the right second otherwise we'll get crushed by the pressure for sure!"

The beeping on the radar continued. They were getting closer…

Leon glanced at the screen, nervously. "Wolf…"

Wolf fixed his stare on the outside, the stream of stars ahead of the shuttle. "Just wait a little longer…"

KROOOOMMM!

A massive stroke of turbulence hit the ship and shook it violently, but not from any laser fire. The pressure build-up outside was closing in on them. They were entering the Warp Zone…

Multiple lights flashed from the stars that glowed brighter as they entered the zone, illuminating Wolf's face as he concentrated on the space ahead, his hand clutching the pilot's control lever.

_Just a little farther, come on…_

SHRA-SHOOOM!

The ship shook even more violently, flames gauging from the back of the shuttle's hull.

"What was that?" Wolf bellowed over the constant rumbling and beeping controls.

"Laser-fire, Mk. II laser cannons…they're firing on us!" Leon shouted, eyes locked on the radar. "We're almost inside….we have to maneuver out of their range!"

"No!" Wolf yelled, the stars glowing brighter ahead so that he had to squint. "We can't swerve the ship. It has to steer straight for the boost to send it straight through!"

SHRA-SHROOM!

The shield bar blinked dangerously for a moment, before depleting completely.

Leon's eyes widened as he tapped it desperately. "Oh no…._oh no…._the shields are down! One more shot, and the shuttle's going to go up in flames!"

Wolf clutched the steering lever tightly. _"Shit..._ just hold on a little longer…we're almost through…"

The ship rumbled and shook ominously, red lights blazing from all sides of the control panel, a blaring damage alarm drowning out all noise and thought.

"_Wolf!" _Leon yelled over the chaos around them.

"_I know! Just hold on!" _Wolf gritted his teeth and clutched the lever so hard that the plastic handle dug into his palm, letting a red line form down his hand.

_VRAM-VRAM-VRAM-VRAM-VRAM!_

The lights outside grew brighter and brighter, as the stars became streaked lights that drew in endless lines all around them, the beeping and flashing around them increasing and the rumble shuddering from the fuel thrusters as they were flung forward.

_VEEEEEOOOOOSHHH!_

"WOLF!"

"HOLD IT!" Wolf yelled as he grasped the lever that vibrated madly as he strove to keep the ship flying straight.

The engines whined louder, and suddenly, coils of steam started to rise from the controls, their electric circuits sizzling under the extreme impact of energy pressing on the shuttle's electrical balance.

Leon grabbed a hold of the controls, his seat ripping off its hinges one creak at a time, his hand over the booster ignition switch. "WOLF! WE GOTTA DO IT NOW!"

"_Huaaarrrrrgggghhh!" _Wolf yelled as his grip tore at the control lever that wrenched from the ship's barely-maneuverable speed, the light from outside blurring his eye-sight.

There was a sudden rise of beeping from the red holographic radar, the distance count arriving at _0.00._

"_NOW!" _Wolf roared.

Leon brought his hand up and slammed his fist down on the boost button.

_Click!_

The blinding yellow light of the Warp Zone's entry beam glowed brilliantly and cast a wave of light into the cockpit, turning Wolf and Leon into black silhouettes as they struggled against the boost.

The ship's booster engines exploded with heat and released energy as the blue ignition flares pounded their ship forward, before the Warp signature's entrance disappeared of radar, and the colossal of stars around them flashed one more time, before…** !**

"_!"_

Both Wolf and Leon screamed as the ship catapulted forward insanely, the stars and lights streaking around them so quickly that it was blinding. The entire ship shook as it zoomed forward with impossible speed, the boosters throwing their warp ahead, faster and faster.

Wolf clung onto the controls as his entire body shook, his fur stretching back and every bone rattling as they sped faster, his legs beginning to fly off-balance at the sudden push of speed that through the ship forward. His vision struggled as the vortex outside the ship spiraled faster, streams of white, energized particle lighting flashing in front of _them_. Either that, or _they _were spinning….he didn't care at this point. His brain was too numb and trying to keep his body up with the speed. Every boost, turbulence, or jolting in experience that he'd ever had was nothing compared to this, as the speed, lights, blinking controls and blaring alarms rang in his mind to prevent him from remembering any.

_Krrk._

Wolf looked up at the sound. He saw a small crack appear on the window.

His eyes widened. _What?_

Suddenly, an alarm blared on the radar, all the controls flashing red around them. Leon squinted at the radar and then looked up.

"THE PRESSURE'S TOO STRONG! WE'RE BEING CRUSHED BY THE WARP TUNNEL!"

_Krzzzzzzzzz!_

Both pilots jumped as electric sparks sizzled and exploded from all sides of the controls, the panels and maneuvering controls shutting down.

"_WHAT?" _Wolf yelled. He banged the unresponsive screams in panic. "NO! NOT NOW! _SHIT!"_

KRT-TNCH-TNCHANG!

Both of them struggled to overcome the shaking ship and look up to see dents spring on the roof and walls of the cockpit, the pressure outside crushing the ship's main frame to a metal pump.

_Krzz-JAAAP!_

A bunch of wires sizzled and exploded into a shower of electric sparks as the controls next to Leon short-circuited under the energy-field distortion around them. The electric shock rebound and flashed in front of Leon's arm, causing him to scream in pain from electrocution and then collapse on the floor.

Wolf grabbed him in terror. "LEON! _LEOOOON!"_

But the alarm lights flashed over Leon's unconscious face, his arm steaming. Wolf grabbed his arm and felt for a pulse, but the ship's movement was so turbulent that he couldn't tell if he was getting a response.

_No…no…._ Wolf looked around desperately, mind racing with fear. _Not this…not now…_

Krrk. _Krrk-shatarererererrr!_

He looked up in fear as more cracks appeared on the cockpit window, and then burst open. Wolf screamed against the vacuum that sucked all the tangled and loose wires out the window before the emergency shield jammed up against it, the glass flying towards him.

He threw up and arm to block the incoming glass, before he heard a horrible crunching sound from above.

KRNCH.

Wolf looked up, his blood running cold, as the cockpit roof began to twist and writhe, while the lights outside grew brighter and brighter with the engines roaring and screeching so loud that sound itself began to distort.

_CLANG!_

Wolf's eyes grew huge, his ears flattening, the roof collapsing down on his blackening vision and the ship bursting with electrical charges.

Then all of his panic and fear from the suspenseful moment disappeared as a sharp pain shot through his head and all went black.

_Aboard the Cornerian Cruiser, the _Peacekeeper….

The Main Bridge of the _Peacekeeper _was quiet. The smallest sound echoed across the massive room, its windows large and overlooking the depths of space outside, its floors plated with elegant marble and ivory.

The space it looked over was not its usual dark, and star-illuminated self, though. A massive flaming wreckage, demolished completely, illuminated the stars with its orange blaze, embers floating past the window and into the reaches of space.

The orange sparks and fragments of wilted ash reflected in the Inquisitor's glasses as he watched the ship's remains burn.

He stood in front of the window with hands behind his back, his orange gaze illuminated by the burning space-borne pyre in the distance. His black coat drifted by him silently, and the only sound present was the clinking of the elaborate cross he wore around his neck.

The Inquisitor's unchanged, analytical eyes examined the destruction ahead.

_It's finished. _He thought to himself.

_The scum are burning…the sinful are punished…_

…_and God's justice has been done._

He closed his eyes, savoring the calm, quiet environment.

But the still atmosphere was broken with the sound of sobbing somewhere in the room.

The Inquisitor opened his eyes, turning at the sound.

"You….you're still mourning for them, are you?"

A few feet away, held by two Liberator soldiers, Bernard sat sniffling with large tears dribbling down his cheeks, staring anguished at the flaming remains of his former ship. Pain and guilt stung his heart…it was because of _him _that Nelson and everyone else was dead…because he was weak enough to submit to the Inquisitor's merciless interrogation.

He continued to sob miserably.

The Inquisitor looked at him with slight irritation. "Stop sniveling already. It's unsettling and starting to annoy me."

Bernard stopped crying and looked up to stare with unbelievable hate at the Inquisitor.

The Inquisitor looked at him with cold eyes. "Why? Why do you pamper the dead with your worthless feelings of sorrow? Why cry for people you don't even know?"

Finally, Bernard's enraged anguish got the better of him. He stood up violently.

"_Why? _WHY?" He shook the Liberators' grip off of him. "I cry because I feel horrible for the poor souls on that ship, that's why! Helpless women and children have been reduced to ash….my best friend is dead…my captain and all of my allies which I've fought next to for years are all dead…._and you ask me why? _Everyone's dead because you slaughtered them in cold blood!" Tears streamed down the Husky's angry face. "And you just stand there, like a kid playing with fire and watching it burn like it's no big deal! But what kind of comparison is that? _You _ARE _just_ _a kid! _The better question is, why don't _you _feel sadness? _Do you have _ANY _remorse for the people you've killed_? Do you have any heart in you? _How do you call yourself human?"_

He stood there, staring at him, tears dripping from his face onto the marble floor, while the two Liberators held him back.

The Inquisitor looked at him indifferently, and then turned away. "Tch. How absurd. Of course I have no remorse for this. What kind of useless question is that?"

Bernard stared at him with disbelief, trembling with anger.

"But you've failed to answer my question…" He closed his eyes and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Why do you cry for people like them? You don't know them. They are not your family, or friends, or of close value of any kind. And don't use that pathetic 'because I'm human' excuse. What instinct in your mind makes you feel pity for total strangers who wouldn't do the same for you?"

Bernard looked at him with confusion, about to say something, but remained silent.

"You're hesitant. Why is that? Where are your feelings of sadness now?"

No answer.

The Inquisitor opened his eyes. "I fail to understand to concept of compassion such as that, or any entirely. We mortal beings are creations of God, and possess everything a functioning organism needs: a brain, a heart, and the instinct of survival. Now tell me…why do people such as you fall under the delusions of passion or sadness? Why do you feel any compassion at all?"

Bernard looked at him, without an answer.

"It's because you're corrupt and foolish," The Inquisitor answered for him. "You believe that feeling compassion makes you human, but what it does is make you weak. The real reason is that when God created life such as us, we corrupted ourselves and lowered ourselves to the level of feeling meaningless compassion that didn't contribute to our survival. Humans are meant for one purpose in life…to serve a use, before returning to the Creator at the end of survival. Passion doesn't equal strength. Pity doesn't rival might. Pointless emotions are unnecessary traits of fools and imbeciles like you." He resumed his stare into the embers in the distance. "I managed to save myself and be above common emotions a long time ago. And thus, I feel no need for non-necessities like remorse or regret. That is why I found a way to control Lylat…and that is why there will always be a distance in strength and status in life between the likes of me and you."

Bernard looked at him fearfully, the cold feeling of the Inquisitor's menace gripping him again.

"You mourn uselessly for the deaths of sinners who were doomed to die eventually… before I hastened their journey to end their wasted lives. But their destinies, like all things, are decided…" He raised a gloved hand and pointed it in the smoldering wreckage's direction. "Just as their bodies rightfully burn in this world…their worthless souls rightfully burn in a much darker one…"

"_HUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGHHH!"_

Stung with anger and rage at the Inquisitor's cold and heartless words, Bernard wrenched himself from the two surprised Liberators' grasp and hurled himself at him.

_SHP-LRRRTCH!_

Blood flew in the air as the long blade impaled Bernard straight through the chest.

But the Inquisitor hadn't moved from his spot. He looked behind the corpse, not startled by the sudden turn of events.

An Agent, who had appeared almost out of nowhere, stood over Bernard's body, retracting his long blade back into his sleeve.

He bowed his head respectively before the young man. "Forgive me, Master. I've remained by for quite a while, and I apologize for not stepping in."

The Inquisitor glanced at him without any expression, or any gratitude. "You are dismissed. Dispose of the body…and don't bother with the usual rites. His head isn't worthy enough to hang from my ship. Just release him through the air shaft and let him join the ashes of those he pities so much."

"Yes, Master."

He resumed his stare out the window for a moment.

Then he broke the silence with a sharp call.

"Kraiser! Krauser!"

_Fwish! Fwoom!_

From the shadows of the ceiling, barely making noise, two Agents swept down and dropped to the ground silently, making the two Liberator guards in the room jump. Unlike the typical weasels that most Agents were, they were pale-furred ermines, both tall and lean. Both possessed identical traits: the same face, fur line, ears and height. In addition to their black suits and C-brooches of standard Agent attire, they wore golden waist-coats to signify their high status. Both had keen, red eyes, like velvet.

They were Kraiser and Krauser, the second highest members of the Agency to the Inquisitor himself. They were his personal spies, his chosen henchmen, his most loyal servants, and…his private and only council. They did, said, conducted, brought, and executed everything their master issued them. Whatever he wanted, whatever event he desired, or information he required, he got…through them.

They both dropped to one knee, their black fedoras dipping in a bow.

"We've arrived to your summon, Master…" one said in a low tone that sounded almost electric and artificial.

"…for we only exist to serve your divine will." The other continued the first Agent's sentence with an almost identical voice.

"What do you require?" They finished in unison.

The Inquisitor turned. "You're both late," he said coldly.

"Do forgive us, Master. But pray tell…" The one on the right looked up at the Inquisitor's burn and singed sleeve.

"…how did you become wounded? Did you require assistance?" The other one finished.

The Inquisitor narrowed his eyes in an annoyed manner. "It's just a scratch." He turned away stiffly. "Nothing I couldn't handle."

"Young Master Barnes must be careful not to attack more than he can handle…" One of them said coolly.

"…otherwise his killing precision won't be as effective," The other continued.

The Inquisitor turned angrily. "What have I told you about using my real name out in the open…?" He eyed the ermine on the right. _"Kraiser. _Just because my enemies are not alive to hear doesn't mean you can throw it about carelessly. Besides, they're common scum that aren't worth mentioning. And not _young _Master," He added contemptuously. "Just 'Master' will do."

The two Liberator guards in the back of the room looked at each other, thinking the same thing: How could the hell could the Inquisitor tell them apart?

The two Elite Agents stood up.

"Whatever your wish, Master. And now…."

"…what did you wish to see us about?"

The Inquisitor walked past them and towards the slide door, where the two Liberator's saluted. "What's the update on our pursuit?"

_Shh-thunk!_

The door opened and the three of them walked down the hall.

"They shuttle has entered the Warp Zone, Master…" Krauser started.

"…and they've already disappeared off of our radar."

"In short, you let them escape," The Inquisitor said quietly, the danger rising in his tone.

"….they evaded our cannons as we fired, master. However…" Kraiser started.

"….we detected that the Warp signature was too fragile to handle the transportation of the shuttle," Krauser finished.

The Inquisitor's eyebrows rose. "A hostile warp tunnel? Well, then…" He thought for a moment. "And they disappeared off radar?"

"Yes, Master…"

"…that is correct."

The Inquisitor glanced at them as they walked into the Main Hangar. "Then the passengers are dead. No ship of that size would be able to withstand that kind of energized pressure. The mission was a success."

"Do forgive us, Master, but it's unlikely that a common refugee could've maneuvered a shuttle with such precision…" Krauser pointed out.

"…only a pilot of Star-Pilot Team caliber could've escaped the wrath of our ship's firepower." Kraiser nodded in agreement.

The Inquisitor's glasses flashed. "That only confirms that we pursued the right ship…as well as that the right passengers are dead. Or more to be more precise, the right pilot."

"But, Master, about the pilot….whose name I won't mention here…" Kraiser added carefully.

"…why is his death so important to you?" Krauser asked.

"_AAAAAAAAAAAARRGGGGGGHHHHHH!"_

The two ermines stopped in mid-sentence and looked around at the scream.

They had arrived in the hangar around the same time the battle-worn Liberators had from the now-demolished _Anatarres. _They were stepping out of the gunships that had carried them there, all stopping in their tracks to see where the scream had come from.

A group of nasty-looking Liberators were standing in a circle. As they parted back, the crowd revealed a Liberator wrestling a screaming, tear-soaked female rabbit, who looked like she was late teens. The Liberator grabbed her by the head-fur and pulled her back, lowering his face next to hers, making it face visible for all to see.

It was the Pit-Bull that had murdered the Arctic fox family, only now it looked like he had succeeded in making off with the prize he had tried to obtain before.

The girl screamed as hot tears sprang from her eyes, tearing and writhing in an attempt to escape the Liberator's cruel grip.

"AAAAARGH! _PLEASE DON'T-_AGHH!" She screamed, half sobbing pitifully. "LET ME GO, PL-_HRRSMSM!" _The rest of her screams were muffled out as the Pit-Bull grabbed her mouth and forced his hand over it.

"Shut up, you bitch! I don't steal sluts like you to make noise!" He smiled filthily. "Or at least…not that kind of noise." He cackled brutishly, his ugly friends laughing with him.

One of them leaned over."Say, she's a nice little bitch, ain't she? You don't mind if we, ha…" He smiled, showing off his yellow teeth. "…'borrow' her later, wouldja?"

The Rabbit's eyes got bigger with horror, screaming under the dog's hand.

"Why not? If she's good fer something once, she's good for it twice!" He laughed as they all leered at her and laughed with him. "I guess I'd better try not exhaust her if she's gonna be busy for the rest of the night!" He slipped his fingers under her skirt.

"_AAAAAAAARGGHHH!"_

There was a scream this time, but not the girl's. The Pit-Bull yelled angrily as she sunk her rabbit teeth into his fingers that covered her mouth, causing his other hand to withdraw.

Clutching his bloody finger in rage, he roared and struck her with such brute force that she fell to the ground. She screamed as he kicked savagely at her bruised body.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH! I'LL SHOW YOU WHERE YOU CAN PUT THOSE TEETH!"

_SLAM! SLAM!_

The girl screamed as he kicked at her bruised face again and again.

"_AAAAARGH!" _

"What's going on here?"

Suddenly, the Liberator stopped kicking, and the girl's screaming stopped. Everyone looked around and backed away at the sight of the Inquisitor, who stood quietly a good distance from the crowd. The girl looked up in terror, to afraid to scream, or even whimper.

The Inquisitor's orange eyes glinted from behind his glasses, waiting in the dangerous silence for an answer.

The Pit-Bull stepped cautiously away from the girl on the floor, grinning nervously.

"Nothing's goin' on over here, sir. Just a little amusement, that's all."

The Inquisitor glanced at the girl and then back at the soldier. "What's that girl doing here?"

"Her? Nothing, sir…" He nudged with her foot innocently. "Just some spoil from a fight. It should be suitable reward in addition to the pay that you-"

"I believe I issued an order for the extermination of all prisoners," The Inquisitor said quietly. His eyes regarded him keenly. "And yet you bring her here….and disobey me."

"Come on, sir!" The Pit-Bull hoisted the girl to her feet, who whimpered in a small voice. "Just havin' some fun….nothin' wrong with that! Besides, what's it matter when the rest are dead, anyhow?"

"'Having fun'?" The Inquisitor repeated coldly. "Tch. Don't be disgusting…how bored could you be to lower yourself to such repulsiveness?"

"Look, _sir," _The Pit-Bull said in a slightly irritated tone. "It doesn't matter how bored I am. She's mine….alright? What I do with her is my business. If you don't like it you can just look the other way. Besides, what do you care?" He touched her chin with a grin. "Disappointed that you can't have any fun with her?"

SHERRRAAAAAAANG!

There was a flash of steel and a spray of blood. The Rabbit, to horrified to make any noise, was soon drenched in blood as a long, extended blade shot straight through the Liberator's eye and out through the back of his head. His grin faltered, and his mouth twitched for a moment before his hands that held the girl slumped back.

The Inquisitor, whose blade stretched across the room and into the corpse, stared icily from behind his spectacles. "Don't even associate me with such vulgarity….I have neither the lowliness or the need for such things. And anyway, what you do aboard my ship, and in my galaxy, _is _my business. Rape is a sin, no matter how you look at it…and such disobedience of the law won't be granted to you just because you work for me. There's only so much filthiness that I'll allow."

_SLRRRRTCH!_

The Inquisitor drew back his long blade from where he stood and flicked his hand. _Sh-tink! _The blade retracted into his sleeve, the body falling behind the terrified girl.

None of the others spoke, not daring to come anywhere near the girl now, backing away with large eyes and open mouths.

The girl looked up with a teary and relieved smile, her eyes glowing with gratitude. "Oh, thank you…._thank you…_"

His eyes darted to her, and then to the other Liberators. "Men…I ordered the extermination of _all _passengers." He turned and walked away remorselessly. "See that the order is ensured completely. And make it quick…I've heard enough screaming for one day."

The girl's relieved look melted instantly, soon replaced with a look of terror.

"Wait, what are you…" The Liberators grabbed a hold of her and dragged her out, loading their rifles as they did so. "WHAT ARE YOU-_NO! _PLEASE, NO! YOU PROTECTED ME-NO! NOOOO!"

As she was dragged out, the Inquisitor turned to his two henchmen like nothing had happened.

"Now…one of you asked me what the significance of the target's death was?"

One of them nodded, now more respectfully than ever.

"Yes, Master…"

The Inquisitor glanced out the window, into the starry distance. "He was an escaped prisoner that I tried to confine for five years, and that's all there is to it. Whatever other personal reasons I had for it are….irrelevant…" His gaze became distant.

Both Elite Agents looked at him inquisitively.

"Master…?"

"…what is it?"

The Inquisitor straightened his glasses and turned. "Nothing. All that matters is that the Great Wolf O'Donnell is dead…as he should have been years ago. I did what that fool Andross couldn't….and what's more, no one will know of his death. The galaxy still doubts his existence to be little more than myth…and now it will stay that way." He glanced at the two ermines. "Tell the Commander on the Main Bridge to set a course for Corneria. I'm going to get some rest…"

"Yes, Master…" Krauser bowed.

"…of course, Master…" Kraiser bowed.

"It will be done immediately," They both finished, and disappeared into the shadow whence they came.

The Inquisitor looked outside, the stars reflecting off of his glasses. He was at complete peace…salvaging this moment of quietness…

His thoughts weren't completely at peace, though. He still pondered on what people had told him. Especially, that Rotteweiler, Ayxal…

_He dares accuse me of having no soul…when he knows nothing about me…_

_They all do…they're all the same…._

_That boy, Bernard…he defended them all…the way he talked, he almost made them sound..._

…_pure…_

He clenched his fist and started walked away.

_The fool…_

_Nothing is pure. No one is…not them, not anyone….not even me…_

He looked down, a small, distantly sad look in his eyes.

_Not anymore._

_End of Chapter_

What will ever happen to Wolf and Leon? What's going on with Wolf's Inner Power? Did their ship get crushed? Find out later this month, Star Wolf fans!

The Inquisitor is actually an OC of mine, but you're not meant to know too much, other than the fact that he's one of the new villains.

By the way, something recently amazing happened. A very…_very _nice fan of mine was good enough to praise my story, and was nice enough to make a piece of tribute artwork for _Sins of Star Wolf. _I'm not going to mention his name, but he knows who he is, and is awesome beyond belief.

If you all want to see it, just go to Deviantart and type in "Sins of Star Wolf."

Well, the next chapter will be up in a week or two, and don't forget to **REVIEW!**


	8. Chapter 8

Something to make clear:

This story takes place AFTER Star fox 64 but BEFORE Star Fox Adventures (even though it's in the title). It has little to nothing to do with what happens on Sauria, and the plot isn't thrown in to mix side-by-side with the games' plot like _Rise _or _Sins, _making it more like an interquel. So this entire story is 100% original plot, and will not include Fox, Falco or anybody you know. But there will be familiar faces, without a doubt…(laughs mischievously)

Oh, and try not to dwell on that Inquisitor guy for right now, because he doesn't appear in the rest of this story (at least not until _Assault). _I know you all know nothing about him or his bunch, but at least you know what his role is.

Alright then…on that note: _Onward!_

_Chapter 8: Journey into Desolation: Caught in Death's Cloak_

_Unknown Location, 5 ALW (HMD Period)_

Wolf woke up with a rush of sudden breathing.

He kept his eyes closed, his mind still numb with recuperation from the intense boost and all previous events. He found himself still, on his back, somewhere…

As the silence and stillness of the atmosphere settled in, his breathing became slower and easier with time.

As he recovered from lack of consciousness, all of his senses returned to him one by one.

_God…_

_I'm alive…I guess that's something…._

He moved around a bit. _My body…damn, it feels sore…_

_But at least the pain from earlier has gone away…from, whatever that was…_

He opened his eyes slowly, exhaling to maintain calmness.

_It's still dark…_

Nothing was visible, even with his eyes open.

_Is it really dark…_

…_or, am I blind?_

_Am I still unconscious...?_

For a moment, he hesitated worriedly. Then, he rose his hand next to his ear, and snapped. His ear twitched in sensitivity to the sound. Then, he reached down, and pinched himself on the arm. The little sting of pain rippled down his arm and to his hand.

_Okay…_

_I'm conscious…_

_I can still hear, and I can still feel..._

_But where am I…? Still in the ship…?_

Then the rush of events hit him, his memory rewinding back to the Warp Zone…and the boost…and the pressure…

_So…we survived…._

_Wait a minute….not "we"…_

He looked around rigidly.

_Where's Leon?_

_But then…where am _I_?_

Wolf squinted and looked around, but couldn't even see an inch in front of his snout.

Then, a small light flickered.

He looked around to see where it came from, when he winced with pain.

_Ach…what the…_

He felt a sharp pinch on the side of his face. In the dark, he reached up and touched his face.

And that's when he realized it. His rag of cloth that had served as a make-shift eye-patch was gone.

_It must've fallen off when we were in the boost…and the ceiling came down on me…_

_Shit….I'll have to make another one…but I can't keep doing that forever…_

_Maybe I should've kept my old one instead of throwing it into the lava on Venom…_

He thought about it for a moment, but then changed his mind.

_No…it was just a reminder of the old days…when I worked with Andross… Tch. Never mind…it can stay burned…_

Then that light flickered again from somewhere in the darkness, bringing him back to reality.

_Never mind. Right now I need to find out where I am, and then see where Leon is…_

_Where's that light coming from…?_

He sat up, his joints moving rigidly back in action, and heard some things clatter and fall next to him as he got up.

Then, that light flickered again. This time, Wolf could tell that it was closer.

He looked all around, and then he tilted his head and saw it somewhere downwards.

_Szzz!_

The light buzzed and hissed briefly before going out. He reached down and touched the area around it. Instantly, he felt a familiar lengthy, plastic and stringy something brush against his finger-tips.

Wires.

_Strewn-out wires…from where…?_

Then his eyes widened. _Wait…I saw wires short-circuit during the crash…_

_So…I'm still in the cockpit…?_

His heart sped with realization as he looked around in the dark.

Then he spotted something.

A stream of white light glowed faintly against the crack of something buried in the ground. But it wasn't sizzling, or white like electricity, but constant and blaring…

_Sunlight! _Wolf thought with relief.

Carefully, he stretched his hands out and nudged forward while he was on his knees.

CRUMP!

Wolf felt a pang of hard and sudden pain that seared against his forehead, as something hard and heavy slammed into it unexpectedly. He staggered back slightly, trying to maintain balance on his knees in the dark.

_OW!_

He blinked fuzzily and scowled in the dark.

_What the hell…?_

Rubbing his forehead irritatedly, and felt upwards in his hands till he touched the rough, cornered edges of something metallic, that stretched as far as his hands could reach above him.

_The roof…ugh…damn it…_

He ducked his head cautiously and began to crawl his way across to the small stream of light. His hands moved against hard and patterned surfaces, at different elevations in the ground, all metallic. He decided that it must be wreckage from the ship. But that only made him more worried about where Leon was…

_He could be outside… _Wolf told himself desperately. _He could've made it out…_

KRRRNCH.

Wolf drew his hand back quickly as he heard a crunching noise underneath his hand. Hesitating for a moment, he touched the spot where the sound had come gingerly. Whatever it was smooth, but jagged on the side.

He drew his hand back. _Broken glass…_

Then, he reached the light. It came from a crack underneath something large that blocked his way. He banged his fist against the window, which made a fragile, hollow sound.

_It's the window pane…I _am _in the cockpit…_

He looked all around him in the dark.

_But this is two tall and narrow for the window…and the ceiling's packed in tight…_

_The ship is on its side!_

He tapped the window glass again, and then thumped his shoulder on it.

THUNK.

THUNK.

He banged his shoulder harder, grunting as he put full force against it.

THUNK. THUNK! THUNK!

_SHATARERERERER!_

The glass on the cockpit window cracked with vibrating, jagged cracks shooting up it, before falling apart. The glass shattered and Wolf fell through.

There was a blinding white light that hewed from all around the outside, and Wolf put a hand over his good eye to shield them, squinting with effort to keep them open.

His eye-sight had been in the dark for so long that the sunlight stung his eyes. He stood up groggily and blinked his eyes into focus.

The first thing that that struck his senses was how unbelievably hot it was. Whatever sunlight blasted down on him with intense heat made him feel sweaty and uncomfortable instantly, every step feeling like a stroll through an oven. There was barely any wind, although he could hear a light, whispering zephyr in the distance. As Wolf stood there, his shaggy fur seemed to become heavy and uncomfortable, and was an absolute nightmare to have in this unbearable heat. He had been standing there for almost a minute, and his throat was already becoming dry and cracked, the heat beating down on his neck like searing bites from hot teeth.

As he squinted through the blinding whiteness to distinguish anything through the brightness, the sun boiled down and shot a beam of steam at his forehead. He instantly wanted to go back and sit in the shady darkness of the ship, where it was cool. But with his hand covering the left side of his face where the "painful reminder" was, he was determined to find out where he was.

Finally, the light cleared, and the bare lines of horizon began to form until his vision went back to normal. As soon as it did, Wolf tried to take a step forward.

_Tssh._

Suddenly, his foot sank forward in something powdery and coarse, and baking hot. He looked down and saw that his foot sank into a steaming pile of sand, a small ring surrounding the spot where his boot crunched into it. As he withdrew it, sand sprinkled and poured off of him, spreading dust as it fell to the ground.

He looked up, his vision clear…his mouth open.

Desert.

Dry, endless, barren desert.

_Jesus…_

…_Christ…._

The desert stretched for miles and miles into the distance, making the horizon barely visible. The ends of the desert were covered every two hundred feet with towering and menacing sand dunes. As he turned in every direction, every mile, every spot, and every part of the ground was covered in baking waves of sand, that whispered into small coiling wisps when moaning winds drifted across it. Where the dunes cast their shadows across the desert, the sand shimmered in the sun, the horizon rippling with heat.

Wolf's breathing got heavier and heavier as he desperately ran out into it, sand crunching under his boots, before stopping and looking around.

He turned around. And around.

Nothing. Just desert…

Not a soul. Not a sound…not a plant…not a sign of life…

Just the ominous sight of death in every direction.

_Oh God…_

His breathing became raspy and difficult, his heart racing with panic.

_Where….where am I…?_

His head whirled around quickly.

The ship was plunged deep and already half-sunk into the sands by its nose, scattered glass surrounding the spot where he had broken out, already being buried by the sand. Its gleaming hull was dented and cracked in so many places, wings twisted and torn, its nose blackened from the flames of an explosion on impact with a planetary atmosphere from its shield giving out.

_So…it crashed…_

Wolf thought hard, trying to riddle possibilities from recent events.

_We went into the Warp Zone…and boosted…_

_It's navicomputer system must've used the Emergency Boost-and-Land maneuvers…and targeted on the planet closest to where it warped out of…_

_Just like when I crashed on Cerinia…_

_But…wait…_

He looked at the scorch-marks.

_The damage to this ship is way worse than when that happened…_

Wolf slowly circled the ship, racking his brain hard.

_These are flame marks…too hot for a common explosion…_

_Maybe it went up in flames when it came on impact on the atmosphere while entering the planet… _He looked up at the sky.

_So…_

_Where the hell am I?_

He looked around quizzically.

Deserts…

_Katina?_

_No…I think that's a canyon planet…and plus, this has to be at least a hundred degrees out here…_

_This is nothing but sand…_

Then it hit him.

Deserts…of course.

_Titania._

_I'm on Titania…_

Wolf clapped a frustrated hand on his sweaty forehead and rubbed his temples.

_Shit!_

_I crash on any planet in the entire Goddamn Lylat System, and it's the one planet where I not only have never been to…_

…_but one of the few that has NO CIVILIZED LIFE ON IT?_

He cursed in his head and stomped around in the sand angrily.

_Shit…Shit…_

_SHIT!_

CLANG!

Wolf aimed a frustrated kick at the battered and half-buried hull of the ship, but immediately regretted it as he felt his big toe twist painfully from hitting the metal.

His eyes watered as he cursed irritatedly.

_Shit!_

He paced for a while, seething his exasperation out on his breath through gritted teeth. Why did he have this problem where he wanted to hit something whenever he got pissed off? He might as well be some dumb common brute.

But why shouldn't he be? He was stuck in the middle of nowhere…

No supplies..

No transportation…

And he was alone and helpless…_again…_

Then his ears perked up in realization.

_Crap! Leon!_

He bolted back to the ship's wreckage, his breathing becoming rapid and worried.

_I was being so much of an inconsiderate and selfish prat…_

_I wasn't even thinking about Leon! I just crawled out of the wreck, I didn't see him…or where he was…_

"LEON!" He called, dropping to his knees and looking desperately through the pile of blackened metal. "Leon, where are you…?"

He clawed and plied through the steel hull, yelling for him desperately.

_Please be there…please be alive…_

_Damn it, don't do this to me, Leon…don't be dead…_

But that just made him look harder, the horrible possibility clenching his heart and filling him with more guilt.

_Don't be dead…don't be dead, you stupid bastard, or I swear I'll kill you myself! _Wolf ripped through the metal with all the effort he had.

But there was nothing there. Just the sand-filled and messy interior of the left side of the cockpit. The rest was buried beneath the sandy ground, soon to become lost in the desert in time as another sand dune.

Wolf stood up, looking around with anguish and frustration.

_He's not dead….he can't be…_

"LEON!"

No answer. Just the rumbling echo of his voice across the shimmering sands.

"LEEEEOOON!"

His voice echoed again, the wind-drifted sands moving in waves serving as his only answer.

Wolf's breathing became harder, his voice cracking with worry.

"L-LEON!"

He started to walk around the ship, searching for any signs of life. But he got no results, and walking around uselessly in the blaring heat made him feel lost and helpless like a confused child.

He turned around, staring helplessly-no, _squinting _helplessly at the endless desert before him.

"LEON!"

He panted, his throat burring with both exhaustion and dehydration.

"ANYBOOODYYYY?"

His voice echoed uselessly across the desert. There was no point.

No one could hear him. No one could see him.

No one knew he was there. Hell, no one knew he existed anyway…he still was just the mythological Star Wolf.

He was in the middle of nowhere…on a planet where nothing existed…

Including himself.

Finally, with the heat, frustration, anguish, and intense thirst taking their toll, he collapsed hopelessly down on the sandy ground, a puff of sand-produced dust springing from where he sat.

The sun beat down murderously down on his glistening and baked brow. He had never felt this hot in his life. The heavy layers of clothing and stuffy chunks of fur on him made him feel uncomfortable…and the heat that increased their irritation made it more uncomfortable just to sit still, so he was constantly changing his position.

He hated this…he hated the sun…he hated the heat…he hated the desert…

_Stupid heat…stupid sun. Oh yeah, that's right…here in the wonderful fucking Lylat System, we have TWO of them. Tch. Just perfect…_

_Stupid sun…it should just blow up. Sure, everything would be dark, but at least I'd be cool!_

_And I hate this stupid sand, too! Why does it even exist? _He grabbed a fistful of it, staring hatefully as the small rocks drizzled from his grip. _It's not like soil and makes life, or rock that comes from the earth…it doesn't have a purpose! All it does is be coarse and rough and stupid, just to piss me off!_

He flung it away angrily, the sun boiling his blood and infuriating him more.

_And this fur… _He looked at himself and glowered at his grey tufts of fur. _I hate this stupid fur! It just makes things worse!_

_Why the hell did God give me so much fur? To piss me off, that's why!_

_Stupid God…he's probably laughing it up somewhere, like 'Ha, look at stupid Wolf, baking in the sun with his stupid fur'… If I die out here, then I'm gonna punch him in the face for giving me this much fur!_

He knew that he was ranting like a moron now, but he didn't care.

He hated it all…sand, the sun, his fur, God, this planet…he hated everything.

But above all, he hated himself. It was his own stupid fault that he was here…that they went into the Warp because he was too stubborn to quit, that they crashed…that he couldn't protect Leon,and now that he was…he was…

He couldn't even bring himself to think it.

Wolf roared furiously and buried his face in his hands. If he had been any more frustrated and would lower himself so much, he would've sat there and cried pitifully. But he was too exhausted…to angry…to hot…

_And why should I hide my tears? Why should I be ashamed if I _do _cry? It won't matter if I do…no one will see me because I'm in the GODDAMN DESERT!_

He exhaled hopelessly, his throat to dry to sob in anguish.

Then, as his eyes wandered around, something caught his eye.

It was something on the ground…glinting in the sunlight…

Silver.

_What…?_

He stood up and walked over curiously. Anything could mean something to him out here…least of all something shiny.

Wolf scooped it up, and looked in the sand covered palm of his hand that was clinging onto an elaborate but faded design of a handle, with a switch on the side…

His eyes widened. _It couldn't be…could it…?_

His finger experimentally slid the switch up.

Shing!

A wonderfully-familiar, spine-edged, Bowie-like knife-blade uncoiled sharply from the side of the handle.

_Leon's switch-blade!_

His heart leapt with both happiness and relief, hope filling him up. Thoughts sped through his mind.

_He's alive…_

_I know he is! It's too far away from the crash site, so it must be him!_

_But then…wait…_

He stopped for a moment, the happy thoughts coming to a sudden halt.

_If he is alive…where is he…?_

_And if he's somewhere…out here…_

_Why would he leave me behind…and go right ahead…?_

He looked down worriedly at the knife in his hand. Then, he curled his fingers around it tightly.

_No…_

_That's bullshit. Leon would never do that to me…what am I thinking?_

_Still…it's odd that he'd leave his knife behind…_

_But it's even odder that he'd leave ME behind…but he's my friend, damn it, he's Leon! He wouldn't leave me on his own free will!_

Then, he hesitated, the thought occurring to him.

_Wait…_

_What if he didn't leave by his own free will…_

_What if…he really thought I was dead…?_

_Or maybe…something forced him to leave…_

His eyes traveled around the giant desert, drawing out the possibilities.

_Maybe…something happened to make him flee…like a sandstorm or something…_

_But why would he leave his knife…_

_That's his only defense, in case…_

Wolf looked up from the knife his heart racing at the sudden possibility.

_What if something forced him to leave…or someone…_

_He could've been taken…captured!_

_But…by who….?_

He looked around the desert cautiously.

_Those….Agents or whatever didn't follow us, did they…?_

He thought about that massive black ship he had seen.

_No…_

_We went into Warp with no chance of surviving…they probably think I'm dead…_

_So…who else could've done it…?_

_If someone did…that means that there IS life in this desert…_

_But what kind?_

He looked doubtfully at the towering sand dunes in the distance, pondering on who or what existed beyond them. But there was barely anything around except for sand and rocks…there weren't even any plants.

There was _no _life out here.

And even if someone did capture Leon and took him away, their tracks would have been long buried under the desert's sands.

But that was the only explanation. He clutched the knife tightly.

_Whoever or whatever's got Leon…I'll find them…_

_I'll make them pay…and I don't need my Inner Power to do it, either…_

_I'll have to cross this desert…and find them…_

_The chances of finding any trace of them is remote…as well as navigating through this desert…and without supplies, too…_

_There's a good chance I'll die out here_

He clutched the knife tighter. He didn't care about all these odds, about the desert, about his Inner Power…about anything. Leon was the last friend he had in the world…and he needed to get to him.

_I let this happen….all of this, is because of me…_

His thoughts rewinded painfully at the memory of that family of Arctic Foxes…and it blazed with hatred at the thought of that Pit Bull.

_I've sat around helplessly for too long…but not anymore. _

_I'm not going to fail to save Leon like I failed to save those people…I won't let that happen! And if whoever's got him has harmed him in any way…their going to rue the day that their pitiful mothers gave birth to their filthy hides!_

He stared defiantly at the merciless valley of sand dunes ahead.

_I don't care if I have to cross an ocean of this burning wasteland….I've lost too much, and I'm not about to lose Leon too!_

_About an hour later..._

After a short while, Wolf sat under the shade of the plunged ship, going through the remainder of supplies that hadn't been reduced to ash during the crash.

The first thing he found was a battered survival liter with about ten liters of water in it. It didn't look like the cleanest water, and had a dead insect of two floating in it, but it was probably the only water he would find out here.

_That should get me through the desert for about 3 days…_

_3 days…damn it…_

What was worse was that the food supply had been either burnt or rotted, and was not fit for travel.

Cursing angrily at his pitiful find, Wolf mopped his sweaty brow as he searched through the ship.

But that was all he found.

He leaned his head against the dented hull of the ship, and panted as the heat set in. He was in the shade, but the intense temperature had just barely decreased.

Rubbing his sweaty fur, he pocketed Leon's knife.

Then he looked up alertly.

_Wait…my pockets!_

Instantly, he ripped off his coat and emptied the pockets, before wrenching desperately in his pants pockets.

The finds weren't too cheering. Just what he had on him when he was on board the _Anatarres._

The plasteel container-pouch where he held all of his small trinkets and bandages was still in good shape, but was only worth sentimental value rather than survival value. He had $400 in Lylatines (_Tch. Yeah, that'll be useful…in case I run into a Sector Seven-Eleven Fuel Station out here…hell, how 'bout a Papetoon John's Pizza Parlor?_) The only food he had was the end of a chunk of a Cornerian CRUNCH bar.

_Better save that…_

_In this climate, chocolate's only going to make me more thirsty…but it's better than nothing…_

He shoved everything back in his pockets and then took another look at Leon's knife.

_I'd better hold on this for Leon…_

_Not like I'd use it…all I need is my Claw…_

He pocketed and reached for the spot in his coat where he usually sheathed his Claw.

His hand pressed against the flat pocket.

Suddenly, Wolf's heart felt like it fell a mile down a cliff.

_WHAT?_

He rummaged through his coat in panic, and looked around him.

_Oh shit…oh crap, no…._

_My Claw…it's gone!_

He looked all around him and then stopped.

_Wait…it was on me on the ship…_

_I think Leon took it when we got away from that group of soldiers…when my body did that thing…_

He looked at the knife in his hand.

_Maybe…he still has it…the same way I've got his switch-blade…_

_Or maybe not…_

A swollen feeling grew in Wolf's stomach. He felt almost naked without his beloved weapon, his hand fumbling over the spot where it used to be. He even felt light and awkward without it, like it was a stable weight that held him down.

_Leon probably has it… _Wolf told himself nervously.

_Still…if he doesn't…I could always get a new weapon…_

_All those years of wielding it, and training with it…and getting used to its weight, and length…_

_Can I really replace it…?_

He shook the thought out of his head angrily.

_Listen to yourself, Wolf…talking about a weapon like it was a person…_

_The main priority is Leon…he's an actual person who can't be replaced like that stupid Claw can…_

But even as he rummaged determinedly through his meager supplies, the regretful, saddened feeling still tugged at the back of his mind.

He poured the remnants of the water canister into his canteen, watching the last drops dribble in temptingly in the hot sun.

_Don't drink it… _He ordered his dry tongue and throat firmly. _Save it for later…_

_If this water's going to last me three days, then I need to make it last…_

_But even if I do, what happens when I run out…?_

…_And what about food?_

He rubbed more sweat off of his brow, looking around with frustration and discomfort from the heat.

_Shit…_

_Of all places…the desert…?_

_I survived in jungles, plains, canyons, rainstorms and a whole decade on Venom…_

_But at least Venom was cold…and there were plenty of caves, with water…_

_Not to mention the experimented beasts running around for me to hunt…_

_But there's nothing out here…_

_And how am I going to track Leon…?_

These constant and irritating problems revolved around Wolf's head like annoying buzzards…and the temperature wasn't helping either.

He rubbed his chin, tapping at his survival instincts…

_I can't let the heat and desert fool me…_

_Take it all away, and it's just a canyon planet like Katina…_

_And I've gone longer than 3 weeks without food…that experience should've expanded my stomach's capability a bit…_

_It should at least buy me another week…._

Wolf squinted at the dune-mounted horizon, hews streaming from the sun that cast a peak of light just above the top of the sandy mountains.

_And Leon…whoever's captured him won't be stupid strangers…_

_They must know the desert…and are probably heading toward a place of survival…_

Then his ears perked up.

_An oasis!_

His heat-stricken heart stirred hopefully.

_Every desert has an oasis…_

_Yeah…they probably headed towards it…for water and food and shade…_

_If I get there, I could not only survive…but pick up their trail…_

_But how do I get to the oasis…I don't have a map…_

_The navicomputer was destroyed in the crash…_

He looked at the ship's wrecked and sand-filled interior.

_Damn it…I obviously can't use the ship…_

_No fuel…no compass…out of repair…and the self-repair program's probably expired in use by now…_

_Maybe if the ground-based terminals were working I could get the comm. working…_

He laughed and looked around miserably.

_Yeah…and contact who?_

_There's probably not a comm. transmitter in a thousand miles…_

His eyes snapped back to attention.

_But an oasis could be here…_

He stood up and walked towards the horizon, sweeping sand off of his coat.

_Let's see…_

_I remember hearing that an oasis's plants survive on the moist and tropical wind…it's carried across the desert from the direction of a river or ocean…_

_No matter how treacherous the desert is, it still relies on that wind…_

A brisk wind blew past his face, cooling him for a brief moment.

Wolf turned and looked in the direction it was coming from.

_Wait…_

_If I can find out where it's coming from…and keep track of that wind…_

_I can at least know in which direction to walk…_

The sandy dust rustled across the dunes as another faintly cool wind blew across it and rustled through his hot and grateful fur.

It came from the western direction…

_That has to be west… _He looked back.

_The sun's setting over there…just directly across from it…_

_That'll confirm that I'm on track…_

…_Or at least during the day…but what about night…?_

_There's always the stars…_

Wolf scratched his head, remembering the old North Centrarius Star trick with the Big Dipper.

_I used to use that whenever I was in deep space and my holo-compass was malfunctioning…_

Remembering his nostalgic days in the cockpit, he looked around longingly at his desolate surroundings. Space seemed so far away, now…

_Anyway…_

_Judging by the wind, that oasis would have to be at least 100 or 200 miles away from here…._

_And if I maintain my course by using the stars, it should take me about five days…_

_So I'd make it without food…_

He looked down at his stomach painfully.

…_even if I do lose a few pounds…_

_But water…no, I can't go five days without that… _Wolf turned towards the horizon grimly. _I have to make it to the oasis before I run out of water…_

_Otherwise…_

He looked around, a small chill crawling up his spine…

And the cold sting of doubtful and suppressing odds sprang inside him.

This was crazy, and hopeless…here was no way he'd survive the desert with just a few liters of water, no navigation, and the entire raging desert and sun as his enemies. He was outmatched and outfought…caught in a battle impossible to win.

The doubt in his mind grew…

He felt stupid and helpless…thinking about how naive he was…

What made him think he could survive? Just because he survived a barren rock before? Because he had cheated death countless times in the past?

He was going to die out here and he knew it.

But his body wouldn't decay and be buried like on the battlefield he knew so well…

The sands would claim his body…and he would fade from existence like he had never been here.

Wolf began feeling horribly discouraged all over again…but swallowed his doubt and clenched his fists.

_Now I'm just thinking like a coward…like Fox…_

_That's like giving up before the battle's started…_

_I'd be more than happy to die knowing I'd try to survive first…but my life isn't mine to toss away this time…_

_I have to get to Leon…_

The thought of Leon made him motivated, the image of his face and the echo of his own words making the doubt melt away.

"_I'll make it up to you for saving me, Leon…I swear it on my good eye."_

Wolf's hand moved to the pocket where the switch-blade was. He brushed sand off the rest of his belongings and took a few steps in the dune's direction.

He glanced back at the ship embedded in the sand. Its tall towering form left a mark of shade that Wolf looked longingly at.

The only shelter he would have from the merciless sands and sun. The only sanctuary from the hell he was about to walk into.

He turned forcefully and looked at the sands ahead.

Miles of stretched sand dunes were laid out in front, their coiling zephyrs and gusts hissing with heat. The sun glared down on its gleaming surface with its powerful heat, giving it an ominous look. This was the atmosphere of the treacherous torture that would carve into his body and will…as if the desert was death himself, daring him to attempt to survive his infinite cloak of sands.

Inevitable death was in every direction.

No life. No mercy. No chance to live.

He was walking from a space of emptiness into a planet of emptiness…from nothing into nothing.

Wolf took a deep breath through the throat he knew would give out to the future harsh conditions. He dug his feet into the hot sand, his purple glare in the direction of the ominous, sun-baked horizon.

_Looks like I've escaped one prison and landed in an even bigger one…_

_And my only escape…my only chance of freedom…is to survive…_

…_and Leon's waiting on the other side._

With a wipe of sweat, a breath of pained thirst, and chill from the desert's foreboding (all of which would not be the last), he took a determined step forward into the wind-draped desert.

And his journey into the heart of desolation began.

_Titanian Desert, several hours later…._

The sun's merciless glared down on the shifting sands, reducing the faintest glimmer of cold wind with its harsh heat. It hadn't moved from its perch of light, and not a cloud was visible in the

Wolf had been trudging dazedly through the desert for hours; every numb step feeling like it sucked every drop of stamina from each limp leg. He hadn't been walking for more than ten miles, and he already felt horrible.

Even though he tried to store his energy and walked as slowly as possible (despite anxious thoughts about Leon), his heart-beat was racing to keep up with his haggard and cracked breathing.

The heat began to simmer the tips of Wolf's fur, and the sweat began to pour down his body like a warm, mulled shower. His breathing was becoming heavier…

_C'mon….I can't be this tired already…_

He staggered forward and blinked fuzzily at the sun-lit desert in front of him.

_I know why this is hard…_

_I'm breathing through my mouth…and that's just adding to my hydration…_

Sucking in a rattled breath, Wolf began breathing through his nose, attempting to maintain his slow pace.

_The slower I walk, the longer I'll last…_ He told himself.

But even as he tried to encourage himself, he glanced back doubtfully as his zig-zagged trailing footprints in the sand behind him, not feeling that he was making much progress.

He turned his gaze front. He needed to keep his pace…keep on track…

But the sun's intense glare made his head hurt. He sweated horribly under his thick clothes, but knew they would come in useful in case of a sandstorm. His sunken eyes began to flutter from heat stroke, their gaze drifting across the unchanged sands.

No rocks. No shade.

Just more sand…and more sun.

Wolf groaned thirstily. His dry tongue lapped back to swallow hopelessly at the back of his parched throat for the saliva that didn't exist.

His weak eyes looked down desperately at his water canteen.

_No!_

He shook his head and addressed himself firmly.

_Not now…not a drop.._

His throat felt even more painful just at the sound of the word "drop" in his head. He shook his head determinedly, trying to shake all thoughts of water from his mind.

_Not right now…just have to wait another twenty minutes…_

_Then I'll take a ten minute break…and I'll have a drink then…_

_I can't drink too much even if I'm thirsty…gotta ration it…make it last…_

Wolf tried raising his nauseous head and concentrating on something else. But despite the rare wind that blew across the desert, there was no sound to distract him. His eyes wandered to his feet, the sands endlessly rolling past his line of vision…again…and again…

He blinked and then rubbed his tired eyes, looking at the horizon, which shimmered and coiled in the heat into a mirage.

_This desert's gonna drive me freaking crazy…_

_I have to think about something else…_

He tried to concentrate his thoughts off of his miserable surroundings and back to all the recent events.

Everything that had happened before the crash…

The first thing that came to his mind was that black ship, and its inhabitants, the Liberators…and Agents.

_Those were the people Leon told me about before…_

_The ones who ran the galaxy nowadays…part of the Cornerian government, apparently…_

_He said they were acting out of paranoia…that they captured and killed all mercenaries and outlaws…to prevent a threat of a second Lylat War…._

Despite the heat that weakened his body, Wolf felt a pang of anger.

_Cold-blooded freaks…_

_What the hell happened to the Cornerian government…?_

_How did they let scum like this take over…?_

Then he remembered. The giant claw-like cannon…

_The planet disruptor…Andross's machine…_

_There's no way anyone would stand up to that…_

_It must've gotten in their hands after the war ended…_

_No…not 'their' hands…_

…_his hands…the Inquisitor…_

His eyes wandered to the sky absentmindedly. Was this person really as cruel and dangerous as everyone said…?

_I never got a chance to meet him…Leon persuaded me to avoid him…_

_But why would he storm a ship so randomly….what was he looking for…?_

_I guess it doesn't matter now…he probably thinks I'm dead after running into that hostile Warp Zone…_

He clenched his fists.

_I guess I'll run into him someday…when I'm ready…_

_If I'm lucky enough to survive this desolate rock…_

Before his thoughts could drift back to the desert, he thought more about this Inquisitor person.

_I wonder who he is…_

_He's probably some big guy…with years of experience on him…_

_Maybe he's a geezer like Andross…_

But as soon as he thought of Andross, he thought about his Inner Power.

An uncomfortable clenched feeling gripped him on the inside.

_What happened back there…with my Inner Power…?_

_Why didn't it work…?_

Wolf looked down at his hands questioningly.

_Is there…something wrong with me?_

For a moment, he was tempted to try it out….the Fire or the Flash, to see if it would function normally this time. But as soon as that stupid idea hit him, he realized how vulnerable he'd be doing something so unpredictable in a place like this. Being unconscious in the desert would make him the victim of the burying sands, and he would be trapped in his own sand-covered grave.

He tightened them into frustrated fists.

_This is bullshit…_

_This whole thing is just utter bullshit…_

_My weapon's gone…my Inner Power's stopped working…I'm in the middle of nowhere…_

_What, is this all karma, or something?_

_Or is fate just taking this turn to destroy me…?_

Then he chuckled darkly to himself.

_Tch…yeah right…_

_As if fate hasn't been a bitch on me before…_

He touched his eye-patch in reminiscent regret.

But something bothered him…

Ever since he had seen that…Planet Disruptor…some memories came back to him. Something that happened on Cerinia, when it got destroyed, all those years ago…

Something important. Something to do with…

He reached into his pocket and took out the blue sapphire, which glinted in the sunlight.

_What? _He thought. _What's so important about…this?_

_I know what happened to Cerinia is linked to this…_

_But what…?_

The questions burned into his mind as relentlessly as the sun did. It was like some missing chunk was missing from his mind…something vital. But what was it? He scratched his head as he searched through his memory with concentration…but he couldn't remember anything about it. Nothing came up. No images, no familiar voices, nothing.

But that only made him feel uncomfortable. The heat seemed to get worse as the troubling confusion tugged at the back of his brain.

Why couldn't he remember it…?

_KRT-CHHH!_

Wolf let out a canine grunt as he tripped over something sharp, jutting out of the ground, causing him to topple over into the sand. The object dug through his boot sharply and tore agonizingly between his toes.

"_GARGH!"_

Eyes watering and face twisting with pain, Wolf bit his tongue to bottle up his scream. He could already feel blood seep sickeningly through the stinging spot between his toes…

Finally, Wolf lost it. The heat blaring down on him, the pain making his body writhe, he let it all out.

"SHIT!"

His voice echoed across the sandy desert, disappearing into inaudibility over the winds.

He looked around infuriatingly. Why was he holding his pain in? It's not like anyone could hear him in pain…

He looked around, and let all of his pain out on a roll of curses.

"SHIT! FUCK! CUNT! MOTHER…FUCKING…_DAAAAAAAARRGH!"_

He yelled pointlessly until his parched throat ached, and he laid there in the rolling sand, seething angrily.

His furious breath slowed gradually…and the desert was quiet again.

With a painful wince, Wolf slid his boot off and looked regretfully at the deep scrape between his toes.

He looked back and saw his tracks in the sand, travelling over the leveled road and being interrupted by a sharp, crimson-dyed rock sticking out of the ground.

Sitting up in the sand and turning spitefully, he muttered to himself. "Stupid piece of shit…" He reached for the lengthy side of his coat that wasn't draped with sand.

_Trch!_

He tore off a chunk of cloth and hastily wrapped it around his foot. Before slinging his boots back on, his licked his cracked lips with his tongue longingly as the heat wafted horribly through his body.

_Maybe…I should take that break now…_

The more he looked at his canteen, the sweeter the thought sounded.

_Might as well…I need to recover before I can start walking again…_

Without a moment's hesitation, he hurriedly unstuck the cork of his canteen and raised it to his lips.

Then he stopped himself.

_Hold it…don't get too greedy…_

The brim of the canteen's nozzle brushed his parched lips temptingly, urging him to take a swig.

_Not too much…just a small drink…_

He held the bottle tightly and sipped the water gingerly.

If Wolf hadn't been using his mouth at the moment, he would've moaned with relief. The cool water drizzled soothingly in a rush of quenching bliss down his parched throat, like a rushing river down a barren and dry ravine. He tore the canteen away from himself forcibly, and savored the liquid in the back of his throat before continuing with the sublime swallow.

"_Ahhh…"_

He cooed softly as he smacked his lips gratefully.

_That's should keep me going for a while…_

After resting his numb legs for a good fifteen minutes, Wolf rose-no, _limped _to his feet (stupid cut), and trudged forward, twisting the lid back on the canteen.

As he fingered the lid, tempting thoughts muddled in his head. That was a really refreshing drink of water…

_Maybe…one more sip won't hurt…_

He uncorked the canteen.

_I'll stop after that…_

Raising the canteen to his lips, Wolf heard the beautiful sound of the water swishing inside…

Suddenly, his drew the canteen away, snapping out of it.

_NO! _

_No…_

_I can't let my thirst get the better of me…_ He pocketed it away quickly. _I'll only regret it later when I'm on the ground, dying of thirst…_

_I'd rather be thirsty for hours than die later because I was greedy enough to finish all my water…_

He shuffled his coat and spread it back, shifting all the tightened, sweaty, uncomfortable spots on him. Then, he rose to his feet and looked back.

Wolf froze as he looked at the ground.

_What….?_

His tracks were gone.

The footprints that had only been etched into the sand had already disappeared under a fresh new sweep of sand…work of the wind, no doubt. But how could his tracks, barely a few minutes old, be buried by the sand so quickly?

The sun was hot, the air was tight and humid, and Wolf's fur was slacked with sweat. But that didn't stop the cold shiver run down his spine…

_This is a demonic place…_

_Any sign of life is buried in minutes…_

_And this was just now…I'm days behind Leon, and whoever got a hold of him…_

_How the hell will I find any trace of them…?_

He looked around uncomfortably. Even in complete desolation and seclusion, he still felt cautious as if he was being watched….the kind of feeling he'd get on a place like Venom. But even if this planet didn't have foreboding rock formations and ominous caves of its own didn't make it any less chilling.

_I'd take surviving in any place…_

_Toxic waste-oceans of Zoness…or ice-trenched mesas of Fichina…_

_But not this…_

He started walking, full-well knowing his trail of footprints behind him wouldn't last long, towards the endless desert that unraveled before him.

It wasn't long before that painfully thirsty feeling struck him again. He tried to ignore it for a few more steps, but the lingering saliva produced by that water constantly begged for hydration.

Wolf stopped and groaned.

_Oh God…_

This journey would take forever if he was going to be constantly bothered by tormenting thoughts of water.

Then, an old survival technique hit him. Instincts forged in the dark caves of Venom revisited his wits…on those long nights when he couldn't find water…

He looked around himself hastily, and then he found his solution:

A small, round pebble, sitting on the baked sand with the other rocks.

He scooped it up, dabbed some meager drops of water on it to clean it, and looked at it for a long time.

Then, he put the front of the smooth rock into his drying mouth, and started to suck on it.

Wolf made a face as the hard, bland, unnatural surface of the rock pressed uncomfortably against his tongue. It was an old trick he used when he was a kid…whenever he got thirsty and went looking for water, sucking on a smooth stone kept his saliva intact, at least for most of the journey.

_I won't be drinking water for a while…_

…_but this is the next best thing._

For a moment, he smiled to himself, just thinking about how stupid he would sound telling Leon about this journey. The powerful and enduring Star Wolf, dominating his thirst by sucking on a rock.

But the tired humor melted away as his momentarily-optimistic mood was shattered back to misery at the sight of more sand dunes in front of him.

His feet moved without him knowing, carrying his tired body absentmindedly over the usual routine of desert sand.

And every step of the way, the water in his canteen slushed around, purposely audible, reminding Wolf with an inevitable dread…a deathly reminder…

It wouldn't last forever. And neither would he.

Death's clock was still ticking impatiently…

_Titanian Desert, Nightfall…._

The sun had finally disappeared beneath the confining cells of the horizon, taking its merciless and heated glare with it. A dark blue sky covered the desert like a massive veil, turning the sands from their usual yellow to a dark shade of blue.

Up in the sky, surrounded by an ocean of glimmering stars and in front of the massive rings of the planet, numerous white dots were in all corners of the sky. Some seemed closer than others, while some seemed more distant. These were the many moons of Titania…many too far off to be named or known…with only three close enough to the planet to be visibly confirmed as moons. Two white orbs that shone a gleaming white, while the third sat behind the first two, flecked with red from the gases that inhabited it.

The three dominant moons of Titania…

Unfortunately, as spectacular the sight was, none of them meant anything in Wolf's numb and tired mind. His weary legs stumbled across the sand without his mind's consent, carrying on automatically towards the horizon.

He had never been more tired and exhausted in his life. Whatever aches he had felt in the aftermath of his Inner Power incident felt like nothing compared to this. Hours of walking across the unleveled waves of sand had stricken and battered his once physically-fit legs. Every bone in his body creaked, and every joint felt like it was going to come loose. Wolf breathed struggled and harsh breath from his worked-out lungs, his vision hazy with the tired effect on his senses.

Wolf knew perfectly well why his body was in such a bad condition…and it had nothing to with the distance he had walked. The heat and dehydration had stripped his muscles of their energy, and the nutrients of salt in his body had been wasted through gallons of selfish sweat. His body was barely functioning without any salts.

His head was practically split open with the dizziness of heat stroke…as well as plagued by the many tormenting mirages of pools that danced in heat of the horizon for hours in front of his weak eyes.

FWUMP!

Wolf collapsed to his knees.

The sand was now cool, and the winds brought his sweaty body some comfort, but nothing helped his intense dehydration and exhaustion. His heart rate beat constantly, trying to keep up with the painful stress his body was undergoing.

_Tired…too tired…_

_And only…after one day…_

_I can't…go on like this…_

He loosened his coat and weakly raised his canteen to his mouth. Slurping up some water gratefully, he drank mindlessly as he filled his mouth to its potential.

_Splrrp!_

Wolf coughed and spluttered hoarsely as some of the water swiveled down the wrong pipe in his throat. Wiping his mouth and regaining some strained breath, he pocketed the canteen.

_Damn it…_

_I'm nowhere near Leon…and I'm this close to exhaustion…_

He tried to lay his head back, but his muscles were too sore and his skin was too hot, so that he was painfully uncomfortable no matter how he sat.

He shut his eyes tiredly, his breath deafening his own ears for a long time.

"_Haaagh…haagh…"_

He ran a tired hand through the fur on his head. His breathing became louder.

"…_Haaagh…haaagh…"_

His tongue lapped dryly inside his mouth. His head began to feel heavy…

The winds began to gather around him, hissing in unison with his tired breath.

"_Haaagh…haa-aagh…."_

The noise of his breath grew louder, until it whistled in his ears.

_Wait a minute…_

_That's not me making that noise…_

_SWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!_

Wolf's eyes shot open, the sound of his breathing disappearing under the deafening sound. His ear twitched as he looked around, and saw that winds coiling around the sandy grand had increased in size and number.

_What the…?_

He swerved his head around and looked into the distance behind him.

In a huge wall of swiveling and curling wisps of sand, the desert was buried under a towering and tsunami-sized pummel of blue winds and sand. The windy sands swirled over in a massive tornado of dune-spawned dust clouds, stretching for almost two-hundred feet in both directions of the desert's horizon. It blew with roaring sounds of winds and wailing shrieks of storming air currents that devoured the sky with its towering form.

The sandy ground shook and was sucked into the massive sandstorm, the dunes' towering shapes swirling up to join the colossal wave of destruction. The winds whirled and wailed all around Wolf, whistling deafeningly in his ears and blinding him with their rapid streaks.

Wolf's breathing grew faster as the sandstorm approached quickly, riding the massive clouds as it thundered toward him.

_No…_

_Oh HELL no…_

He backed up and kicked some nerves into his legs and took off into a desperate sprint in the opposite direction.

His weakened legs sprung back into action as he staggered rapidly away. Sand flew from where he stomped into the ground, hurrying away towards no particular direction…just away.

As the wind flew and ripped past his face with wave after wave of sand flying at him, Wolf cuffed the collar of his coat around his face and over his mouth. Breathe becoming rapid under the clotted seclusion of the hot coat, Wolf's already-racing heart-rate thumped at bullet-speed.

The violent storm-winds tore at his face relentlessly, splitting painfully through his fur. As a massive and heavy force of wind began dragging him back, Wolf flung both arms in front of himself and dug his feet into the ground, fighting off the wind's weight with his own.

_!_

Whistling and deafening winds shrieked through his ears as the sand pellets drove into his face like raining shards of glass. Slowly, as he squinted through the storm, the familiar desert surroundings faded beneath the intense cloud of dust and wind all around him. The noise and chaos, along with not being able to see, made Wolf shut his eyes and plummet hurriedly through the sand.

_Shit! The wind…it's blowing me back…_

_If I get caught in that storm's center…I'll be buried alive!_

Wolf roared with effort as he pushed through the splitting winds and ran through, his coat flapping behind him. He tried to keep his balance and not let the wind push him back to make him easy prey for the storm.

He picked up his pace painfully on his tired legs and dove through the winds that blistered both the sand and his fur.

Shwa-SHAP!

Sand crumbled and spewed on the ground around his sprinting feet, rocks and clumps of wind-swept sand spraying against him as he ran by. He stumbled and staggered in his rapid pace, his weak bones trying to keep up with his speed and away from the pursuing storm.

He opened his eye with gritted teeth, squinting through the storm towards the horizon that was billowing with sand. He hardened his gaze through the muddled storm, trying to find some manner of escape with the wailing winds already approaching.

_Shit…shit…SHIT…_

And then, his eyes stopped wandering and widened as they fell upon a narrowly-distinguishable bunch of shadowy clumps, dotting the base of the nearest sand dune.

Even from a distance and only barely making them out through the blinding winds, Wolf had enough mental discomforts and bad memories to recognize them with a newfound sense of relief…

Caves. Just peeking from the bottom of the sand dune…

His heart sped up as he saw them.

_With shelter I can survive the storm! I can make it…_

He looked back.

The winds spun and whirled towards him, the massive dust-cloud storm sucking in all sands and life in its shuffling grip and crushing it with the weight of the ominous central inferno of gusts. As the storm raced closer to him, Wolf could already feel the swirling winds suck in the sand around his feet, and tug at his clothes and fur.

Cursing loudly under the drowning madness of the screeching winds, he charged forward desperately in the direction of the caves. His feet stomped through the sandy ground in a quick pace, sending sand all around him.

_Shrrra-_SHOOOOM!

The entire dark, and muddled desert sky flashed white for a brief moment, illuminating the sandstorm behind and momentarily giving the swirling clouds the appearance of sharp teeth.

Wolf's ears twitched cautiously at the thundering noise.

_Lightning?_

Suddenly, a choking sensation pinched at his throat. Wolf, still running but gasping at the same time, raised a hand to his neck and felt the collar of his coat being drawn back.

_What…the…?_

Suddenly, he felt the back of his coat hurl in the air behind him, ripping as it was stretched in the opposite direction like some monstrous hand was grabbing it.

_Damn it! _He snatched at the collar of his coat. _The storm's sucking it in!_

Slowly, Wolf felt his feet drag backwards as well, being pulled through the dug sand in the direction of his coat.

He growled and clawed at the fastening of the collar and tugged it off.

_Fwip!_

The coat fluttered behind him and disappeared off of his shoulders and into the indistinguishable nothingness behind him.

Wolf shivered as the winds tore brutally at his bare arms, feeling colder in his muscle-shirt in the storm's ruthless gaze. He charged forward determinedly towards the approaching caves, breath becoming heavy as he forced more energy on his weakened legs. More sand flung towards his face and eyes and mouth, smashing in heaps of hard and stinging flecks of rocky waves.

Spitting out sand and baring his teeth, Wolf ran faster, raising a protective hand over his face and sacrificing the fur on his arm to the intense rain of sands and storm-winds.

As he staggered towards the painfully-close caves, his own breath almost deafening his ears more than the wind, his legs grew weak under the grueling pace.

_Krrump!_

Then, with the wind rocking his balance too much for him to keep steady, his left foot got caught in the way of the other and he fell abruptly.

"_Mmf!"_

Wolf felt the ground smash into his face like a wall of sand, the small rocks piling against his face and cheeks. He heard a clinking sound and felt an absence of weight on his belt.

He rose achingly and reached for his belt to see what he had dropped.

Then his blood ran cold….as he realized that his canteen of water was gone.

Wolf's heart pounded even faster, his mind twitching with panic. He looked around him hurriedly, but could barely see his own feet in the ground through all the fuzzy storm-wind. His only source of water…without which he wouldn't last without, even if he survived this storm…missing, somewhere around him.

_No…no…_

_Not now…damn it, NOT NOW!_

He fell to his knees, panting frantically, blindly rummaging around in the rough sand for the smooth surface of his canteen. The storm howled as it grew closer…

_C'mon…where is it…where is it….?_

He dug in the sand all around him with his claws, searching desperately for it. As his hands fell upon some heavy objects lying in the sand, he grabbed each one. With no optical aid to identify them through the blinding storm, Wolf held them next to his ear and shook them, listening hard.

Without any apparent results, he tossed the object behind him, assuming that it was just a rock.

_WHOOOOOOOOOSH!_

The stormed screeched even louder, just barely a mile from where he sat, and approaching rapidly….

_C'mon…c'mon!_

He shook rock after rock next to his ear, until he shook one more and heard the noise he was looking for.

_Swish-swish._

The sound of water.

_YES!_

Breathe returning with relief, he clutched the canteen with a firm, clawed grip and sprinted forward.

The wind's engulfing sound grew bigger behind him, and the violent breezes shook the sand forcibly from the ground. Wolf felt the sand rise against his feet, the winds tearing at his face and stinging his eyes while he ran forward blindly. Head rushing and sweat dripping from his from his forehead, he exhaled rapidly as the thundering storm shook the air behind him. He opened his eyes painfully towards the direction he was running, squinting through the blinding winds of the storm.

_Almost….there…_

The cave was only a few feet away-

FWAAAAAAAAAAAASHHHHHHHH!

As he ran, he swung his head back to get a glimpse of the swirling colossal of stormy winds that were illuminated constantly with rapid flashes of lightning that shook the desert with their thunder.

Eyes widening at the close range of the storm, Wolf ran faster through the sands and charged desperately towards the moving form of the cave ahead, which shook up and down in his line of vision while his body heaved upwards while running.

_FWAAASH!_

The winds tore at the back of his neck, the thunder echoing closer dangerously…

_FWAAASH!_

Wolf's determined face was lit white with the approaching lightning's light, his ears blaring with the deafening roar of thunder behind him…

_FWAAASH!_

His feet powdered the sand under them as he sprinted across the sand, the cave approaching the front of him…

The storm howled behind him...the ground shook and the wind moaned, as a massive shadow began to rise from the ground and drown out the sand with its dark lines….the shadow grew as a gigantic wave of sand drew up in the air to smash down on him…the wind nabbing at the back of his fur, the storm so close that he could already feel the cold, dowsing whirlwinds suck him towards it-

"_HUAAAAAGH!"_

_!_

Leaping forward into a ground-roll, Wolf dove towards the open-mouthed cave entrance, the sand wave clashing against his back violently and clattering the shifting sandy masses against his fur with the sharp wind as it pushed him inside forcibly. The rest of the sandwave flooded past and over the top of the cave and across the desert, a mountain of sand burying the entrance to the cave behind Wolf before depleting into the wind.

_Kltt-ARRER!_

A hard, rocky surface slammed against his body as he fell against the cave floor, face-first. The ground flew at his body like a speeding wall before jolting achingly and sending a pulsing smash against his weak limbs and joints. Wolf groaned as the pain washed over his forehead and chest numbingly before settling down with the calming dose of aftermath.

Head still rushing and heart still racing from the intensity of the chase, Wolf shut his eyes as he rested his sweating forehead against the cool cave floor, releasing the canteen from his still-clutched grip with a clatter next to him. Body sore and fur caked with sand, he rested there for a long time.

The cave rock was edgy and uncomfortable to rest on…just like he had remembered it. It was so dark that he could barely see the front of his own nose. For what seemed like hours, he lay there listening to the somewhat calming noise of his own breathing echo in the cave and the whistling breezes of the storm outside.

The only feeling Wolf's senses could trace across his sore body was the slight chill inside the cave. A shiver from the bristling winds from outside rustled through his fur, and he huddled his arms around thin muscle-shirt, wishing he still had his coat.

The sand crunched uncomfortably under his body, and he was still cold and aching no matter what position he laid on. But his tired body eventually drifted past the small discomforts and he began to lose himself in his own thoughts.

_That storm…how could a storm like that…_

…_happen in the desert?_

_This place is a living hell…the daytime's a nightmare, and the nighttime's even worse…_

_I won't be able to survive…not in conditions like this…_

…_not by myself… _

His cold and dark surroundings provoked thoughts of loneliness and solitude…and he was soon sullen by himself. He hadn't felt his alone in a long time…not since he was in prison. Leon, the Lylat System…everything seemed so distant now.

_I wish he were here…_ He thought miserably. His insides ached at the thought of what might be happening to him or where'd he'd be…or if Leon was as lonely as he was right now.

_Probably not as much…_

_I've always had this thing where I need other people in order to be whole…_

_Whether to be friends or foes…I need to be among other people to survive…_

_I hate being by myself…trapped in solitude of being the only one…_

_That's why I hated that prison so much…_

_There was not a single human being to talk to…or fight…or argue with, or be with…there wasn't even enough light._

At the thought of that horrible place, Wolf shivered…and it wasn't the cold wind this time.

_Whatever…_

_It's gone now…under Corneria Sea…_

_I'll never have to go back there again…_

_And besides…I'm not alone…I don't have to fight by myself this time…Leon's waiting for me...somewhere…_

With the occasional ear-flick at the noise and the calming atmosphere projected by hopeful thoughts, Wolf's eyelids gradually closed and his head became heavy…losing himself in a tired and exhausted slumber.

_Three days later, Titanian Desert…_

Three long days had gone by since the night in the cave.

Three devastating, tormenting days plagued by heat-stroke, deprivation of sanity, torturous dehydration, and spasm-provoking mirages.

Every day seemed like a lifetime in hell, and every hour felt like a nightmare.

The desert had crippled and twisted Wolf into walking corpse…a withering remnant of his former, healthy self. His face was battered and burned from the blazing glare of the sun, his eyes sunken and cheeks hollow. His fur hung in messy clumps on his body, chunks of it gone from shedding constantly to pitifully adapt in the hot environment. The reduction of his once-smooth and shaggy coat made him look smaller and skinnier. One eye twitched occasionally, worn out from squinting blindly through the desert, and one ear was in permanent droop from exhaustion. His lips were more cracked and dry than the ground he walked over, and his tongue had been reduced to a lifeless, bland object in his mouth. Lack of food and water had snatched so many pounds from his weight, and the faint outline of his ribs was beginning to show from the sweat-soaked rags that were once clothes. His breath was raspy and weak from exhausting travel over the sun-baked desert, the dehydration so devastating that even his canine nose was dry.

The last few days in the desert were horrible. Day after day, his blood circulation began to flow less, and drifting fevers and cramps had left him no sleep to power his worn-out body. Wolf's sense of smell was almost completely gone now, but he knew from the lack of bathing that he must've really stunk. His body was caked with sand stuck with sweat, the filth turning his grey tone to a drier, browner grey color.

It didn't help that his previous night, he had some kind of skin irritation that made him itch, and the lack of food and increase of heat exhaustion had staunched his miserable night with sequences of painful vomiting and passing out.

Now, as he walked on automatic legs and blistered feet through the desert, Wolf was suffering more than ever.

His dizzy head and fogging gaze stared weakly over the endless sands before him, human thought absent from his agonized mind. As the heat began to sizzle the tips of his fur and sear achingly against his forehead, he raised a limp hand over his face to defend it against the sun's glare. But he winced as it directed its fiery haze down on his peeling and unprotected neck.

Wolf staggered along limply like a wounded animal, ears clogged with the sound of his own harsh breathing, and eyes stung so much by the sun that he could barely see. His feet dragged against his weary body's reluctant will, each step feeling heavier than the first.

He panted and looked around hopelessly. Why was he still walking? What hope did he have to survive? He had lost track of his path days ago….and he hadn't found a sign of life since. Not a plant, beast or sign of civilization.

Just sand. More endless sand…the sight of its stretching form across the desert appearing in his eyes and tormenting his weakened mind….

Wolf groaned weakly…he couldn't keep going.

Forcing his arm joints to move, he reached weakly for the canteen hanging from his belt. Unscrewing the cap with more effort and muscle than it should've taken, he raised it shakily to his cracked and longing lips.

He tilted it up…

…but no water came.

_What?_

The first thought he had in days shook him out of his heat-struck daze, his heart pounding frantically as he shook the canteen rapidly. But there was no sound of water.

_No…no…_

_No…no…no…_

His breathing became hard and the desert around him seemed to swerve sickeningly, his mind straining to keep itself from falling into insane panic.

He raised the bottle upside down and shook it over his mouth in a frantic dumping motion, trying to salvage at least a drop.

_Come on..._

_One drop…that's all I need…_

He shook the canteen faster, almost sobbing with misery, begging the canteen for a drop of water….

_Please…come on….I just want one drop…that'll keep me going, I promise…_

_Come on…get out…just a drop…_

He shook it faster and faster, his tongue desperate for a quenching relief but his mind already horribly knowing that there wasn't any water left…

_Come on…COME ON!_

But nothing came. The canteen was as dry as the desert.

_No….no…not this…_

_Please not this…PLEASE!_

The canteen shook in Wolf's hands to the point where he couldn't hold it, and it dropped in the sand with a metallic _Thunk! _His hands fell limp by his body and his legs shook.

He was out of water…

There wasn't any left…

He looked around frantically, his heart pounding horribly in his chest, and his breath rising faster. He staggered around with exhaustion and thirst, not knowing what to do or where to go….

He walked more and more…his head getting heavy and his mind reeling with panic and hopelessness…

The sun's heat wafted endlessly against his defenseless body. Finally, the desert's torture took its toll, and Wolf's knees gave out.

_THUNK!_

The desert did a cartwheel in Wolf's hazy vision before the ground hit him face-first. The baking sand pressed painfully against his battered face like a scalding and red-hot bed of nails. He breathed faintly, the sand billowing away from his mouth and nostrils. His head weighed a thousand pounds, but he just barely raised it.

He tried to hoist himself weakly on his quivering arms.

_Got to…get up…_

But as he panted and looked around hopelessly, he started dreading the thought. Why was he even bothering to try? So what, if he got up…so what, if he survived another day…what good would it lead to? Another day in this sun-burnt hell? Another day of wishing he could exchange every drop of blood in his body for one drop of water?

The mirages…the thirst…the heat…the sun…

It would never end. It would just be an eternity of this torture…never-ending…

Finding no will to support his arms, and no strength in them to support his body, he let out an exhausted breath and fell back into the sand.

Wolf laid there for what seemed hours, breathing rasp, struggled breaths.

He couldn't go on….the determination, the spark of motivation behind his will…was dead. Just like his chances of survival…

He couldn't deny it anymore…he couldn't kid himself with pointless thoughts of determination any longer. He was outmatched by this desert from the start…blinded by the stupid delusion that he would make it…like he always had…

He couldn't take it anymore. He wanted it all to end…to die. Let the desert take him, let the sands claim his corpse, he didn't care. He was too tired, too thirsty…

The thought of death began to soothe his pained mind. No more struggling…no more walking…it would all end.

As his eyes fluttered weakly, and his chest and heart began to give in with surrender, he welcomed the death that had hounded him for so long….

As darkness started to cloud his eyes, he couldn't help but feel strange. Everything seemed to have happened so long ago…the _Peacekeeper, _the Warp Zone, crashing and waking up here…it was almost like it had happened years ago.

Regret came swiftly afterwards…that he had never made it to Leon…that he would not live to see the Lylat System refurbish…that he would never see Leon again…

"_Caw! Caw!"_

The piercing crowing noise blared through Wolf's ears, and his eyes shot open instantly.

The desert's blinding form stung his eyes for a moment, before he heard it again.

"_Caw! Caw!"_

He raised his head weakly and looked up.

_W…What…?_

He saw black, blurry shapes in the sky above, circling an area in the distance. As he came through, the shapes took form and cleared up to reveal them to have wings…

"_Caw! Caw!"_

The crowing noise was coming from a group of birds, too distant to see but small enough to be confirmed as non-intelligent animal life.

Wolf's worn eyes widened.

_Wait…_

_Birds…life…_

_That means…_

The purple glint in his eyes lit up, rising realization filling him.

_Water!_

Hope seeped back into him, his breathing become fast with both excitement and relief.

_Of course! Birds circling an area….life is attracted to one source of water in the desert…_

…_an oasis!_

He heaved himself up slightly and took a staggering breath. Wincing from the pressure building on his blistered feet, he sunk his palm into the hot sand and raised his body up. Panting heavily as energy began to ignite in his worn and sun-scarred body, he forced his muscles to fight the biting ache in his bones.

"_Haagh…"_

Exhaling with effort, he shakily rose himself to his feet, blinking as his foggy vision focused their weak gaze on the birds ahead. As he tried to maintain his unstable balance, he tried his luck on a step forward…

_CLUMP!_

Wolf's tired-out ankles gave in to the instability of his balance, and he staggered back and fell into the sand. Stopping his fall with his hands, he kept his head lowered as he panted in the heat, diamonds of sweat pouring down his scorched neck. Opening his eyes weakly, he looked down to see his sweat drops fall with a sizzling splash into the sand, sparkling in the blaring sunlight, before disappearing with beneath the thirsty ground.

He gritted his teeth, and clenched his fist, hardening his stare at the spot where the ground swallowed his sweat.

_Look at me…_

_Giving blood and sweat to cross a desert…_

_The water's so close…and I'm letting the sun take advantage of me…_

He sucked in a breath and weakly attempted to rise to his feet, sand and dust sliding off his boots.

_Come on…get up! _He told himself.

_You've fought in more battles and lost more sweat than this…_

_Are you going to let death come and take you here instead of on the field of battle?_

Growling dryly, he dug his claws into the sand.

_Bullshit._

_I've fought Star Fox…_

…_James McCloud…_

…_that Devourer bastard…_

…_and even Andross…_

…_I'm not going to die like a common mutt because some shit-filled over-blown pile of sand is in my way…_

He looked up defiantly towards the horizon, dotted with endless sand dunes. But there were birds circling the area ahead…

That meant hope. Means of escape…

Wolf rose himself out of the sand and to his feet, looking ahead. Raising a hand over his brow, shielding his gaze from the sun, he felt a burning sensation in his stomach…a determination hotter than the desert.

_This is nothing…If I can walk against Andross's electrical chip and his tortuous words…this desert should be nothing…_

_He said that I was weak…pitiful…just a failed experimental human being like the others before me…_

He walking grew faster…he struggled against his staggering balance…

_That I'm just a common human being…_

_Blinded by determination…deaf to logic…weakened by my own emotions and feelings…_

He clenched his fists, the mental image of Andross's smug sneer filling him with a rage that overshadowed his exhaustion, pushing him to strive forward.

_Stupid bastard…._

_He couldn't kill me…James couldn't…no one could…_

…_and this desert won't, either!_

He staggered towards the horizon.

_This desert can throw as much sand as it wants…_

…_and burn me alive with the sun…and cut my skin with its blistering winds…_

_It won't kill me…it CAN'T kill me!_

_I won't let myself die…_

_I WON'T LET LEON DIE!_

The heat stroke began to cloud his head with heat-stricken nausea, but he fought against it with his pace-driven feet and his anger-filled stare towards the horizon.

_I didn't survive all those battles and escape death just to die out here…_

_I'll survive…just like I always have!_

Suddenly, his breath became heavy as he climbed the towering sand dunes that rose and fell under his tired feet. The sun searing waves of heat singed into his fur painfully, and his bones cracked where the joints were about to give out.

Wolf pressed on weakly, staggering in the sand and falling occasionally, just barely maintaining his balance and consciousness.

The white light from the sun made him squint, and his other ear that wasn't drooped picked up a familiar sound.

"_Caw! Caw!"_

Wolf stopped in his tracks for a moment, and squinted ahead, his body swaying as he tried to keep standing, his breath ragged and heavy.

His eyes widened.

A sight worthy of heaven itself lay before him in the form of a shaded desert flat, dotted with green, scraggly bushes and twisted vines that stuck out oddly from the sand. Towering, swaying trees surrounded the area, the sunlight resting on the perches of the fluttering palm leaves, casting lines of beautiful, cool shade over the wavy lines of sand. Pink and orange desert flowers poked with a clash of color from the dry bushes and plants, and leaning cacti sprouted from the ground around it. But the most rewarding sight, the view that mirrored longingly in Wolf's tired and sun-stricken eyes, was the rock-surrounded deep trench that laid in the center, with the whistling sound of buzzing insects combined with the beautiful churning and swishing sound of…

"_Water…" _Wolf croaked in a faint voice of ecstasy.

Even from where he stood, the pond's cool breeze mixed with the calming buzz of water life invitingly. The small ripples shimmered in the sunlight, and dragonflies skimmed the surface with a hum of their wings.

Wolf breathed a dry and tired breath of relief, his body feeling weak at the sight of the one desire he had craved without end for the past few days, along with the splash of overwhelming accomplishment at the view of the oasis.

He had made it.

The sight of the water dazed his senses so much, that the first step he took caused him to fall down a tired step and tumble down uncomfortably in the sand. But he didn't care. Shaking sand out of his fur, he staggered mindlessly towards the water.

Twining roots and thorny plants tangled around his feet as he ran forwards, tripping him and throwing him off balance as he hobbled over to the pond, his own anticipated breath clogging his ears.

_I've made it…._

_I've finally made it!_

_Water…shade…_

He trudged down to his knees and sat in front of the pond, watching the rippling water for a long time, savoring the sight of the true value in the desert.

SPLASH!

Thrusting his hands relentlessly into the water, feeling the cool, calming liquid soothe his blistered hands on impact, he splashed a wave of water into his face gratefully.

"_Aaaah…"_

He moaned softly as the water drizzled down his sun-baked and travel-worn face and down his heat-stung neck.

Wolf cupped a huge puddle of water in his hands and gulped it greedily.

The water rushed down his dry and cracked throat in an endless flow of liquid bliss….cool, rushing and washing through and over his lifeless tongue. Slurping the water thirstily, he slipped it into his mouth quickly, spilling most of it in his shaky hands.

As he shoveled more and more gallons of water into his mouth, more splashed and drizzled off the end of his snout.

"_Kaach! _A-_cooch!"_

Gagging and spluttering on the water as it shot down the wrong tube in his throat while he drank it too quickly, Wolf rubbed his sore throats and drank in gradually-slower sips.

Finally, as countless gallons of water slushed uncomfortably in his stomach, he dragged his tired body over to the shady spot under the trees and collapsed in exhaustion.

As he tired and worn body hit the cool and compressed mounds of sand beneath the palms, he exhaled as he rested his heavy head back. The breeze from the pond and the quiet hum of the insects around the oasis soothed his ears, while the motionless rest of his tired limbs and aching bones made him exhale in comfort.

His head grew heavy and his eyelids grew heavier, and the oasis's hazy calmness began to lull his tired mind to rest.

Wolf sighed triumphantly, savoring the peace in the aftermath of his victory over the desert.

_I made it…_

_I finally made it…_

_All those days of travel…all those hopeless treks over miles of sand…_

_Over…all over…_

_A few hours later…_

Wolf woke up, and instantly, his surroundings were darker. The swaying palms towered above him from his view up at the sky on his back, the night sky illuminated by a cluster of stars and the familiar sight of the two moons.

He rose himself up and winced as some of his bones ached. The water had helped him recover a great deal, but the grueling travel-worn condition of his body hadn't changed because a few hours of sleep.

Rubbing his eyelids sleepily, he looked around.

_Night already…_

_I must've dozed off longer than I thought…_

He yawned and stood up, brushing sand off of his ragged clothes and fur.

_But I had the right to…I'll need a few days of recovery before I get back on the trail…_

Pllllrrrrrtttt!

He looked down at the hollow, staunched feeling of hunger crept up his stomach, along with a ravenous growl.

Wolf touched the lined region of his chest where his ribs were starting to peek.

_Tch…better add some food to that list, too…_

_Damn…_

_I haven't eaten in days…my body's lost almost all of its salt…_

He looked around the oasis hopefully, examining the trees and bushes for any signs of fruit or berries. But to his disappointment, the twisted trees and shrunken plants had nothing to offer except their wooden bark.

Remembering how he used to live off of the meager vegetation on Venom when he was younger, Wolf pondered on the thought of eating it. But after sucking on stones for so long, the thought of shoving another bland, hard substance into his mouth didn't appeal to his dry taste-buds. Besides, if he remembered correctly, those plants were always too hard to hard to digest…

Shuddering at the thought, Wolf turned his gaze to some other potential food.

Then, he spotted some of the cacti sitting at the edge of the oasis.

_Hmm…I think I remember hearing about fruit blooming from cacti…depending on what planet it was on…_

_But they're poisonous most of the time…_

He hesitated cautiously, but the desperate hunger provoked him into looking at the cactus longingly.

_Better to take the chance than let it bother me constantly…besides, it may be the only edible food I'll find around here…and I can't pass a chance like this up…_

Walking towards the cactus, he glanced at the top that was illuminated by the moonlight. Reaching forward, but being careful not to run his hand on the prickly spines, he tapped the top of it with the point of his claw.

_Shra-shing!_

He opened up Leon's switch-blade from its handle, and plunged it into the cactus.

Pl-shhh-_rrrk!_

As soon as the steel point dug into the top, something hot and sticky sprayed from the cactus and sprayed all over Wolf.

He recoiled instantly and blinked in surprise and irritation.

"Gagh! _What the-?"_

The strange liquid gushed from the top of the cactus like a spraying miniature geyser, its weird substance greenish-yellow, and steaming too, sending up a faint wisp of smoke that stank like sulfur as it came out of the cactus-top. It splattered against Wolf's front and face, feeling like hot soap as it dripped down his chest, some of it dripping on his chin and mouth.

Wolf gagged, the liquid clotted and heavy like milk, some of it on his lips and seeping into his mouth. It tasted horrible, feeling like some kind of frothy and bitter medicine. It was sweet but disgustingly sour, burning on his tongue and causing his eyes to water. He spat and spluttered the nasty liquid out, brushing it off of his mouth and tongue, a repulsed look on his face and the fur on his tail rising at the horrible taste.

_GOD! Jesus, what is that…?_

_Ugh…ew, it tastes awful…and why is it WARM? What the hell is it, some kind of weird, conserved cactus milk?_

Spitting out more, be wiped the frothy stuff off his chest and wriggled it out of his fur. _Eegh, it's disgusting!_ _Why the hell did it do that? What, do all these cactuses here just take a giant piss on you if you cut'em open?_

Curling his nose at the awful stench from the steaming puddle on the ground near his feet, he stepped back. He glanced at the split cactus, and….there wasn't any fruit.

_Peh. Whatever…Stupid pissing cactus…I didn't want any fruit anyway…not if it comes out in the same fashion…_

Then, he froze as his gaze followed the trail of the flowing cactus juice, over to a spot on the ground. It was a black mark in the ground, darker than the shadows casted by the trees.

_What's that…?_

_That's nothing the desert would make…_

He walked over to it and bent down. Now that he was closer, he saw that it was a patch of black-caked sand, surrounded by a circle of rocks. The black mark in the ground was recognizable after countless situations from the prison escape and his fleeing of the _Anatarres…_

A crater…made by fire.

The sight of it sent a chill of realization up Wolf's fur.

_Fire…out here?_

He ran his finger through the soot and ash on the ground and rubbed it between his fingers feelingly.

His tracking instincts were aroused.

_This isn't some flame-remnant from a long time ago…_

_There's bark and rubble…_

_Which means it's still fresh…and a fire doesn't just happen in the desert…_

_This bark was burnt by someone….recently._

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. Curling his fist around the ash in his palm, he glanced behind him cautiously.

_Could these people…be the same people who took Leon…?_

He blinked and then shook his head.

_I can't make any assumptions to quickly…it could be anyone…_

_But at least this proves I'm not alone on this hell-hole of a planet…_

_But who would build a fire here…and why?_

Wolf looked down at rocks surrounding the ash. Not just a fire…a campfire…

He looked up. _A campfire? By who?_

Then, he felt something. He rubbed the ash in his hand, until a charred substance appeared under the soot…something burnt but not completely decomposed. It felt soft but stretchable, like it had been fresh once.

His eyes widened.

_Hold on…_

_This isn't bark…this is…_

He brought it to his nose and sniffed it experimentally. He recognized the scent instantly.

_Meat._

_Scraps of meat…recently cooked._

Wolf rummaged through the pile of ash, and he found more fragments of it peaking through the rubble.

_This is too much neglected food for one person…_

_There must've been a group here…_

_A group of people…out here…can only mean…_

He froze.

It could've been imagination, but his sharp ears twitched sensitively at the sound of the soft noise behind him. The sound of…breathing.

His next thought was finished in his mind, as he slowly turned around.

_Natives._

SHWA-THAAANG!

Wolf dove to the side instantly, as he heard a sharp, whistling noise distort the silence of the oasis, moonlight glinting off of a steel object that rang through the air before sinking its point in the sand inches from Wolf's foot.

He glanced at it briefly, but the seconds' glance gave him the details on what it was: A knife. Not a military one, or genuine mercenary weapon…but a short, curved blade like a jambiya, its hilt decorated with a bone of some kind of beast, and a long handle ornate with the skin of some kind of reptile-like bird.

"_HAAAAAARGH!"_

Wolf heard a shout in the distance, and the silhouette of a cloak-clad person jumped down from one of the trees and charged at him with nimble speed. Shadows flourished over the moonlit sand, as more identical figures jumped down as well.

He bared his teeth in irritation. _Shit! It was a trap!_

The first one swung his arm in his direction, the light glinting off of something on his fist. Wolf jumped back as the hooded figure dove forward, glimpsing at his fist briefly to see a silver knuckle guard, with brutal spikes attached where the indents of the knuckle were supposed to be.

_CLAMP!_

Wolf's hands shot upward in front of his face and caught the blow with his hands clutching around his opponent's wrist, his battle reflexes even after several days of no hand-to-hand combat.

Growling fiercely as he kept the quivering fist of his opponent inches away from his face, he locked his stare with him. Now that he was closer, Wolf could see tall, furry ears poke out of his hood, and a _vulpes_ tail drag in the sand behind him as he fought. Every time he moved or heaved his weight forward to wriggle his fist free, Wolf heard the unmistakable sound of coins jingling in his leather satchel.

_He's fox, alright…_

_I've seen that same tail and ears enough times to recognize a bastard like that…_

_But those ears are too big for a common one…he must be a Fennec fox…_

The Fox grunted as he tried to wrestle Wolf's strength. Suddenly, he swung his arm up to an angle where Wolf couldn't hold him, and brought his knee up to bludgeon him sharply in the stomach.

"_Gargh!" _Wolf staggered back as he felt his ribs, made fragile by the grueling journey, vibrate painfully as he fell onto the ground.

The Fennec Fox, whose face was shadowed from his pulled-up hood, called to the others. "This one's tough…take'im down! Rid him of his valuables first, then bind him!"

Wolf wiped the sand off his mouth and got to his feet, sneering distastefully.

_So, they want my valuables and to capture me…and I'm guessing that money in his satchel isn't his…_

He unsheathed his claws and raised them defensively.

_No wonder they fight professionally…they're not desert people…they're Desert Raiders…_

Another Fox leapt up and aimed a kick in Wolf's chest. He blocked it with both hands and latched his arms around his neck, wrestling him into a tight grip before slamming a punch into his face.

_KRR-AAM!_

The Fox's snout gushed with blood as he staggered back, but another one ducked and rolled behind Wolf and grabbed him by the fur on his head, causing Wolf to yell in sudden pain, before slamming his face against a tree behind them both.

_KRAK!_

Wolf felt the tree's hard and spiky surface ram with a sharp sear of pain against his skull, and he fell to the ground, seething through his teeth as hoisted himself back up. Looking back at the Raider with a snarl, he swung his foot at the Fox's feet in an attempt to knock him off-balance, but he sharply jumped over and aimed a kick at his face.

Wolf slid down on his back to dodge the kick, watching the Fox's foot slam against the tree's hard wood before recoiling painfully.

_Damn it…_

_They maybe smaller, but they're fast…_

Another one came forward and sliced at him with his knife, but Wolf's eyes had been watching their speed. Rolling on his stomach and leaping to his feet, he swung both fists against the Fox's face, sending him staggering back. The Fox brought his knife up to cut at Wolf's neck, but Wolf grabbed his arm and growled fiercely as he threw him into a cloaked bandit behind him.

_KAAAAM!_

The two fell to the ground in a bludgeoned heap, and a Fox standing nearby drew a Katara dagger from his sleeve and pointed it in Wolf's direction.

"Don't waste more of your limbs fighting him!" He called to the others. "Just bring him to the ground!"

They began to circle him, flashing knives and uncoiling rope.

One of them leered closer, his small but sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight and illuminating his grin in the shade of his hood.

"Heheh…pretty big and tough, ain't he? The right build for hard labor, perfect muscle and bone structure, without any weak spots…he's got value, all right…"

Wolf flexed his claws in their direction, eyes darting around him as they circled the spot where he stood.

"Listen, you filthy desert rats…" He growled menacingly. "I've got nothing on me that the likes of _you _would find valuable, so take your weak little asses back to the sands where you came from, before I bury your miserable corpses in it!"

Another one swung his rope back. "Hah! We don't want your valuables…we want you. Just imagine what the SharpClaw will pay for someone like you…"

Wolf lowered his stance slightly, a confused look on his face. "The _who?"_

"Yeah…he _is _the kind they want for what they're doing…he's probably worth more than the guy we picked up at that shipwreck."

Wolf's ears perked up.

_There was someone else out here…_

…_near a shipwreck…?_

His heart sped up. Leon. It had to be Leon…

_So these people DID take Leon…_

_But he's not with them…so does that mean he's…?_

Suddenly, all traces of mercy left his eyes, and he bared his teeth maliciously, his face fading into a shadow of fury. "What have you done with him, you scum? Where is he? _Tell me!"_

_SHER-SNAAK!_

A long, black cord shot out from the circling raiders and coiled around Wolf's arm, but he was already fuming with anger at the possibilities of what they had done to Leon. He kicked his feet off the ground, sand repulsing from where they shot upwards, and back-flipped over their heads. While in mid-air, he jerked the rope back, and the stunned-looking Fennec Fox on the ground was pulled upward to Wolf's waiting fist.

SLAM!

The sickening sound of the Fox's jaw cracking echoed in the oasis, as the wailing raider was sent back down to the ground in a broken heap, clutching his face.

_KRAAAM!_

Wolf plummeted downwards and landed on his feet with a palm on the ground, a shockwave of sand rippling from where he slammed down on the ground. The other raiders yelled as they closed in on him.

As one of them grabbed his shoulder and sliced at him with a rusty machete, he grabbed his arm and pulled him forward, ramming his head into the Fox's stomach.

_SMAAASH!_

Wolf's ears twitched at the sound of the raider's ribs cracking as he flew back and toppled over another one behind him.

THR-_SHAAAK!_

This time, two ropes coiled around both of Wolf's arms. The ropes jerked in either direction, forcing Wolf to the ground as they stretched his arms in a helpless position. A hooded Fox ran up to him and latched both arms around his neck, causing Wolf to gasp a strangled snarl, while another dove in with his knife.

"_HUAAAAAAAARGH!"_

He yelled as he jumped up to deliver a kick in the Raider's face with both feet, arching his spine and pulling his arm forward so that one the ropes snapped, before grabbing the one from behind's arms and flipping him over with his free hand.

_FWOOOOSH-_KLAAAM!

The Fox screamed as Wolf threw him over his head by his collar and slammed him into the ground, sending savage punches directly into the raider's face, one after the other.

_SLAM! KRRTCH!_

_KRAM! _

Wolf's merciless fist rammed into the Fox's face again and again, smashing against the fleshed outlines of his cheek-bones and snout, until cracking sounds echoed across the sand and Wolf could feel flecks of blood graze his fists and face.

THR-_SHAAAK!_

A rope flew around his shoulder, but Wolf tilted his head back and caught the chord in his mouth.

_Shr-_SWAP!

His powerful canine teeth bit straight through it, and the black chord snapped in half, the other end of the rope trailing in the sand.

"_He's free! _Watch yourselves!" One of them yelled.

"ARGH! Damn it, this one's refusing to go down! What the hell is he made of?"

_SHER-WAAAP!_

The rope around Wolf's arm tightened and wrenched painfully at his shoulder as a second latched around his neck like a leash. Struggling and gasping for breath, reached his free arm out and snatched a fallen Raider's knife from the ground and slashed at the back of the rope around his neck.

KER-SNAAAK!

The rope's chord snapped, and he felt a rush of soothing breath restore the choked confines of his strangled throat. Feeling the tug of the other rope on his arm, he clenched his fist and dragged his arm outwards, pulling the rope with his intense strength.

The Fennec Fox grasping the rope, dug his feet in the ground and pulled back, but even as he grunted desperately, his boots dragged forward into the sand towards Wolf.

"This bastard's an animal! I can't hold him…someone force him down!"

One of the taller ones tossed away his severed rope and snatched the rusty machete from a fallen raider on the ground.

"Tch…I'll take care of this punk."

Another one of them, still clutching his bleeding snout from before, raised an arm in protest. _"Wait! _Stop, you idiot…we need him alive!"

The Raider with the machete spat in the sand and raised his weapon. "Yeah, we do…but I doubt the SharpClaw will care if he's missing an arm!"

He ran up towards Wolf and swung his machete upwards, preparing to hack off one of his limbs. But Wolf growled menacingly and dove forward with his back low in dashing sprint, dodging the cleaving blade as it hummed over his ears briefly. Rolling on the ground, he swung his feet towards the Raider's feet and knocked him off balance, the machete flying from his hand.

Shwa_-__shing_!

Rising up swiftly as the Fox fell, Wolf unsheathed one his claws and swiped the Raider in the face before he could hit the ground.

SLRRTCH!

The Raider howled in pain as blood seeped from a red claw-mark that tore across his face, and Wolf grabbed him by the face and slammed him into ground. Catching the flying machete with his other hand, he twirled its handle and plunged it straight into his chest.

SHAAANG!

_SHWOOP-_ERRSH!  
As Wolf drew the machete, another rope latched around his wrist, and a Fox pulled him back as he yelled to the others.

"BIND HIM DOWN, NOW!"

Wolf tried to tear his wrist free from the rope's grip, the chord digging deeply into his skin until it stung. Seething through his teeth, Wolf plunged his feet into the ground in resistance, picking up the machete by its back-handle and flinging it towards the Fox pulling on the tightening rope.

_SLRRTCH!_

The Fennec Fox released the rope with a cry of pain and fell back on the ground, the blade piercing his neck.

But the second his body hit the ground, Wolf felt a sudden jerking and suffocating tension at his neck, as a rope tightened around it from behind. As soon as Wolf staggered back and flailed his arm to swipe out at whoever was holding him, a third rope coiled like a vile snake around his feet, tugging his balance away so that he fell to the ground on his back, wriggling fiercely to free himself from the captivation of the ropes.

As he struggled the tightening chords' grip, he clenched his teeth in frustration.

_Shit!_

"He's on the ground! _Tie him down, quickly!"_

Wolf clambered to one knee with effort, the ropes tearing into his flesh as he tried to pull his quivering arms free, wincing painfully as the ropes at his feet.

As more ropes were thrown around him, ripping his shoulders back and forcing him down, a number of them began to jeer triumphantly.

"HA! He's not so tough roped to the ground like a common mutt, is he?"

"Where's your claws now, you little shit? Ha-ha-heh!"

One of them tried his luck by aiming a kick at his defenseless face, but Wolf rolled over snap his sharp teeth at his boot and growl threateningly. His purple eyes blazed furiously with enough loathing that the dimwitted grins faded from their somewhat cautious faces, and backed off.

"Miserable cowards!" He managed from the confines of the ropes that tugged at his neck. "Get down here…so I can strangle you myself with your own ropes!"

One of them prodded him with his knife. "Heh! You'd like that…wouldn't you?"

_SLAM!_

The ropes slacked only for a moment, long enough for Wolf's hand to shoot out and clasp his powerful fingers around the Fox's throat. The Raider's eyes became huge as he gasped and yelled in a hoarse but terrified voice.

"He's getting loose!" One of them bellowed. "Tie him down, quickly!"

_SHWOO-_PAKK!

A whip-like rope latched around his shoulder and another around his chest, forcing down to the ground like a crippled animal. He roared with effort and pain as he tried to push his aching body against the choking ropes, their tightening edge tearing at his clothes.

"_Gaa-aargh!"_

He yelled as he crumpled to the ground, more ropes swooping over him and pulling at his trapped body from all sides. Wolf dug his foot into the ground and shut his eyes with clenched teeth, the ropes beginning to burn against his skin.

_SHR _-OOPIKK!

SHWERR-_AAOOPACK!_

The ropes flung from all sides and made a web of confinement over him. He let out a faint, helpless canine bark as the last one forced him with his face on the ground. He latched out with his restrained arms and feet, attempting to use the last of his free muscles to resist the ropes.

Some of them began to snap as he rose himself with every muscle shaking, the torn remains of his muscle-shirt dangling over the ropes that held him, his fur shaking as he tried to get free…

Then, the silhouette of one of the hooded Foxes stood up and raised thin, cylinder-shaped object to his mouth.

_Ssss -_thppp!

The last thing Wolf heard was a whistling sound in the air that grew louder before a sudden pang of stinging pain shot from his neck. Feeling the point of a dart in his neck, and the regretfully-familiar numbness of tranquilizer growing from his wound, he cursed as his vision became hazy and the shadows of the Raiders around him began to blur.

_Damn it…stun dart…_

His head became heavy and his limbs began to stop shaking in resistance…

Clump!

His body collapsed to the ground, the sound of brutish laughter ringing in his ears from all around him.

As his vision darkened under the veil of unconsciousness, he heard a voice holler to the other Foxes.

"Tie him to one of the speeders…and don't do anything stupid to him. The SharpClaw won't pay as much if he looks like crap."

_A number of unconscious hours of later…_

It was in the waking hours of his consciousness that Wolf woke up. There wasn't an aching feeling to greet him this time, but the blue, night-shaded sands clashed against his vision as he blinked his eyes open.

The numbness of the tranquilizer had finally worn from his neck, and he rose his head, preparing to move his arms about.

Suddenly, a tight lurching feeling sprang from his wrists as he attempted to do so.

_Wha-?_

He looked down and saw in the faint light of the moon that his hands were tied in front of him, bound tightly with an expert knot of some rough and coarse-edged rope and bound to something underneath him.

It was then when he realized that he was on his belly, looking down at the metallic surface of some kind of machinery.

_What the hell…? _He looked around. _Where am I?_

As his gaze followed the compressed lines in the metal he was on, his eyes trailed the leather outlines of a leather seat, and the metallic prongs and handle-bars of a speeder bike.

_Damn it…_

_Those bastards tied me to a speeder!_

That brought some relief to his mind, seeing that he had found a method of transportation out here in the desert. The more his mind revolved around that idea, the more he was tempted to steal one and get away…maybe find Leon somewhere…

_Crrnch!_

His ears twitched as he heard the noise of sand crunching under someone's feet in the distance.

He stopped wriggling and remained still as he could, taking small breaths through his nose so that he wouldn't make so much noise. If he was going to escape somehow, he needed to act like he was still unconscious.

Wolf his eye open slightly as he looked around for any signs of the Desert Raiders who had captured him.

At first, he saw that he was surrounded by more unoccupied speeder bikes, each equipped with large bulks of bags and belongings, like coiled rope, curled-up sleeping mats, kettles and pans strung on chords, pick-axes and shovels, bottles that clinked whenever moved, and withered, rolled up scrolls that were probably maps.

His eyes wandered up and he saw a group of black silhouettes in the distance, moved against the dark-blue sky of the horizon. As Wolf watched he saw two groups of people talking to each other.

On one side, he recognized with distaste the hooded and cloaked figures of his Fennec Fox captors. The group of them stood behind the leader, who walked with a stooping manner in the moonlight, hands clapped together in a manner traders and merchants did when negotiating business.

But the other group of figures looked completely different from the Foxes. The other group consisted of tall, muscular figures, far bigger than the Fennec Foxes and as far as Wolf could tell, almost bigger than any Lyatian he had ever seen. In the dark and from the distance where he sat, he couldn't see much, but could tell from their silhouettes that their tails had no fur or curl of amphibian nature, and didn't have any ears protruding from their heads. But they didn't have the beak or feathered features of an avian, either, so Wolf guessed they'd have to be reptile, with a long and thick tail, thick snout and large build-up.

There were about four or five of the strangers, all with large, plated shoulders, obviously shadowed shoulder-pads, and the spike of a helmet protruded from each one of their heads. Whenever they relaxed their shoulders or moved in any way, Wolf heard clinking and rushing sound of chain-mail and silk belts. The outlines of chained bracelets, bone-decorated arm-bands, and spiked armor attachments were visible in the dimly moonlit night. Wide-bladed axes, spiked maces, and pronged, spike-edged broadswords hung from their lazy and bored hands with their points in the sand, even a few with tall, halberd-tipped pikes balanced against their shoulders.

The tallest stood at the front, looking down at the stooping Lead Raider with a gesture of distaste, fingering the handle of his axe dangerously.

"You've seen fit to be unfashionably late…and thus so have kept me waiting." The stranger talked in a deep voice, with a commanding but impatient tone that concealed a suppressed temper. "Even when dealing with common desert filth, one would expect to do business with punctuality...even SharpClaw. I have half a mind to honor the old customs and make you pay for your unpunctuality with the sever of your tongue and your hands. Perhaps that will make you more on time."

Wolf looked up alertly, recognizing the word "SharpClaw" from earlier.

"With deepest apologies, please compose yourself, my sapient and merciful customers," The Lead Raider said in an oily voice Wolf knew too well as the wheedling tone of negotiators he had heard numerously during his days in the Lylat Wars. "For one does not travel across the desert as swiftly as the birds do…even us humble Desert Bandits. But I'm sure you will be most satisfied with the specimen we have to offer. He'll be most useful for that Temple being organized on the Catelayan outskirts. By the way…how is the progress on that? I'm certain your exalted and generous General Talon is sending out many garrisons to take care of-"

"Enough with the sickening flattery and stalling conversations!" The stranger barked impatiently. "General Talon doesn't pay you to waste his time. Now, where's the new captive you've got?"

"I'd be more than happy to conduct business with you, my worthy customer," The Fennec Fox said slyly. "But the long journey and effort it has taken to capture him…and the sun has unleashed its heated fury on my poor throat. To do business in a cordial state, perhaps you would be generous enough to offer me some Desert Wine…to cool the nerves and ease the negotiating?"

The Stranger sighed irritably. "Very well. One of you…" He looked back at the figures behind him. "Toss him a wine casket. But make with the business afterwards…this is taking longer than I'd like."

One of the others threw a small black object to the silhouette of the Desert Raider, who caught it and gulped its contents greedily. The other Foxes shuffled their feet enviously, knowing the succulence and rarity wine was in a desert where water was the only liquid of value.

"Now…where is he?"

The Fox wiped his mouth and pointed in Wolf's direction. "Ahhh…over there. He's exactly the kind you need. Well-built, strong…he even put up quite a frenzy when we captured him. With that kind of muscle, he'll take any kind of grueling, physical endurance that you put him through…guaranteed."

The Stranger turned to his associates and spoke in a peculiar way, a dialect consisting of grunts and clicks, possibly their native language. A shadowy figure behind him nodded and lumbered towards Wolf.

Instantly, Wolf shut his eyes and remained motionless, hearing the noise of footsteps with sand crunching under large feet.

Feeling the presence of somewhat looking over him, he felt a large and far strong hand grab him by the face and turn it over, as if inspecting him. Even with his eyes shut, Wolf could feel that the hand was cold and scaly like a reptile's, but far bigger and meatier than any reptile he was used to. This hand was massive and strong like metal prongs, with pointed claws coming out of the fingers, digging into Wolf's fur as he tried not to wince.

He heard a somewhat satisfied grunt and almost coughed at the stench of foul breath that smelt like rotten meat. The hand dropped his head abruptly back on the hard surface of the speeder, and Wolf heard the sound of the footprints fade away.

Wolf opened his eyes and looked to see a figure grunt and click towards the Leader, who nodded approvingly.

"He's acceptable…, a canine, nothing special, but big enough to handle the work we'll give him."

Wolf's ears perked up.

_Work?_

_What does he mean by that?_

"Where exactly did you find him?"

"Oh…the outskirts of the sand-dunes, wandering aimlessly…if we hadn't found him, I'm sure he-"

"He doesn't look like he's been traveling that far," The Stranger said suspiciously. "He's in good condition still…and the desert hasn't crippled him with its hazardous effects. He could only have been traveling for a few days. And anyway, if he hasn't been walking a great distance, he can't have just appeared out of nowhere…" His eyes turned to their leader. "You're lying…you didn't just 'find' him…he must've come from somewhere…now, where did you really find him?"

The Leader stood in a surprised silence, before answering in a much less sleezy, and more fearful voice. "We…we found him at the Oasis…only a short distance from that shipwreck we raided a week ago…the one where we found the chameleon, the one we sold to you…"

"So he's an off-worlder like the other one, is he? Well…" The Stranger's large fingers curled maliciously around the handle of his axe. "We'll be sure to show our new guest some Titanian hospitality."

The shadowy figures behind him snickered brutishly, Wolf's fur rising as their gleaming sharp teeth were illuminated in the moonlight.

"Whatever. He can come from the dead planet Cerinia for all I care…his physical stature is enough to pull his own weight and more…like the other slaves he'll be with…"

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed.

_Slaves? What-?_

"So…onto business then…" The Stranger said in a bored voice. "How much do you want for him?"

"Oh, the price…" The Raider's voice went back to its greedy, businesslike manner at the mention of money. "Well…considering how valuable of a find he is, I think he's worth more than the usual twenty Lylatines…a good sixty Lylatines should be enough."

"HA!"

The Stranger laughed with an amused but dark tone that made Wolf's blood run cold.

"Seventy Lylatines? Don't bullshit with me…" He rose his axe and rested it on his shoulder. "I wouldn't pay that much if there were three just like him." His eyes glinted with a murderous flare. "You must be feeling awfully brave today to ask for that much…must not value what you already have…"

The Fox stepped back, eyes narrowed. "What are you-?"

_CRUMP!_

There was a blur of shadows as the taller Stranger grabbed the Fox by one of his ears and dragged him forward. The other Desert Raiders looked startled and reached for the knives under their cloaks.

The Stranger ripped the Fox's hood off and pressed the blade of his glinting axe against his throat. The Fennec Fox's silhouette quivered fearfully, looking small compared to the massive Stranger. Despite Wolf's fixed intentions of escape, he couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"Now…you be a good little boy and hand me that canine over there…and I'll be more than happy to leave you with the subtle reward of me not ripping your damn lungs out!"

_Clump!_

He tossed him to the ground and kicked him brutally with his massive foot. The other shadowy figures laughed spitefully as the weakened Fennec Fox coughed out some blood and feebly got to his knees.

"_Ugh…_aarch…you double-crossing bastard…what the hell do you think you're doing?" He pointed a furious finger at him. "We take the risk and bring in a new slave for General Talon…and you do _this? _This wasn't part of the deal!"

"No, it wasn't…" The Stranger turned the axe over in his hand lazily. "Which is why General Talon wanted me to let you know…our business deal is closed. We have no more need for the likes of pitiful scum like you…not with all the slaves he has now…" He pointed his axe in the Fox's direction. "So we'll take this last one…and you can go home with your head on your shoulders. That's a good enough reward, don't you agree?"

The Fox stepped back, his eyes huge. "This is horseshit! You give me my money, you stinking two-faced son of a bitch, or I swear, I'll-"

The Stranger twirled his axe. "You'll do what? We're in the desert, small fry." He raised his axe. "And no one'll hear you scream!"

_SLTRRCH!_

Wolf flinched as the axe's gleaming streak swept past the Fox's neck, before a burst of blood exploded from the stump at the collar of his cloak, and his head landed in the sand with a sickening _clump!_

The other Foxes drew their knives and yelled angrily.

"Damn it! They set us up!"

"What do you want from us? Money? Valuables? Trading goods?"

The Stranger bobbed his neck side to side in a stretch, the crack of his neck-bones ringing over the sands ominously.

"Tch. Stupid fools…the first, and last thing you'll learn about us SharpClaw, is that we don't value money or gems or valuables…what we value-"

_Huang!_

He raised his huge axe so that the moonlight streamed over its steel surface.

"-is what our ruler, General Talon-"

_Shra-shing! _Shwa-SHING!

The silhouettes behind him drew their maces and broadswords, growling and snarling with their teeth bared into bloodthirsty smiles.

"-the reward that being in Talon's army grants us-"

_Fssh-_IIING! _Fssh-_IIING!

The shadowy figures in the back leveled their pikes and laughed cruelly as the Desert Raiders stepped back fearfully.

"The only reward a SharpClaw desires…the only hunger in our minds that drives us…the reward…" The Stranger hissed through his sharp teeth and chuckled with a merciless tone of barbarism. "…is CARNAGE!"

The shadowy figures charged against their helpless opponents, their huge maces and axes cutting through their smaller bodies and crushing their bones into the sand. Two came from the side and grabbed a yelling Fox by his tail and forced him into the ground, laughing wildly as they both took turns in hacking at his defenseless body with their barbed swords.

The Foxes could do little to nothing to fight back. Their nimble speed and fast reflexes didn't save them from being victims to the SharpClaw's brutal strength.

_Slrtchh! _HUANG!

Wolf watched with shock as they rammed three Foxes clean with their pikes, plunging their bladed tips into their already punctured and bloody corpses.

_They're relentless…bloodthirsty mongrels…they're killing them so easily, it's like they're not even trying…_

_Who the hell are they…?_

CLUMP!

The last body fell to the ground in a bloody heap, some of the others butchered and bludgeoned like they had come out of a ship compactor.

The SharpClaw silhouettes kicked at the bodies with satisfaction, leaning on their bloodied pikes and swords.

The tall Stranger spat on the Leader's decapitated body and picked up the wine casket from his dead hands.

"Tch…desert runts…weren't even that much fun to kill anyway. Whatever, then…their screams were pretty amusing…" He chuckled and took a swig of wine, before barking orders at some figures across from him. "You three! Grab that canine from the speeders and toss him with the rest in the caravan. The rest of you scavenge whatever you can find from the speeders around him."

Wolf's eyes darted around hurriedly. _Shit!_

He tried to wriggle his wrists from the tight confines of the twisted ropes, but the dark silhouettes were already lumbering towards him.

One of the others nudged them nudged a Fox's corpse with his mace, and then spoke with a stone-brained voice. "What about the bodies? You want us to bury'em?"

The Stranger sneered. "Don't waste time with that trash. The desert will bury them for us…save us the trouble."

_Clrrmp!_

Wolf clenched his teeth as he felt a strong and pinching hand grab him from the tips of the fur on his back painfully, and drag him off the speeder. His legs rolled off of the speeder's seat and slammed into the ground into a forced-walk, as the SharpClaw, whose face and form was too dark to distinguish even next to him, pulled him along by the scruff of his fur.

He struggled and kicked about, trying to get free somehow, but the giant and unshakable hands of the SharpClaw holding him were so strong that it hurt just to move under his grip.

_Damn it…he's too strong…_

_I can barely move against his grip…he's strong enough to snap my arm off with just a flick of his wrist…_

_What kind of lizards are these? How are they so muscularly superior to me?_

_They can't be that big…_

_But no lizard, or reptile or Venomian reptilian I've ever seen is this big and strong…_

_What race is this?_

_And why do they want me….?_

The tallest one pointed behind the SharpClaw.

"Put him in the caravan with the other slaves. If he's going to get as much work as the others, then we better give him the same hospitality!"

Wolf's eyes narrowed as he looked around.

_What does he mean, 'slaves'? What are they talking about?_

But the dark figures didn't hesitate to throw a smelly, hot, and constricted burlap sack over his face, muffling his vision with the light-hewed outlines of the bag's interior.

They only went a few steps when Wolf heard the sound of the hatch of an automatic door open, and the sack pulled off of his face. He inhaled deeply as his stuffy mouth welcomed the refreshment of the night air, before he was shoved forward by his captors in a dark and roofed space.

_Shh-thunk!_

The sound of a door closing behind him echoed behind him as he fell upon a wet, crunchy, straw-like surface. He heard voices behind the door.

"Alright, he's in. Start the caravan speeder!"

There was a rumbling sound, echoing against what sounded like the ring of metal construction, as the floor underneath Wolf's lurched forward and started vibrating with the sound.

The sound and movement around him could only mean one thing. They were inside some kind of vehicle. And that meant two things: he was getting transport across the desert, to some inhabited place…

…but it also meant that the SharpClaw, whoever they were, were taking him prisoner to an unknown place.

If he stayed, he'd be the captive of the SharpClaw. If he escaped, he'd be a captive to more of the desert's torture.

_Perfect odds… _Wolf thought sulkily. _…again._

_Either there's no God, or fate just hates me…_

_A few hours later…_

With some feeling around in the dark, Wolf managed to find a rusty switch on a gas lamp that hung above him. As the light illuminated the room, he looked around to find that his surroundings hadn't improved much.

The room, or cell he was in, was tight and constricting, letting in little to no air as possible. At his feet were clumps of wet hay, to meagerly serve the use of a bed. The walls were metallic and had rust-stains and claw-marks on them, like some tortured soul before him had gone mad in captivity.

The first thing Wolf did was gag and cover his nose, fur bristling at the horrible smell.

The whole cell reeked of dried blood, sweat, dead insects, wet straw, disease, and unless his nose was mistaken…dung. The tear-evoking odors ran from under the cracks of the wall, from further down the row of his room, possibly from another cell down the hall.

Wolf sat down in his bed of hay and attempted another shot at jerking his hands out of his ropes.

_If I wasn't tied, I could have a chance to escape, at least…to fight my way out…_

He thought about the way they had turned on the Desert Raiders, and he shook his head.

_No…that's already a stupid idea…_

_These…_things _are stronger and more equipped than I am…not to mention how dangerous they are in an outnumbering group…and where the hell would I run off to, anyway?_

Wolf shuddered as he thought of the Foxes lying around him back at the Oasis.

_They're barbarians…all of them…_

_Who's messed up enough to cut up the corpses after they're dead? That's something even Venomian Dragoons weren't capable of…_

_They're worse than Venomians…than Cornerians…hell, they might be even worse than those Liberator bastards…_

_There's no way I can win a fight against a mass of them…_

_Not without my Claw…or my Inner Power working properly…or whatever's wrong with it…._

That hollow, helpless feeling grew in Wolf's chest again. What was going on with him? Ever since he had escaped from prison, he could barely defend himself against anyone. And now, Leon was captured…he was a prisoner again.

_Snnrt!_

The rope's thick chord snapped as Wolf sawed it against one of the jagged tips of metal peeling off the wall.

_It's like wherever I go, I screw up…and get myself tangled in worse shit…_

He rubbed his eyes in frustration.

"_Acch—_keehrakk-"

Wolf's ears perked as he heard the sound of coughing from somewhere.

_Wha-? Another person…?_

He stood up and looked around, until he found an apple-sized hole in the wall behind him. He looked through it and saw a cell identical to his own, except the inhabitant was a peaky-looking blue-jay, his eyes darting around frantically.

"Hey! You!"

The Blue-jay's eyes grew big as he looked around fearfully, but lessened his panic at the sight of only Wolf. "W-What do you want? Leave me alone! Those SharpClaw will beat us if they find us talking!"

"Would you take it easy? I just want to know where we are!"

The Blue-jay scowled but backed away from the hole fearfully. "What kind of a stupid question is that? We're in the Titanian Desert, of course!"

"No, you dumbass," Wolf seethed impatiently. "I meant where we are _now_, as in what we're on, like the vehicle? And where are they taking us?"

"Why are you acting like _I _know all the questions?" The Blue-jay's eyes poked about frantically. "I'm just a pilot! My ship crashed here weeks ago, and I've been trying to find some kind of port or repair, but these SharpClaw captured me and are taking me to someplace the other prisoners say is a living hell!"

Wolf blinked and edged closer to the hole in the wall. "Wait, wait, calm down…what place? Where are we going?"

"I don't know! Stop asking me, I just got here!" The Blue-jay wailed. "Some of the other prisoners might know, most of them escaped from where the SharpClaw took them! But they were found…they could never escape from them. Once you're captured and become a slave to them, escaping only means they'll hunt you down!"

"What do you mean, 'slave'? Are they some kind of slave traders?" Wolf asked.

"Stop asking_ me!" _The Blue-jay repeated. "Don't talk to me anymore, you'll get us both killed! They've beaten me already, and I'm not getting any more bruises because of some stupid off-worlder!"

His eyes darted around, huddling like he was being watched. "You don't know what they're like, these SharpClaw…they're taking us to a place where no one escapes…where no one has ever returned! A place of torture and strife that will plague you until you die!" His voice started to rise into a shriek as his panic grew worse. "And some of the other prisoners have died already from exposure to disease with these travel conditions! They're probably still rotting! And what if the SharpClaw kill us before we get there? God…we're going to die…_we're all going to-"_

_Clamp!_

Wolf shot his hand through the hole and grabbed the Blue-jay's collar and dragged him forward, his grip tightening around his throat. The bird's eyes almost sprung out of their sockets as he gurgled under his intense grip.

"_Shut up, you wailing idiot!" _Wolf hissed angrily. "Stop wailing or we'll get caught!" He looked around him cautiously and lowered his voice into hushed but threatening tone. "Those SharpClaw bastards will kill us if just another squeal comes out of that loud beak of yours, but I can promise you that if you get me caught, you'll be dead before they even get here!" Unhanding him and latching him by the collar, Wolf pulled him closer to the gap in the wall. "Now, either you or someone else aboard this thing knows where we're going…and I need to know where. My friend is probably somewhere at our destination, and I'm not resting until I find out where that is! Now, tell me, _where the hell are we going?"_

"Wolf…Wolf is that you?"

The anger in Wolf's eyes faded at the sound of the familiar voice. He whirled his head around, looking around desperately.

"Leon?"

An excited but faint voice tugged from behind one of the walls of the cell.

"Wolf! It _is _you, buddy! I knew I'd know that menacing interrogative voice of yours anywhere!" There was a laugh and a dry cough from one of the hollow spots in the wall.

Wolf pressed his ear against the wall and knocked, listening for a hollow spot. "Don't worry, pal…I'll find a way through, let me just-"

"No, don't bother…" Leon said in a small voice, that sounded almost weak. "I've already tried to find a way through these damn walls…we're really locked tight…looks like you got captured too…"

He sounded so frail in voice that Wolf started to worry. _What's happened to him? Is he hurt?_

His eyes scanned the wall anxiously until he found a rusted portion of the construction. He clawed at it hurriedly until the decomposed metal began to scrape off and disintegrate. Sweeping the dust away and digging through, Wolf tore some metal off with both hands and looked through the hole he made.

"Leon!"

Leon looked up weakly. "Heh…hey, you made it Wolf…just like I knew you would…"

However awful Wolf imagined himself to look like after traveling through the desert for so long, Leon looked ten times worse. He sat there huddled up, as if he were cold, and made as little movement as possible, as if it took too much energy. His scales were bleached a sickly, yellow-green in contrast to their usual poison-green. Some areas of his face and skin were in dry patches, indicating that he had shed some of his reptilian skin to adapt to the unbearable heat. The chameleon's forehead was mopped with sweat, but not from the heat…but from the intense fever he head. His electric-blue eyes, usually filled with mischief or a cunning gleam, were blank and expressionless and tired. The clothes on his back seemed too big for the body that had shrunken under them out of hunger, and every now and then, he would go into a fit of hoarse and painful-sounding coughs, that made his sunken eye-lids droop with exhaustion. But even despite his weak condition, he managed a frail smile.

Leon looked up at him, grinning tiredly. "You look terrible, Wolf…"

Wolf looked at him in anguish, pained to see his friend like this. "Leon…what happened to you? What did they do to you?" Suddenly, his eyes flashed again and he clenched his fists. "Those SharpClaw bastards did this to you didn't they? I'll-"

"No, man…they didn't do this…" Leon raised his hand weakly. "The desert did this to me."

"Well, yeah, but…" Wolf looked at him worriedly. "I was in the desert, too, but…you look like you're dying!"

Leon chuckled faintly. "Thanks…I always knew I was a looker—_acch-_kkk-" He covered his mouth and coughed painfully.

"What happened…why weren't you at the ship?"

Leon sat up weakly. "I was…I woke up and found myself outside the ship and in the desert…I looked around for you, but didn't see you anywhere. I started to panic, but I remembered you were in the pilot's seat when we entered that freak Warp Zone…but before I could get to you, some weird Desert Raiders ambushed me-I think they were Fennec Foxes…you know, like Fara back at the Academy-and I got captured. I knew you were still alive…I hadn't found you, but, somehow…I just knew you weren't dead. You couldn't be…you've got that survivor's streak on you, ya know?"

He smiled and coughed dryly, before clearing his throat and continuing. "But I knew you'd probably think I was dead or deserted you…not being there when you regain consciousness, and all…and I didn't want those Foxes to know you were there too…so I dropped my knife behind me for you to find…quickly enough not to be noticed by the Desert people…and they took me away. For that entire day and night, I thought of nothing but stealing one of their speeders and heading back to get you…but they tranquilized me some kind of paralysis drug, so I couldn't escape…but you obviously got my knife, didn't you? And you made it across the desert, too!"

Wolf nodded. "Yeah…here you go. I kept it clean for you." He pulled the switch-blade out of his boot and handed it to Leon.

Leon's faded eyes rekindled slightly at the sight of his beloved weapon. "Ah…there she is…my favorite beauty…" _Snaakk! _He slid the handle back and gazed at the short blade. "At least it helped you, somewhat…"

Then his eyes lit up with sudden remembrance. "Oh, yeah, dude! I forgot, you almost forgot your Claw blade on that ship we were on before we warped…I kept it for you!"

Wolf looked up with relief. "You did? Oh, great…I thought I lost it in the crash, or something…thanks for saving it. Where is it?"

Leon's smile faded. "Oh…um…well, you see…" He looked away. "I had it in my belt when I got captured. Those Foxes didn't see me conceal it, they were pretty stupid…but these SharpClaw guys weren't, they were keener than I thought….bastards took it from me when they threw me in here. Sorry, Wolf…"

"Oh…Well, that's…that's okay…" Wolf said, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice. Then he shook his head and resumed his worried expression. "But never mind, that…it's not that important. You still didn't tell me why you're…." He looked at him, picking his words carefully. "…like this."

Leon's face darkened as tightened his coat. "I….I think…in the days when I was being moved to these guys' caravan….I might've got stung."

"Stung?" Wolf blinked. "Like…by a scorpion? Something poisonous?"

"Nah, I wish…" Leon's tired eyes looked at the ceiling. "Poison kills in a few days…I got something worse. I got stung by a mosquito….and judging by the symptoms and how fast my fever's spread…" He suddenly threw a hand over his mouth and started coughing. "…I think I've got a kind of malaria."

Wolf's fur paled at the sound of the ominous word. "No…Leon, what are you going to do?"

Leon sighed wearily. "I dunno… If I'm lucky, we might receive enough mercy from these people to get some treatment. If I'm not…the fever will increase…my blood circulation will stop…and, well…" He smiled sadly. "I guess I won't be selling that copy of _Wave Racer 64 _after all."

"_No!" _Wolf reached through the hole in the wall and grabbed Leon's shoulder. "No…no, don't talk like that….you're not going to die. You'll make it, we both will…" For a moment, even he was lost in the hopeless comfort of his own desperate words.

"Maybe…but maybe not… But listen…" Leon sat up and grasped Wolf's hand weakly. "In case I don't…"

"Shut up! Don't you dare even _think _about dying, you hear me?" Wolf said fiercely, trying to cover the anguish crack in his voice with anger. "Listen to me…I didn't cross the entire desert, walk till my feet bled and almost die of heat exhaustion and thirst to come here to watch the only friend I have left die! Just hold on….I'll find a way to escape, and we'll both get out of here…I'll make everything up to you, like I said, okay?"

Leon looked up weakly. "Yeah…okay, buddy…" He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Then he opened them. "Wait, you crossed the desert? How long were you out there before you got captured?"

"Me? Oh, um…" He thought for a moment. "I should think about four days."

Leon sat up, eyes wide. "Four _days? _In this hell? Oh, God…Wolf, you must feel like shit!"

Wolf laughed. "Ah, it's okay. I've survived in worse places than this," he lied. "Besides, you made it through the desert for a while, too…"

"Yeah, but I'm a reptile!" Leon said anxiously. "I'm cold-blooded…I'm born to survive in places like this. But you're a canine! A warm-blood, with fur! This place must've been a living hell for you, not to mention f_our freaking days!"_

Wolf sat up against the wall. "Well, it's not like it amounted too much. I got captured anyway…" His eyes traveled up the rusted wall. "So, where are we, anyway? What are we on?"

"Hover-craft…big one, by the looks of it, if it can fit all these cells in it."

Wolf rubbed the rope-marks around his wrists. "Do you know anything about these…'SharpClaw'?"

"Tch…probably not much more than you do," Leon said distastefully. "I've never heard of them until now. What I do know is that they're huge, loud, and vicious. They're not stupid, though…or at least not _all _of them," He added. "I don't know exactly what they are, but they're less than warriors and more than space pirates. They might be local slave-traders or something, from what I hear and the way they act. They use pretty skillful combat techniques…but I can't pinpoint what species they are…I've never seen lizards like this."

Wolf looked at him quizzically. "Wouldn't you, though, being a lizard yourself? I thought _you'd_ know…"

"Man, I may be a lizard but it doesn't mean I know who these guys are. I was born on one of the moons of Aquas, so I've seen my share of reptiles, and I can tell you this…none of them look like these beasts. They're not this big. Hell, _alligators _aren't this big…"

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "So, what are they? Where did they come from?"

Leon rubbed his chin. "Can't say…their genetic build-up isn't like any reptile I've ever seen in the Lylat System. They must be a different race…from a different galaxy…"

"Wait…" Wolf sat up. "You're saying they're from a different galaxy?"

"It's a possibility. They might have just started living here…Titania's extremely remote. No one on civilized planets would ever know about it."

"But what do they want from us?"

"I don't know. I heard something about someone called General Talon, capturing people, and-_aachh-ahuk—ahuk-!" _Suddenly, Leon broke into more sickly coughs.

Wolf sat up. "We need to get you some water. You won't make it through your sickness dehydrated."

He stood up and walked over to the door of his cell. Looking through the window and glancing down the hall of rusted cell doors, he rattled the door and banged against it with his fist.

"Hey! Anybody? SharpClaw…whatever! I have a sick man down here who needs water!" He banged harder against the door. "HEY! Get your asses down here and answer me!"

"_Shhh! _Quiet down, will you?" A hushed voice echoed from down the hall. "You want those SharpClaw to beat the living crap out of you? And don't bother asking for water from _them, _they'll just beat you!"

Wolf, surprised at the answer he didn't expect to receive, looked around for the speaker. "Who said that?"

About three doors down the hall, a scruffy, ashy-brown cat, somewhere between nineteen and twenty, pressed his face against the bars of his cell-window.

"That would be me. Now, keep your voice down, or those SharpClaw idiots will hear us!"

"Look, I don't want any trouble," Wolf lowered his voice slightly. "I just need some water for my sick friend here…he needs it more than I do."

Leon opened one eye reproachfully. "Don't talk about me like I'm handicapped!"

Ignoring him, Wolf glanced at the cat. "Do you know where I can find some?"

The cat's eyelids lowered sarcastically. "Does this throat of mine sound like it's had any water, pal?"

"Can't sound worse than mine," Leon said hoarsely.

"Hmm, good point." The cat turned his green eyes back to Wolf. "Sorry, but your friend will have to pull through till morning. By then, we would have reached our destination, and someone there will get him water there. He looks pretty bad, though…"

"Wait," Wolf interrupted. "You know where we're going?"

"Only by rumor. Apparently it's worse than this, if you can believe it." He looked around the dirty cell hall. "But I didn't think I'd have to find out for myself…these SharpClaw never caught me before."

"Before?" Wolf leaned closer. "You mean, you've run into them before this?"

"Oh, yeah, lots of times," The cat grinned sheepishly. "But I didn't think they'd be smart enough to catch me. But you two…" He glanced at Leon and then back at Wolf. "I haven't seen you around these parts. You're an off-worlder, right?"

Wolf sighed exasperatedly. "Why do people keep saying that? Isn't everyone an off-worlder here? It's not like anybody lives on this miserable rock, right?"

"Actually, yes. A lot of people… Most of them live in Catelaya."

"Catelaya?" Wolf echoed. "I've heard that name before…"

"Yeah, it's a massive city, and the only one on Titania, at least with people living in it. The rest of the planet's just miserable desert. But Catelaya's next to the Kusengara River, making it inhabitable. But the city's always been ruled by the SharpClaw. That's why no one can leave."

"No one can leave?" Wolf asked. "Why not?"

"The SharpClaw have made it a quarantine planet. Anyone who ends up here stays here. Heck, I don't think anyone's left Titania in a good three years."

"Three years?" Wolf couldn't believe his luck. "And there's _no _way off-planet? What about ships? There has to be some kind of spacecraft around here!"

"None that I know of. The SharpClaw confiscated any ships or vehicles of any kind, so no one to escape."

"Why? Where the hell did they even come from?"

The cat shrugged. "You tell me, pal. I've only been living here for a while. When I came here a few years ago, the SharpClaw were still ruling. They've been in power ever since."

"But why?" Wolf repeated on confusion. "What do they even want?"

"They're SharpClaw. I don't know too much about them, even if I have lived here for a while. But I do know that wherever they go, they prey on the weak like vultures, because they know they won't fight back. Anyone who can't stand up for themselves becomes a slave to their ruler."

Wolf clutched the bars of his window. "What kind of slave?"

The cat looked at him darkly. "You'll see when we get there."

He released the bars and sighed in frustration, pressing his forehead against the rusty door. "Damn it… how many places am I gonna go before I get my freedom…?" He looked up. "I can't believe any of this…why the hell didn't I hear about it before? I've never heard about these SharpClaw or this quarantine before I got here! Doesn't anybody else in the galaxy know about this?"

"Of course not!" The cat said, like it was perfectly obvious. "Why would you? This only takes place on Titania, a planet of desolation without any communication of any kind! No one off-planet knows about all this! Not Corneria, not the government, no one! There's no sign of it happening from afar! There's no comm. system, no ships, no traces of technology for miles! Who _would _know about this?"

"Wait!" Leon sat up. "You said these SharpClaw have been ruling for a long time, right? If there aren't any ships, then how did they get here?"

"They have these Airships…vessels equipped with gravity-resistant propellers and boosters that allow them to travel through space. But since they're not spacecraft, they don't appear on any radars of bypassing ships. That's how they got here without anyone noticing."

"But why here? Why not Corneria, or Katina, or Macbeth? Why pick someplace desolate to rule?"

"Isn't it obvious, Leon?" Wolf began to pace in his cell. "The more desolate the place, the less chances there are of the Star Defense or anyone else noticing. Besides, with no ships and nothing but desert, everyone will be forced to succumb to the SharpClaw's will."

"Exactly," The cat said. "The ruler of the SharpClaw, General Talon, is smarter than the rest of his army combined. He made it so nobody can leave, and everyone's forced to live under his fist."

Wolf looked at him. "Why doesn't anyone try to resist?"

"There's not a lot of people who'd stand up to him," The cat said, but talked in a tone that almost sounded guilty.

"Why not? These SharpClaw only have swords and axes and melee weapons. Anyone with a blaster can overpower them!"

"They're not some primitive beasts that don't know what blasters are. Their armor's blaster-resistant, and they're trained to fight on par with anyone armed with any kind of blasters. Besides, they have rifles and blasters of their own…made from their own technology outside of the Lylat System, but still effective. And anyway, General Talon isn't like the rest of them…" The cat looked around anxiously. "He's cunning and manipulative…a born strategist. He's fought in countless wars and doesn't even have to wage one to keep his power. He's made it so no one can escape, and no one can fight back."

Leon's eyes darted around. "Wait…do these guys have anything to do with, you know…the Inquisitor, or those people?"

The cat's eyes grew huge. "Oh, no. Why do you think they're trying to avoid as much attention as possible? Besides, I doubt the Inquisitor and his posse, or any Lylatian outside Titania for that matter, even know the SharpClaw exist. But that guy's a whole different mystery, altogether. No…the SharpClaw are a whole different breed of evil, and possibly more dangerous."

Wolf sat down, his back leaning against the door. "And what…isn't anyone going to find out about this eventually? Someone has to…anyone. Corneria, the Defense Force, General Pepper…some kind of help…" He'd even accept help from Star Fox right about now.

_Tch…yeah, right…maybe if I'm dead first…_

"No…" The cat said sullenly. "No one will know. We're in the middle of nowhere, in the corner of the galaxy where no ships pass by. Out of Corneria's gaze, the government's gaze…heck, we might as well be out of God's gaze. Nobody will know that we're here…no help of any kind…"

Wolf leaned his head back against his cell and cursed under his breath.

_Perfect…just perfect…_

_When is it all gonna end…?_

_The galaxy's in control of some tyrant who's supposedly worse than Andross…the Lylat System is hollow and desperate…and we end up on a planet where it's practically the same, except the oppression's worse…_

_All that…and Leon's sick…and I can't help us escape because I can't use my Inner Power…_

_Shit…could things get any worse…?_

The cat, noticing the anguish in Wolf's face, smiled faintly. "Hey, don't worry, pal, things'll get better! Trust me….it may look bad now, but there's still hope." He looked around cautiously and leaned forward with a lower voice. "I've got friends in high places who can help us…!"

"Tch…yeah, right. Well, I sure hope those friends of yours have a canteen of water and some weapons…'cause we sure as hell don't," Wolf muttered sulkily.

The scruffy cat laughed. "Nah…better than that, pal. Besides, who needs water? They'd probably bring a whole barrel of Bolse Beer!"

Wolf smiled and looked back at him. "I wish I had your optimism, kid. Anyway, you don't even look old enough to drink!"

The cat laughed and Leon smiled weakly with his eyes shut.

"Ha, you're alright, you know that?" The cat chuckled. "And hey, sorry about the rude manners. I didn't catch you or your friends' names."

"Oh, well, it's Wo-"

He stopped himself cautiously.

_Oh yeah…that's right…_

_No one knows I exist...shit, I keep forgetting…_

Leon, obviously thinking the same thing, gave him a look of warning.

Clearing his throat, Wolf turned back to the cat. "Andrew. My name's…Maxwell Andrew." He avoided Leon's raised eyebrows, feeling stupid. _Is that really the best I can do…?_

"Oh." The cat seemed to buy it. He turned to Leon. "And you?"

"Vincent Hellavichi," Leon said, with a dip of his head.

Wolf shot him a confused look, like saying _Who the hell is that? _

Leon responded by mouthing: _Someone I know…_

"Well, it's nice to meet you! My name's Riley," The cat said good-naturedly. "Riley Gingerback."

Wolf's eyes widened slightly in realization. "Your last name's Gingerback?"

Riley nodded. "Yup. Why?"

_Gingerback…as in Thomas Gingerback, that kid at Denique Fatum…?_

_You've got to be kidding me…is he related to him…?_

Wolf looked at him, trying to picture him with a frightened look and a broken arm. "You….wouldn't happen to have family on Corneria, would you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." His eyebrows furrowed. "Why?"

"Nothing!" Wolf turned quickly. "Just…reminds me of someone I know, that's all…"

"Oh. Okay, then…" Still looking confused, he glanced at Leon. "Well, with a condition like yours, I'd recommend some sleep. Those SharpClaw won't grant you the mercy of sleep when they drag us off this thing." He disappeared from the cell-door window and out of sight.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Leon looked at Wolf. "You too, 'Maxwell'_._ You don't have to be as sick as I am to need sleep."

Wolf yawned. Depressed as he was, he couldn't deny his travel-weary body the only luxury he had: sleep.

"Good night, then," He rolled over on the hard surface of the floor, which uncomfortable as it was, felt far better to his aching body than cave rock and coarse sand. "If the smell from this place doesn't kill me before morning, I'll see you then. If you need anything…being sick and all…" He glanced back. "…just let me know. I'm only a cell away."

Leon scowled wearily. "There's that handicapped talk again. Do me a favor and go to sleep. Maybe you'll act less like my mother when you wake up."

Wolf smiled and shut his eyes. He couldn't dodge the constant troubles that nagged his mind, but not being alone anymore gave him some meager comfort.

With troubled thoughts of escaping, these new 'SharpClaw' enemies, getting off planet, getting Leon better and getting his Inner Power back, he tried to lay his head…as well as his anxiety…to rest.

_Barely a few hours later, in the SharpClaw Caravan Speeder…_

CLANG!

"Alright, up and at'em, you useless turds!"

"Let's go, move it! I don't have all damn morning!"

Wolf's ears twitched sensitively to the clamoring noise of cell doors being thrown open and the scratched and brutish voices of the SharpClaw, barking and jeering as they grabbed prisoners and flung them in a row leading outside.

He lifted his heavy head, eyes blinking foggily with barely a memory of when he shut them to go to sleep. He could tell by the ache of his head that it was extremely early in the morning….it felt like he had scraped by maybe five minutes of rest…

"What are you, deaf? I said get your ass off the ground!"

In the distance, Wolf saw some SharpClaw grab some terrified looking Husky by the scruff and shove him down the hall with the rest of the weary and miserable-looking group.

_Tang-tang-tang!_

Wolf rose to his feet at the sound of Leon rapping his finger on the wall.

"Better get up, Wolf. They don't sound like they're kidding."

He yawned, feeling his jaws and neck ache. "How early is it?"

"My guess? Too early."

"_Reeehhhhchhhtrchhh!"_

They both turned at the sound of retching to see the Blue-jay from earlier vomiting on the ground, white chunks and phlegm dribbling down his feathered front.

The SharpClaw standing over him grabbed his collar and dragged him outside. "Come on, take the puking shit outside…this place stinks enough!"

More of them started kicking open cells and dragging prisoners outside, some of them aiming brutal kicks at those who weren't fast enough.

One of the prisoners, a spot-flecked Cheetah, limped out of his cell. The SharpClaw in front of him shoved him impatiently, and the Cheetah fell to his knees.

"Get up, you lazy bastard!"

"Please…" The Cheetah moaned as he gingerly rose himself up. "My leg…it's broken…"

SLAM!

The SharpClaw aimed a savage kick to the prisoner's ribs so that he fell back against the cell wall roughly. Grabbing him by the collar and forcing him up, the SharpClaw growled cold-bloodedly.

"I don't care if your feet, ribs, skull or spleen are broken! Now hurry up, before I decide to break your other one. On your feet…_now!"_

_Krrtch! Knnk!_

The Cheetah gasped and yelped under the SharpClaw's savage kicks, whimpering as he hobbled back to his feet with a bloody mouth. The SharpClaw dragged him up and delivered some amused punches into the prisoner's mouth.

Wolf growled deeply at the sight. He wasn't one to stick up for the weak, but this cruelty only reminded him too well of the bad treatment of weak prisoners at Denique Fatum. As he watched the beating, he exhaled temperately and flexed his claws.

"Wolf!" Leon hissed in a low voice. "Don't do it. I know what you're thinking, don't do it!"

Wolf glared at the SharpClaw. "I know, Leon…"

"No, you don't…" Leon pressed himself closer to him. "You say that now, but I know you, Wolf...Once someone pisses you off, you get violent. I'm never one to object to that, but I'm telling you, now is not the time. These guys are bigger than you…stronger…you need to keep your head down, and not get too hot-blooded. Just go with it for now, understand? You'll get your opportunity later…"

Wolf sneered through his teeth, watching the scene and not really listening.

The SharpClaw, having had enough fun beating the Cheetah up, turned to a group watching. "You! Grab those two and send'em outside with the others!"

Leon glanced at him cautiously before standing up. A SharpClaw flung the door open and grabbed him by the arm, while he weakly kept up with him. The SharpClaw pushed him over roughly and Leon, unable to cope with his condition fell over. Watching with helpless fury, Wolf caught a glimpse of the ugly brute kicking and jeering at Leon while he weakly got up and continued walking, accepting every jeer or hit for the sake of his ill state.

Wolf watched as they both walked down the hall, keeping his eye on Leon.

_I don't care what Leon says…that cowardly scumbag touch a scale on his head, he'll be dead!_

As they walked by, a SharpClaw opened another cell and dragged Riley out, who blinked his sleepy green eyes before being escorted out.

"You too, runt. Let's go!"

Now that he was fully visible, Wolf could see that he was lankier than Thomas, and his fur was much more unkept. But, looking down at his own mangy coat, he realized he wasn't one to talk.

CLANG!

Wolf looked up sharply as the door of his cell was banged open, and the ugly-looking SharpClaw who 'escorted' Leon walked in. In the light of his oil-lamp, Wolf was finally able to set eyes on the creatures he had seen in only silhouettes and from the faint bars of his cell.

The SharpClaw was bigger than he saw the others to be at a distance, and looked fiercer, too. His tall, meaty figure was covered in mossy-green scales that made him look like a tower of fungus. Black, spiked and dented armor hung off of his body on a breast-plate, shoulder-pads and knee-pads. The helmet was strapped on his head and decorated with teeth from some larger lizard, and his yellow-green eyes stared down at Wolf with a filthy and bullying stare. He showed off his yellow reptilian fangs as he barked at him.

"Get up, you lazy swine! Now!"

Wolf, staring up at his captor with burning distaste, stood up and walked outside. The SharpClaw shoved against his back and prodded him forward like livestock, digging his clawed, tong-like grip painfully into Wolf's fur. Every shove caused him to wince, and bare his teeth a little more, trying his patience with every gesture.

"Move faster, filth! Hurry up!" He heard him snarl behind him, adding another clawed push against his back.

_Ignore him…_ Wolf thought to himself with restraining effort. _Let him do what he wants…I won't start a fight now…_

He clenched his fists.

_Not yet…_

As he walked by more dirty cells, he saw growing numbers of grubby and huddled prisoners, all bruised and cut on their hands and faces. They trudged down the creaking hall of the caravan brig, dragging their feet across the filthy floor and letting themselves be pushed and bullied by the SharpClaw.

"Move faster, I said! Beat it!"

_Krrmp!_

The blow edged deeper, this time hitting the same, pained spot by accident. The claw-mark opened up a sear of pain that made Wolf grind his teeth harder. His temper was at its end. He turned back and shoved the SharpClaw's hand away from him.

"Get your hand off of me. I can walk," He said quietly.

"Did I ask if you could?" The SharpClaw snapped. "Shut up and keep movin'!"

_Fwwp!_

Wolf swiped the lizard's hand away from his body, this time more roughly with his claws out. "I said, get your stinking hands off me! I've got legs, I'm not retarded!"

The SharpClaw laughed filthily. "Do I look like I care, you mutt?"

Wolf turned around fully and glared at him defiantly. "No, you don't. I'll tell you what you look like…you look like a pile of shit!" He sneered scornfully. "But that doesn't look like a first for your species!"

The SharpClaw pushed him against the wall and aimed a punch at his face. "What the hell did you just say, you little shit!"

SLAM!

Wolf caught the massive blow in his hand right before it reached his cheek, holding the quivering fist inches from his own face before the SharpClaw wrenched it away and grabbed him by the collar of his ragged muscle-shirt.

"Hey! What's going on, here!"

A pair of SharpClaw, led by the one who was beating up the Cheetah gathered around Wolf and the other one.

The fungus-colored SharpClaw grabbed Wolf by the shoulder, sinking his long claws into his shoulder forcefully. "Just some upstart causing more trouble than he can get out of. Nothing I can't handle."

Wolf wriggled out of the painful grip and confronted him fiercely, with his teeth bared and purple eyes flashing dangerously. "Get off me! I told you, I don't need your scaly hand up my ass just to walk down the hallway! Now keep your hands off, before _I tear them off!" _He unsheathed his claws threateningly.

The SharpClaw backed off cautiously. The other SharpClaw laughed in unison.

"What's with this fuckin' mutt, huh, Karn?" One in the back jeered. "He's acting pretty tough for his size! Hell, he's even scaring you off!"

The SharpClaw behind Wolf, Karn, scowled angrily, his scaly cheeks flaming with humiliation. "I'm not afraid of this turd!"

The other one laughed. "We'll see. Just take him outside with the others. A few days of hard work in the sun will weaken his bones….and that temper!"

The others started walking away.

Karn grabbed Wolf by the neck furiously, causing him to choke and wriggle helplessly under his strength, before snatching a handful of his fur and ripping back so that it really hurt.

"Yeah, he'll go out with the others…" Karn hissed his foul, hot, meat-stained breath in Wolf's struggling face. "After I make him my bitch first!"

_SLAM!_

With a blur of speed that the SharpClaw couldn't process with his naked eye, Wolf latched both of his free hands around Karn's face and flung his head forward into a skull-splitting head-butt. The SharpClaw grunted and snarled as he fell forward, but Wolf's knee was waiting for him.

_Krrnch!_

Wolf brought his knee up and bludgeoned the SharpClaw in the face. His snout cracked and he staggered back, preparing to throw a lunge, but Wolf was ready for it. He dodged the large lizard's massive weight, and aimed merciless punch into his already bleeding face.

SPLRRTCH!

"_Gaargh!" _The SharpClaw yelled as his jaw exploded from the impact of the point-blank speed of Wolf's fist. _"Someone restrain him!"_

He got up with a bolt and attempted to wrestle Wolf into a tight and choking hold with his arm curled around his neck, forcing him down while the others sprinted towards them.

Wolf grabbed the hand of the arm latched around him and sank his fangs into it, ripping back with the force of his powerful canine jaws.

"_GAAAARGH!" _The SharpClaw howled, ripping his broken hand from Wolf's red mouth. "GET HIM OFF!"

Wolf spat out the scaly hand (which tasted horrible) from his mouth as a pair of SharpClaw grabbed him by the arms and wrestled him down. Wolf wriggled and tore his body around in the intensely muscular grip of the far bigger lizards, but they aimed punches and kicks at him with ease with him restrained under both of their weight.

The SharpClaw, Karn, got up weakly with a lot of seething and wincing, clutching his hand while he looked both furious and in pain.

"My hand…" He thrust himself at Wolf, who stared at him menacingly. _"You broke my fucking hand! I'll kill you!"_

"Enough!"

Another tall SharpClaw with dust-brown scales, whose deep voice Wolf recognized from the night before, raised his hand. He walked over to him, smiling approvingly at Wolf's murderous look.

"This one's tougher than the others. He's strong enough that he'll do more work…and put a bigger fight. Something we'll fix…" He looked at the others. "Make sure this one gets twice as work as the others. His back and bones will drag that temper down…and he'll learn his place as the common mongrel he is. And when his bones are broken…give him more." He looked down with a wicked glint in his eyes. "He'll be a walking sack of bones like the others…Drakon will see to that."

The others laughed and nudged each other amusedly, like sharing a private joke about this Drakon person they were talking about. He turned back to Wolf and smiled.

"Just wait…a few days in the sun, with his bones cracked and his soul broken…he'll have his tail between his legs in no time."

Wolf hoisted himself up and spat at the brown SharpClaw's face. The SharpClaw swiped the spit off his cheek furiously and raised his hand to strike Wolf's defiant face, but stopped, as if thinking better of it. He turned to the others.

"Make his work triple."

The other prisoners stared at Wolf with wide eyes and incredulous looks as they released him with a series of spiteful jeers, before the green one, Karn, stomped away.

Wolf got to his feet and called after him. "You better watch yourself, _Karn._ The next time you touch me or lay a finger on my friend…" He raised his claws threateningly. "…you're gonna have your eyes shoved down your own throat faster than a fox gets fucked!"

The SharpClaw turned quickly and began to stomp furiously in Wolf's direction before another one pulled him back. "Come on! There's prisoners to be unloaded!"

Karn shot Wolf a murderous glare and a clench of his fist before following the other.

Wolf sneered and walked forward with the others, who consisted of cats, foxes, birds and dogs in ragged clothes with fearful expressions. They all avoided Wolf carefully, as if expecting trouble from the SharpClaw to occur from being near him.

He didn't care, honestly, but he had been in the situation back there for so long that he had lost sight of Leon. He looked around urgently, but could see him in sight.

_He must've been escorted off…damn it…_

Wolf decided his only option was to meet up with him later, once he was past this crowd of captured strangers.

"Hey! Have you lost your mind, Maxwell? Do you want to piss these guys enough so they kill you before we get off this vessel?"

He turned to see the wide-eyed face of Riley keeping up with his pace, looking amazed but fearful at the same time.

"They would've ripped you limb from limb! Do you have any sense of danger?" His eyes went back to normal. "Sure, it was cool…but still!" His voice rose back to its high-pitched tone of anxiety.

Wolf rubbed the bruise on his shoulder indifferently. "Tch. I'm not afraid of them…and you shouldn't either. They may be bigger and stronger, but all they are underneath are a bunch of bullying cowards. I've met their type before…and besides…" He sneered in the direction Karn walked off in. "They won't take me as lightly now that they know I can fight back. Who knows? Maybe I'll get some fun if they're stupid enough to try and fight me again."

Riley shook his head with a resigned look. "Man, I wish _I_ had your guts…but then again, I'm not as anxious to get my butt handed to me."

He looked outside to the gap between the hallway's metal walls that served as thin windows, and his look changed. Suddenly, he looked frightened and gaunt, his eyes wide with terror and the fur standing up on his neck and ears.

Eyebrows furrowed, Wolf looked outside to see what it was he was so afraid of. "What're you-?"

But then, his expression changed too.

The sun's early hew was strewn above the tops of the morning sky, making it orange in the first hours of the newborn day. Its light cast a hew of orange light on the eye-area of Wolf's face, leaving the rest in shadows. Sand billowed in coiling winds over the horizon, the air crisp in the midst of the morning hours, untouched by the heat of the later periods of the day. In the distance, dark shapes rose from the sands, the leaning outlines and tall silhouettes resembling half-formed buildings, appearing in ruin. Criss-cross lines passed over them, like wood beams and ladders.

But what caught both of their attention was the objects littered across the sandy landscape so close to the vessel….objects that produced long, blue shadows over the dimly morning-lit sand.

As far as the eye could see, there were dozens and dozens of long shafts of wood, some leaning or tilted in placement in the sand. But they weren't cluttered close or strewn randomly…they were set a certain distance from each other, in rows and columns. Each staff or shaft of wood had something different on it: a tattered piece of cloth tied to the top, fluttering in the wind, possibly from someone's coat or scarf. Others looked like trinkets or valuables, like scraps of paper nailed to the wood, crosses or pendants or lockets strung to them.

But each shaft of wood plunged in the sand had one thing in common: a long-past dug mound of dirt, patted down in front of each wooden stick.

Both Wolf and Riley knew exactly what they were.

_Graves… _

Wolf thought with wide eyes, a cautious but bewildered look on his face.

_Dozens of them…_

Riley moved his lips shakily, fearfully forming words of shock from the loudest peak of his low-kept voice of terror.

"Looks…looks like that's the reason why no one ever…" He gulped and didn't finish, but Wolf could tell he was about to say "come back".

He, too, was stunned to see that number of graves….to arrive at their ominous destination only to find death waiting for them.

_Graves…but why?_

_Wait…they said they plan on us doing some 'work'…_

Glancing at the numerous graves in the distance, Wolf could only imagine what kind of work they would be doing. Nothing he would escape from, apparently.

"I survived the desert…and all of its tortures…" Wolf said slowly, eyes fixed on the graves in the distance. "To come to this…"

Suddenly, there was a cracking sound in the distance, possibly from the end of the caravan vessel's opening and outside, and followed by a high-pitched and fur-raising scream…that sounded like a woman's.

Riley turned to him, eyes wide, face drained of blood and full of fear. "Maybe you should've let the desert kill you…"

And the ramp of the vessel opened, sending a stream of sunlight that blinded Wolf and the rest of the prisoners around him.

_End of Chapter_

Well, looks like those familiar faces came in quicker than I expected (although they aren't the biggest surprises of the story).

Now that the story's reaching the actual plot, I must again remind you that this is BEFORE Adventures. And remember, Wolf doesn't know who the SharpClaw are, and they haven't gone to Sauria yet.

But what do they plan on doing to Wolf and the others? What's really going on with his Inner Power? Who is this General Talon everyone keeps talking about? And will anyone come to Wolf's aid?

Find out in the next chapter, Star Wolf fans, and remember to **REVIEW!**


	9. Chapter 9

Hey all! Just thought I'd let you know, that I've finally decided to put an end to the whole "unnecessarily-long chapters" crap. I'm done with it…it's too stressful for me to write, and I can't imagine what it's like to be a fanfic reader and sit through them.

So expect shorter chapters. I hope that it's a relief for some of you.

_Chapter 9: No Freedom for an Imprisoned Soul_

_Unknown Location, Titanian Desert, 5 ALW (HMD Period)_

Noise erupted from all around the heat-heavy air the moment Wolf stepped outside in the blinding sunlit desert.

CLANG!

"Let's go, move it out! Come on, you lazy sacks of flesh, before I make you!"

The SharpClaws around them beat and rattled the metal walls of the cargo as blinking prisoners that surrounded Wolf came out, being shouted and jeered as they trudged by. Insults and foul humor were spat at them from above like a shower of spite, and the closer SharpClaws kicked sand and pushed them roughly.

"Hey, look at all the fresh meat! Just wait…that muscle and skin of yours won't stay in good shape for long in here!"

"You ain't gonna last five minutes in this hell!"

"They always look so healthy when they're dragged in here!"

"Heheh, not for long! Drakon'll fix'em up, nice and slow!"

"Looks like we've gotta make that graveyard a bit bigger! The worms have plenty to eat now!"

Wolf pressed on through the hot and straggling crowd, ignoring the taunts and jeers that rang across.

His feet dug into the baking sand, the familiar coarse feeling of its hot mass staunching his footsteps and the suffocating heat once again clinging to his exposed and heat-stricken body. He was only a few steps out in the open and he was already regretting exposure to the desert. The heat was already making him wish he was back on the caravan speeder…

Sure, it stank like hell….but at the very least it was cool and shaded…and away from the vengeful glare of the sun.

But his reaction to returning to the tormentor of nature that had plagued his last few days on Titania was soon drowned out by reoccurring thoughts of recent events. His ears were still ringing from the scream he had heard coming from outside while he was still in the caravan.

His eyes studied the area around him, seeing nothing but sand dunes and graves between the cluttered masses of hot and confused prisoners in the crowd.

_Where did that scream come from? It sounded like a woman…_

Glancing at the ominous sight of the wooden staves that stuck in the ground to serve as hasty graves, he could only guess what had caused her to scream.

"Hurry it up, scum!"

_Klnnnkk!_

There was a shuffle of weary bodies hitting wearier joints, as a SharpClaw in the back shoved a prisoner in the back impatiently. The dazed prisoner toppled forward and fell against a confused Dog in front of him and caused _him _to fall, creating a domino effect of cluttered falls that reached Wolf, who turned around with a surprised look as a stumbling Jackdaw headed towards him in a heaping fall.

"_Oommfff!"_

Wolf felt the clobbering weight of the man behind him haul against his own and pull his balance from his feet, forcing him face-first into the sand. The heated and blistering rocky surface of the sandy ground boiled against his face, waking him up from the daze of his sleep-deprived head. Hoisting himself up in irritation with his free arm, he rose to his feet while the other stumbled prisoners did the same.

The Dog and the Jackdaw both glared at each other, the sun's heat making their blood and tempers boil.

"Hey!" The Jackdaw swiped sand from his face and stared at him furiously. "Watch where you're tripping that fat ass of yours!"

"I didn't trip, idiot, I was pushed!" The Dog balled his fists threateningly. "And you shut that crap-spewing hole of yours before I force it in!"

SLAM!

The Jackdaw swung a rapid punch at the dog's cheek and sent him stumbling back, before the canine responded by leaping at his stomach and tackling him to the ground.

Some of the other prisoners gathered around them and started egging them on, before a SharpClaw came forward and grabbed both prisoners by the collar and flinging them to the ground roughly.

"That's it, break it up!" He pointed an impatient claw at both of them. "We've dragged your sorry hides this far, and I'm not letting you rip each other up before you start some real labor! The next prisoner who picks another fight will spend the rest of his miserable life with maggots in his mouth in one of the grave pits!"

The two prisoners rubbed their heads, shot each other one last look of irritation, and stepped back in line.

Wolf's ears twitched as he heard a snigger in the back. He turned to see the same SharpClaw who pushed the Dog laughing with one of his ugly friends.

"Pah! Did you see those two beatin' the shit out of each other?"

"Yeah," The other answered with a brutish smile. "I'm telling you, these stupid grunts will kill each other for no reason in this heat…, it's so hilarious, it's almost pathetic!"

Wolf turned away.

_Tch…figures…_

_Cowardly scum…only _they _would find amusement into causing a fight among the crowd…_

_But it just shows how easy it is to be punished…I'd better keep my head low, and not start any kind of fight with the others…_

_Just concentrate on escaping…_

He looked around him, at the miserable and haggard crowd of prisoners around him. Their species varied from canines, felines, avian, smaller reptiles and a few amphibians here and there, all trudging in single-file across the sand while the SharpClaw guards stomped on the sides armed with axes, maces and keen stares at any expressions that pondered escape. The prisoners' attire consisted of ragged and faded clothes, desert-decayed remnants of whatever they wore whenever they had arrived on-planet. A few of them coughed harshly or retched with hunching positions in preparation for vomiting, while others looked around with peevish fear and trembling fright at their captors.

Wolf attempted to preserve his expression of blank indifference…no fear to draw the SharpClaws' jeers, but no defiance to piss them off. He walked forward with his heels sinking in the sand, eyes wandering for any sign of open doors or unmanned vehicles.

As he studied his surroundings with concealed notions of escape, he scanned the crowd for any familiar faces. He looked hard for Leon…

_Damn…_

_I lost track of him in the crowd…_

_I hope as hell nothing bad has happened to him…not in his condition…_

He clenched his teeth.

_He won't be able to fight back if those bastard SharpClaws have a go at him…_

_And I won't be there to help him…_

That disgruntled feeling of hopelessness gripped Wolf's insides again, and he looked at his hand.

_Tch…_

_How would I help him…? I'm useless…_

_My stinking Inner Power won't help me now…it'll just screw up again…_

_And I'll become an easy target…again._

He clenched his fist, feeling frustrated.

_Damn it…_

_After eight years of having Inner Power…it chooses to act like this now…?_

_And the more I try to overcome it…the more people die around me…_

His heart began to choke up at the thought of those civilians on the ship….those Arctic Foxes…that mother and father…

_Shit…why…._

…_why now…?_

As his eyes wandered sullenly, trying to ease off the painful memory, as the dry, desert wind billowed some wisps of coiling sand near his feet. His eyes followed it as it blew past the scattered graves in the distance, until they fell upon one in particular.

The lonely shaft of wood stuck into the ground, the hazy morning sun casting a melancholy shadow across the patch of sand in front of it. But what made Wolf's eyes widen with shock was the object placed in front of it…an object, similar to the other trinkets placed on the other graves, most likely belonging to the dead inhabiting it.

The object was a doll. A small, stitched child's plush of a cat with button eyes, lying without an owner in front of the grave…which Wolf realized with sudden anguish was smaller than the other wooden poles.

Wolf's insides became heavy with an indescribable clenching ache. There was a childburied there.

_Children…? These cowards would go so low…as to kill harmless, defenseless children?_

A boiling anger and newfound hatred filled Wolf, as he seethed through his teeth.

_These twisted, foul, vile reptilian scum….I didn't think they were low enough to do something like this…_

Suddenly, a sharp voice rang behind him.

"All of you! On your stomachs, now!"

SLAM!

Wolf felt a prong-like, strong hand shove him roughly in the back so that he was thrust forward onto the ground. The sand buried against his body, as the other prisoners were forced to the ground too, simultaneous thuds echoing around him as they were thrown down with grunts and yelps.

Wolf, raising his head and spitting out sand, cursed under his breath.

_The least they could have done was given us some warning…but then, that would be too decent for the likes of these morons…_

He heard a voice above his head call out to the other SharpClaws.

"Attach the shackles!"

Wolf's ears perked at the word he knew too well from prison. _Shackles?_

Clink.

Wolf felt a rummaging feeling at his feet before the sharp feeling of his ankles being slipped through something cold and metallic. Then, he heard the sound of footsteps walking away…

He sat up and heard a clinking sound as he moved his legs. His eyes were greeted with the loathsome sight of a pair of half-rusted cuffs around his feet, held together by a clanking chain that restricted the length he could spread his feet. The chain was linked to the set of chains of the prisoner behind and in front, so that they were forced to walk in single file. Wolf tried to get up but almost tripped immediately, as the chains tugged on his feet, making it hard to keep balance.

_Shit!_

_Damn chains…it's like prison all over again…_

"Let's go, keep walking! NOW!"

CLANG!

A SharpClaw banged his axe against a stone jutting from the ground, waking every prisoner from his terrified daze. He stomped over and grabbed Wolf by the fur on his neck, causing him to seethe with the sharp painful pull.

"That means you too, lazy-ass! Now, move it!"

_Scrrnch!_

Wolf's heels dug into the sand that splashed with a dry puff of dust as it flourished over the ground, the SharpClaw shoving him forward. Regaining his balance, Wolf shot a glare of loathing at him.

_Tch…not starting a fight with the other prisoners is one thing…that won't be a problem…_

He clenched his fist, restraining himself from unsheathing his claws in the heat of his rising anger.

…_but I'm gonna be pretty tempted to strangle some of these SharpClaw scumbags…_

The SharpClaw scowled at him and aimed a kick at his legs. "I said, _move!"_

Wolf stepped back, and his risen fur went back down, forcing himself to keep walking.

_Calm down…_ he told himself, taking out his anger on the sand he viciously stomped on. _Patience…look around and wait for an opportune moment to escape…_

_Then, they'll pay…_

Forcing himself forward with some effort and tempering, he avoided the jeering and spiteful gazes of the SharpClaw around him.

He looked back at the lumbering crowd of prisoners. The prisoners that weren't on their knees regurgitating or looking terrified were in fairly good shape. Most of them were just rugged prisoners, pissed off by the heat and the foul treatment like him.

_Besides…maybe it'll amount to me not doing anything…_

_These men aren't tough…most of them are just weaklings…_

_But they're strong enough…and two of them started a fight earlier…that means they still have the stamina to fight…_

_I won't be the only one pushed to the point of lashing out…someone might start a fight before me…_

_Maybe escape…or start a riot…_

_Someone will do something…_

The muffled, hot air, filled with the sound of malnourished groans and the simultaneous clanking of chains being dragged across the sand, was soon disrupted by the echo of a sharp call from the back.

"Move those prisoners towards the gate!"

There was another clang of the axe against stone and the prisoners lurched forward, the clinking chains in rippling movement around their feet as they were prodded forward by the SharpClaw like livestock.

In the distance, just a few feet from the hastily constructed graves that littered the desert plain around them, was the only sight of civilization Wolf had seen in days.

A massive, towering gate stood up in the distance, surrounded by a huge, stone-carved wall. The massive metal doors that encased the inner workings of the mission-like fortress that stood before the prisoners had scratches and stains of rust, with huge hinges that clutched to the gateway firmly. The battlement-topped walls had numerous poles perching ominously above the wall, casting long shadows on the ground below. Each pole had a tattered, billowing banner fluttering from the top of it…each red with a black insignia that looked like a pair of hook-like claws that formed a brutal spiral.

_Is that their insignia…?_

He fixed his eyes on the strange spiral, shielding his gaze from the blazing sun.

_Doesn't look like any banner I've ever seen…for any army…_

His eyes traveled around the gate and wall._ What is this place…?_

Tall and bulky silhouettes walked amongst the battlements, carrying pikes and even a few crossbows. But these were not primitive weapons…each crossbow was forged with a steel bow and a spiked handle, the arrow notched in the wire-like chord's metallic tip sizzling with blue electrical energy.

One of the SharpClaw standing around the crowd of hot and fearful prisoners walked towards the gate and held out his finger.

_Shwa-SHING!_

A long, black, raptor-like claw extended from his index finger, which seemed odd to Wolf since the rest of his claws were yellow. He looked at the other SharpClaws' hands and saw that they shared the same retracted, black claw on their index finger.

The SharpClaw reached forward and scraped his claw against the metallic door.

_Trrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetccchhhh!_

The prisoners, including Wolf, had their fur and feathers rise at the painfully-loud scraping and shriek-like sound, distorting their hearing like the unpleasant sound of really sharp nails scraping the surface of a chalkboard. Everyone covered their ears, and Wolf did the same.

The SharpClaw stood back, the trail of his scraping leaving yet another scratch to the already-carved door.

This apparently served as a password or signal, because a figure standing in the battlements looked down and pointed his crossbow at him.

"Who goes there?"

The SharpClaw below yelled in response up to the battlements. "Just the prisoner-herding group that the Lieutenant dispatched! Just head back and tell Slavemaster Drakon that we've got a new batch of workers for him. The desert's barely spoiled them…and they're nice and fresh!"

The one up in the fortress cackled. "Ha! That'll make his day, for sure. The bunch in here was starting to bore him….they've taken so much shit, they've barely got any flesh left on their backs!"

Wolf's eyes widened. _What?_

He shouldered his crossbow. "Yeah, this'll definitely please him. Open the gates!" He called to the other ones patrolling the battlements.

_CLANK!_

There was a deafening, clanging sound that echoed so loudly that the sand drifted back across the ground, the noise sounding like the nose of a Dreadnought ship smashing against an iron skyscraper. There were numerous clanging and clattering noises from the back of giant locks and bolts being unhinged. Finally, the massive padlock on the side reverberated back automatically, and the screws surrounding the hinges sunk back with a pulsing, suction noise.

_KRAAAAAAAAAAANKKKKKK…._

The massive doors creaked open in a slow metallic swing, sand coiling in piles beneath the edges of the bottom of each one, sending up a coiling dust-cloud that leaked out of the inside. Massive shadows moved from inside, towering until the dust blew away to reveal another set of huge doors…and another behind them, forming a narrow, arched, roofless corridor into the fortress.

The SharpClaws at the top of the walls pointed their crossbows at the muddled crowd of ragged, chained prisoners below.

"Move it, you pathetic maggots! Line up in single-file!"

There was a muffled, simultaneous shuffling of feet and clattering of shackles as the prisoners, including Wolf, lined up, minding the narrowness of the corridor as they walked through.

Wolf walked through, eyeing the walls with a newfound sense of discomfort.

_I don't like this…I don't like this at all…_

_These walls are too close together…_

CLANG!

He whirled around quickly, watching over the bobbing heads of the chained crowd behind him as the massive gates shut behind them with a loud and vibrant echo, reminiscent of the sound of the ominous doors shutting over his cell in Denique Fatum.

A shiver ran down his fur, all the way down to the nerves from his spine to his tail.

_There's no way out of this place…!_

_Shit…_

_These walls too close…all entrances bad…all escape barred…and I'm in chains. This makes me feel trapped…_

_Like I'm being herded like an animal into a trap…a cage…_

Wolf's spine ran cold. No. Not now…not this…not again.

_No…_

_Not another cage…not another prison…_

He clenched his fists. The tightness in the corridor made him feel nauseous…and his breathing was becoming heavy…

He didn't like tight places. Not like this…not where every option, notion and thought of escape was barred. It made him feel constricted…and unnatural. He didn't know if it was claustrophobia, or experience that made him feel like this…

Memories of those long, dark nights in the caves of Venom came back…and those miserable, hellish years in that closed, lightless cell…

Wolf shook himself out of the chilling daze.

_NO!_

_I won't go back into another cage…not again…_

He looked up and found some comfort in the sunlight…not the heat (that made him pissed), but the open air. At least there was open sky above him…that made him feel a bit better. Not confined and below ground like the cell…

_I hate being kept in confined places…I always have…_

_I guess why I prefer the sky so much…no bars or restrictions up there…_

CLANG!

The only glimmer of comfort of his former pilot days was interrupted by the rattling of the door in front of him, the SharpClaw guards grunting as they pushed it open.

Wolf sighed in relief at the sight of sunlight and open air, preparing to take in some minimal comfort.

But what met his eyes didn't comfort him. It wasn't a cell…

It was worse.

The gate had led them into a wide, prairie-sized ground, proving that it wasn't a fortress but a massive wall built around a large area…to prevent escape, no doubt. There were some roofed buildings built into the wall, but had the look of cells about them. A few tents with the Spiral-Claw insignia, surrounded by banners, were scattered around the outskirts of the area, where minimal shade was produced. But these small features paled to the gargantuan sight that occupied the middle of the grounds.

In front of Wolf, the prisoners and the SharpClaw caravan riders was a massive stone structure, crafted completely out of adobe-produced stone. The scale of the massive building stood at the height of a Corneria City Skyscraper, constructed completely out of precisely-placed adobe blocks, each the size of a small asteroid. Arch-ways, buttresses, and towering stone columns outlined the architectural wonder of this massive building, with a few open spots and blocks missing, indicating its incompletion. Its base seemed to gape out of the sand, like a massive ship rising from the belly of the desert, casting a large, ominous shadow over the sandy ground. The archway seemed to open up with a line of pillars, like a temple. The artistry of the carvings dug into the stone surface was exquisite, with detailed carvings etched with expert masonry. Giant statues of SharpClaw stood perched on scaffoldings and balconies, each with armor and weapons like they were locked in a frozen battle. A strange language was etched every few blocks, some kind of written dialect that consisted more of strange, other-worldly symbols that were unrecognizable to any Lylatian. Every empty spot in the architecture or unfinished portion was filled with a set of wooden beams and ladders that cluttered in an untidy fashion, with other traces of construction. Ropes and hinges to large crane-like machines and pulley mechanisms hung oddly against the stone walls, and constant sounds of scraping and hammering echoed from the hollow spots within the walls.

But the massive half-finished temple structure wasn't the center of Wolf or any of the other prisoners' attention.

In his many years on and off the battlefield, with all the horrors he had seen and the vile cruelty he had witnessed, he had a certain image in his mind of what hell would look like. He usually tried to think past the generic, stereotypical idea-cracked ground, lava pits, red skies, wailing victims, demons and monsters-and imagined it to be a place of suffering. Now, with the indescribable sight greeting his horrified eyes, he thought he now had a pretty good grasp on what hell looked like.

What he saw, was people. Ordinary Lylatians, just like him. The species varied, of course: dogs of every kind, foxes, dingoes, hounds, cats, leopards, mountain lions, ashcats, bobcats, frogs, lizards…races of every kind, predators and prey alike. There were dozens of them…hundreds even.

But they were just barely people. Just barely.

The countless people looked horrible…no, not horrible. Nightmarishly awful. These poor, wretched people looked barely alive. Whatever Wolf or Leon or any miserable prisoner captured out in the desert looked like was nothing in comparison to these people. Whatever torture or labor that they had been exposed them had stripped them of whatever human recognition they had. Their fur was ragged and hung off of their ribs and bones like thin cloth, dents forming painfully from their stomachs and limbs. Their bodies looked so malnourished and faded that whatever color fur they had originally had been washed away by the sun's glare, and patched to thin, dead flesh. A good number of them still maintained their muscle and physical stature that they looked like they had been here for a few days. But lack of food, sleep, rest and mercy had left so many of them skinny and frail, so weak that looked like they had aged hundreds of years, unnatural wrinkles and fragile movement making them look crippled and weak, like just the wind blowing across them would make them disintegrate. Worn faces, fixed with miserable expressions of exhausted helplessness and anguish, stared emptily ahead of them. No life shone from the sunken eyes that delved deep into the barely-concealed sockets of their faces, cheeks hollow and eyelids barely raised to see in front of them. The whites of their tired eyes had been reduced to a pinkish haze of half-blind, dying sight, the sun's merciless gaze forging their eye-sight into a torturous remnant of their former function. Weeks of sleepless nights surrounded their eyes with dark lines and bags, malnourished moans and harsh breaths escaping from their permanently-opened mouths. Whatever clothes they were wearing upon arrival to this place were reduced to indistinguishable rags, most of them walking around barefoot.

It wasn't horrible enough that they looked frail and malnourished enough to be refugees or inhabitants of third-world planets, but they were also covered in wounds. Scars and bruises dotted their faces like sets of tattoos, ugly cuts and gruesome burns cast all over their wretched bodies. Blackened and swollen eyes stared ahead with emotionless haze that drifted from the atmosphere of sanity. Open and untreated gashes lingered on their ankles and arms like red, raw leeches, with messy and tattered bandages wrapped around hands, feet, and spots that seeped through the tarnished cloth. Other bandages were wrapped around their faces, a few reddened ones circling the spot where their eyes used to be as they stared around blindly. But bandages appeared to be a luxury for most, for the rest had wounds left without the mercy of care. Black, rotted cuts surrounded by decayed skin hung in sick patches on their necks and torsos, a few of them with scarring that matched the curve of a SharpClaw's claw. Deeply-etched blisters that looked like they opened on a daily basis dotted their hands, the palms gashed with rotting calluses from over-work from tools and rope. Some wounds were so diseased, that flies buzzed and occasionally attached themselves to the miserable people's bodies. But the bruises, cuts, and scars were not from labor. They were etched into their skin…deep, and intentionally painful….from the blades and claws of SharpClaw. The severest injuries consisted of missing limbs, with bandages wrapped around stumps that were once fingers, hands, arms, feet, and legs….some stopping at the shoulder, while others stopped at the waist.

Shackles clanged nosily from their ankles and wrists, tugging at their weak bodies with every strained movement and causing them to wince like they had been shocked. Every movement seemed to take more energy than it should, like the captives' frail bones struggled to balance their weight. The chains, though not looking to heavy, seemed to weigh down their weak bodies more than it should. Their movement was sluggish and deprived of muscle, limping and trudging with backs arched in weak, hopeless scrunches. Every time they raised their arms or put pressure on their legs, their limbs quivered weakly, as if at any moment their worn-out muscles would give out. Felines had their groomed fur in chunks and disorder, while the canines' tails hung between their legs and the avian shivered under the bulk of molting feathers. They walked with a limp of pain, every step a burden on their weary bodies.

Wolf stared at the ragged figures of once-human souls before him, stomach clenched in grief-stricken shock.

_Good…God…_

His eyes were huge, and his mouth hung open, too astonished to have words flow out.

_What…what happened to these people…?_

_They're worse than the prisoners at Denique Fatum…they look less alive than that sick corpse collection that Andross had…_

He looked at them, and their faces looked past him with empty eyes. Could they even see him? Could they talk?

Wolf stood there, with a chill rising up his spine that bit his body harder than any stroke of the sun's heat could. He didn't know whether to be mad with fury or mad with pity.

He had seen enough horrors on the battlefield….he had seen haunting sights in prison…and even his share of the supernatural…

But this….this was worse than anything he had ever seen.

_What the hell….happened to these people…?_

_Who did this to them?_

And despite the horrible toll on their barely-functioning bodies, they worked. The construction, the wooden beams and ladders that opened up like wounds in the architecture, were all filled with scattered people, each contributing some of their sweat and blood into its building. Hammers and chisels clinked and snapped from their trembling fingers and chained wrists. Others ground up large, desert rock into slated blocks with pickaxes, while the others around them dug deeper into the dunes with shovels. They bent their arched backs against a massive wheel in the center of the construction, similar to those used on a ship to hoist an anchor, only this one cranked up the rope for a levy system that carried a plank of wood with stone blocks up to the temple's rooftop. Others lumbered in chains towards a rock-grinder, carrying sticks with a pair of water-filled buckets. But the most weary of the workers were the ones dragging massive boulders across the sand to be chiseled into blocks. Their legs quivered while they groaned with aching effort as they pulled the immense weight on their frail shoulders. And they worked…without motivation to live or die in their worn eyes. No life in their gaunt faces. No energy left to express their pain. The only glimmer of emotion in their eyes was a look of cautious fear at their tormentors.

And that's when Wolf caught a glimpse of their captors….or at least, swerved his head to glimpse _up _at them, because of their overwhelming height. They were SharpClaws, alright….but of a completely different breed. These weren't the stupid, grunt-like thuggish ones that had captured Wolf and dragged him here through the use of brute strength and foul bullying. No…these weren't the crude, common type; they were far leaner, and taller than the normal ones, standing at six foot eleven each. Their features were a lot more cunning and brutal, with keen expressions that didn't match the simple-minded look of the other SharpClaws. They were in darker tones of scale color, ranging from dark green, indigo, and deep scarlet. Their clothes were different, too. Each of these "different" SharpClaws had less armor, their outfits consisting more black sashes and chain-linked belts around their waists and shoulders. Instead of helmets, they wore blood-crimson head-bands with a strange, hood-like neck garment that covered their snouts and mouths, making only their merciless eyes visible. Their most prominent physical features besides their ominous build were the red-and-yellow, murderous reptilian eyes that glowered keenly against their victims, as well as a distinct line of spines that traveled up their backs and stopped at the back of their necks. With their complete difference and obvious superiority to the other SharpClaws, Wolf had no doubt that these were the Elite ones, of a higher class.

But Wolf, the prisoners, as well as the dozens of miserable-looking people had their cautious attention on one thing: the long-handled, reptile-skin whips in their hands, each tipped with a cruel, fang-like barb. The whips coiled and struck out like live serpents, their spine-chilling flex and ominous ring echoing across the sands as they were brought down on the wretches' bare backs.

**SHROOWOU-**_**PAAKKK!**_

The prisoners watching flinched and recoiled at the sound and widened their eyes in preparation of the screams of pain….but they never came.

The ragged people flinched slightly as the barbs dug into their flesh and caused them to bleed agonizingly, but kept working. They chiseled, hammered, pushed and pulled continuously. No screams or groans escaped their mouths with any strike of the whip.

Wolf couldn't believe it. _Has these people been tortured so much that they have no energy to scream? No emotions to express their agony?_

_What is this…some kind of torture pit? A prison?_

SHROO-KRAAK!

The whips cracked against their backs again, and again they gave no response. Not even the slightest noise or extreme motion to let out their pain. They just kept working.

_RRRRRRRKKKKK….._

The giant wooden wheel in the center of the area creaked loudly as the people pushed against it, turning it with their feeble weight. As each of them heaved against the massive poles that stuck out the side of the wheel's edge and served as levers.

_SHWOOO-_TAAAK!

A swinging whip hurled out from the grip of one of the black-clad SharpClaws and lashed out viciously at a struggling dingo's back, opening up a gashing wound on his already-scarred flesh that sprayed with blood.

The dingo gritted his teeth with a canine whine of pain and heaved harder against the wheel, his shackled heels digging deeper into the sand.

Wolf's eyes wandered down to their backs, and they widened at the sight of horribly gruesome scars that were etched into their skin in ragged crimson lines. They criss-crossed and intersected so many times, that there were more cuts than flesh on their back, and endless maze of gashing red lashes that stung in the heat. Some wounds were even worse, grisly and infected, reddening with tattered skin hanging from the borders of the cuts as the insides glistened with rawness. Others went in so deep and had been opened so many times, that the yellowing surface of bone was just barely visible through the cuts. Wolf stared in horror as the crippled victims shut their eyes as tears of pain trickled from their swollen eyes, groaning through grinded teeth as they pushed harder.

But as Wolf watched the indescribable scene, his sharp gaze noticed something. As each victim lumbered against the poles of the wheel, he saw a strange pattern in their footsteps as they pushed it in a circle. Every bandaged and shackled foot rose out of the ground at the same time, and sank back down at the same time, all in unison….not a centimeter or a second off. There weren't even numerous foot-prints in the sand. They just walked in each foot print with the right foot automatically…not one of them out of line, or making the foot print bigger.

_They're walking in their own foot-prints….all of them…_

Wolf looked down at their feet in sudden realization.

_They aren't walking at different speeds…or at a different pace…or in different spots…_

_They're all walking exactly alike….the same speed, at the same time…those footprints aren't even any bigger….they're planting their feet in the exact spot.._

He looked up with disbelief.

_This is impossible! That kind of precision isn't possible for an ordinary human being…it takes completely perfect reflex…beyond mental concentration….even masters of a certain art or skill can't do that…_

_Something isn't right here…something's wrong…something's _very _wrong…_

Sheerwoo-PAAAAKKK!

One of the SharpClaw Elites rose his whip and brought it down, its long coiling chord making a vibrant and fluxing noise before snapping down like a cobra.

_Ttttcchhhh!_

The barbed end lashed the ground a good yard from a victim's feet. The victim responded by flinching and recoiling pitifully at the sound.

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. _At the sound?_

More of the tall, darkly-dressed SharpClaws cracked their whips at the ground, and more people around them recoiled and flinched in unison, like pitiful animals reacting to a noise or action by their masters.

_Ker-_KRAAAK!

_Ker-_KRAAAK!

A SharpClaw Elite cracked his whip near his feet, twice this time. Reacting to the sound, the working prisoners around them hastened with their painful labor, hammering blocks and pulling ropes at a sudden but still perfectly simultaneous pace.

Wolf's jaw dropped in shock.

These whip-cracks were no mere action of inflicting pain. They weren't random gestures….they were _commands._

The whip cracked near a huddled group and they all flinched and recoiled, and when it cracked a second time, only twice, they worked faster. They shifted their feet at the sound of SharpClaws walking by, shivering at the sound of their footsteps and dipping their heads pitifully as they passed.

Every action these tortured and broken creatures did wasn't random or different like normal human beings…it was a whole different set of behavior. They had a specific action that they were physically and mentally strained to do automatically, to behave a certain way with certain trait, like trained beasts. They had been tortured, broken, and beaten to the point where they had no free will…physically or mentally. They all moved at the same pace and speed like they were on some freakish auto-pilot. Their bones and muscles had been torn and strained in such a way so that they all moved alike and walked alike…adjusted to the tiresome task they were outfitted with. They didn't go faster than anyone else or marched an inch out of the single-file line….They didn't flinch or scream at the pain they suffered. They picked up heavy blocks and stone without the human hesitation to ponder if they were strong enough…..they didn't cease the pulling of blistering ropes till their hands bled to react to the pain, or slow down because of their hands' condition. They had no free will to think…to feel…to express pain. Pain, starvation, torture, labor, and endless torment had forged them into perfect, non-flawed workers….beaten and broken into gruesome and horrible perfection.

Their faces showed no light of life, or expression of motivation….just the permanent, broken-willed face of miserable anguish, whose only fulfillment was to serve their labor without flaw…until it was their turn to join the countless beneath the burial grounds.

That's when Wolf realized…with horror, anguish, and an unleashed heat of fury….that he wasn't in a prison or a torture pit. The constant mention of 'work', the jeering of the SharpClaws about 'loosening up eventually and becoming like the others'….everything he had heard from the SharpClaw guards and on the caravan, and the massive, incomplete building under construction. It all made sense now…

He wasn't in prison….he was in a slave yard. An eternal prison…of both body, and mind.

Emotions revolved in Wolf's mind like sparks looming over an open fire. He stood there, clenching his fists with a raging feeling of both fury and disgust at what he was seeing. His purple glare was fixed on the SharpClaw Elites that cracked their whips brutally at the ragged-looking slaves…

_These sick, twisted bastards…this is beyond cruelty…_

His eyes fell upon the pitiful, staggering slaves that attempted to limp away from the agonizing wake of the SharpClaws' whips.

_They've bent and broken these creatures to the point where they can't function like humans…_

_They're deprived of free will…they can't even respond to pain…._

He clenched his teeth till he could hear his own sharp canines grind against each other.

_No…they're not _allowed _to feel pain…_

_Are their bodies and minds so crippled, that they can't even cry out in agony? They can't do that much…_

SHRRR-_TAAAAAK!_

A SharpClaw Elite swung his whip down on the back of a skinny, frail-looking hare. Blood sprayed from the wound, but the hare just kept walking.

Wolf growled through his teeth.

_These fucking savages…._

_They can't even give them the last human benefit a being can have….to feel pain…?_

_That's just sick…_

He watched with loathing and sympathy as the hare shakily got back up, his fur rising into a flinching, recoiling movement at the sound of the whip. Heated anger rose in his stomach as the frail creature trudged by him with no acknowledgement, with only the permanent expression of hollowed-out anguish.

_Look at them…_

_It's like they've been trained….like stinking beasts…_

_They've been beaten…broken…abused…reduced to mindless, pitiful, retarded animals…._

SLAM!

The SharpClaw Elite aimed a clawed kick at the weak rabbit's back, forcing him back to the ground to be the subject to more physical torment. Wolf's anger got to him as he tried to stomp over and rip the cowardly scum to shreds, but his feet were restrained by the yanking of the confining shackles. He exhaled with a seething attempt to cool down, but he couldn't help it. Not since Kew had he seen such barbarous cruelty. Every lash and crack of the scourges' whip filled him with rising hate and pulsing fury that itched to do something.

_I'm not going to just stand here and watch this shit happen…_

_They can't fight back….they can't do anything…_

_They're too tortured and weak to do anything…_

It was an indescribable feeling of restrained rage and helplessness, to be watching this happen in front of him…to watch the slaves being beaten and bullied, unable and non-motivated to fight back….trudging around, miserably, with broken spirits and shattered wills…with nothing, but the gashes on their backs and the chains that weighed them down…

To be helpless…and enslaved…and without a fragment of free will in their souls…

It made Wolf's blood boil like gasoline under his skin.

_These people…don't have anything…_

_And all I can do is just watch them….like a helpless, cowardly weakling…_

_I'm not usually one to sympathize with strangers…especially strangers who'd never sympathize back…_

_If they knew who I was…_

He clenched his fists uncomfortably, his emotions teeming with cold remembrance of being nothing more than a forgotten myth…

Then he looked up, purple eyes flashing.

_It doesn't matter who I am…I'd still feel like this! _

_Any human being with sane thoughts in their head could see that this wrong!_

_Besides…I know how precious freedom is…and how hard it is to hold onto it…_

Wolf thought about those long years in that horrible, damp cell…without a light…without a hope…without a voice of comfort... He knew what it was like to be a prisoner, and to be a captive to the prison of a broken resolve. He knew the immense bliss of freedom…and couldn't imagine being a beaten remnant of a human being.

For someone like him…someone whose whole existence relied on being free and without bounds…who knew the pain of being enslaved in mind, body and soul…seeing people twisted and configured in forced, mentally-deprived tools…

It made him _sick. _Furious. Enraged.

Wolf clenched his fists.

_This goes against every instinct I have…_

_These people are helpless…without defense…_

…_they don't deserve this!_

RRRRRRRRRRKKKKKKKK….

Wolf whirled his head around at the loud, creaking noise to see the crushing sight of the massive gates being shut. Large, slated bars of metal slid over the hinges automatically by some metallic mechanism, sealing off even the most meager hopes of escape with an ominous CLANG.

_Damn it…_ Wolf thought with frustration. _That's the only door in or out of this hell-hole…_

His eyes studied the towering walls that were lined with battlements.

_This place isn't like Denique Fatum…but it's still gonna be a bitch to get out of…_

_That door's plated with thick steel…my Inner Power couldn't penetrate it even if it was working…_

_The barricade's only slackened whenever someone goes in…and judging by the graves outside, nothing ever goes out…_

_The only way to escape would be to wait for the moment for the gate to open…or find a way to open it, like a switch or something…_

_Wait a minute…is Leon out here?_

As he turned around to analyze all possible escape routes, he winced at the feeling of the metal bracelet of his shackles that dug into his ankles.

_Shit…and it doesn't help that I'm gonna be in chains the whole time…_

He watched some of the slaves, getting past their appearances and looking at their feet. Not all of them were chained into one massive, single-file line of workers. Some of them were walking about free, hauling sacks or pushing carts of rock.

_Maybe those ones don't need to be chained up…or maybe these SharpClaw shitbags have beaten them to the point where they don't have the will to run away…_

The anger from before started to rise again, and Wolf tried to shake it off. He didn't mind getting attention from those brutish guards that brought him here…but _these _ones (he eyed the tall, black-clad ones with a mixture of caution and hate), he needed to avoid at all costs.

"_AAAAARRGGHHH!"_

Wolf and the other prisoners turned instantly at the scream, he himself recognizing the female voice from hearing it earlier.

A female rabbit was sobbing and crawling to her hands while the rest of her lay on the ground. Tears splashed from her face and into the cracked ground, where it disappeared beneath its thirsty surface. She shakily panted on the ground as blood tricked from a fresh set of horrible wounds that were gashed into the back of her clothes.

The SharpClaw Elite towered over his victim mercilessly, casting a dark shadow over her wounded body. He cracked his whip impatiently, barking at her as he did so.

"Get up! I said, _get up, _you lazy groveling bitch!" He snarled in a cold voice that sounded muffled from behind the black cloth that covered his reptilian snout. "Did you hear me? Do I need to rip open stinking ears for you to do as I say?"

He rose his coiling whip and snapped it on the ground viciously. _Shwrooo-_TAAAAKKK!

The woman screamed and covered her head, cowering into a more pitiful position on the ground.

The prisoners standing beside Wolf watched with both fear and anguish. Some of the more gutsy prisoners hunched their shoulders and balled their fists in anger at the sight, while the others remained in a stunned state of silence.

Another SharpClaw Elite walked over, curling the end of his whip casually while eyeing the crippled woman with amusement.

"This one still giving you trouble, eh?"

The first kicked at her limp body brutally. "Useless sack of meat….she can't even pull her own weight around here! She can't push a cart or lift a rock to save her worthless life!"

"She's not going to be as efficient as the others." The other one gestured to the more miserable-looking, unresponsive slaves around them. "It's only been a few days since the Caravan Herders brought her here. The others have had a good month to let our methods shape them into good use."

Wolf gaped in disbelief. _These other people look like this after only a month?_

_There's no way…with their bodies and wounds…with that kind of malnourishment…they'd have to have been here for years!_

He clenched his fists angrily. _Bastards…what the hell did they do to them?_

SLAM!

"AAARGGHH!"

The first Elite grabbed the tear-stained, terrified-looking rabbit by her ears and hoisted her up, prodding her with his raptor-claw. "Tch…so she's just going scream and keep falling over until she gets used to the pain like the others? I don't have time for that…" His scarlet eyes gleamed wickedly. "Maybe she should lose a limb to help her cope with the pain in the future!"

The rabbit's eyes widened. She tried to scream again, but the SharpClaw threw a massive, scaly hand over her mouth. The other one drew a long, curved dagger from his sash.

"Heh…yeah, I think an arm should do the trick!"

He raised the dagger above the struggling woman's shoulder, the blade gleaming in the blaring sunlight.

Suddenly, a sharp voice barked at them.

"Enough!"

_SHWROO-_PAAAAKKK!

There was a swooping echo and ear-jolting crack, as a long, flailing whip shot forth and smashed its barbed end against the blade and sent it flying from the surprised Elite's hand.

Fssh-_clang!_

The dagger spun in the air before sinking its blade into the sand just inches from the cowering woman's face.

Trr-_wwoooosh…._

The wielder of the whip pulled it back and coiled it back up, causing Wolf and the other prisoners' gazes to follow the whip's trail back to the new figure that had appeared.

Wolf had thought he had found the superior amongst the SharpClaw upon seeing the spine-backed, menacing Elites…but this newcomer had proved him wrong. The SharpClaw was physically dominant among the rest, his shadow stretching with a towering presence over the sand as the gleaming sun rested over his towering figure. Brutal muscles and biceps, formed by the immense torture he inflicted on his victims, built his rising form. He was an Elite, without a doubt, the spines and heavier look of superiority over the common SharpClaw present, but he was definitely the leader of the other scourges. Covered from head to toe with black scales, he was the color of volcanic rock charred to ash. Dozens of trappings and tattoos patterned up his arms and the side of his neck, most of them dyed an ominous shade of crimson. He was dressed in the same garb as the others, with loose kneepads, a spiked shoulder-pad, and chain decoration hooked to his spiked greaves. Padded wrist-guards were strapped to his fore-arms, while black cloth was wrapped like bandages up his arms. A red band was tied around his left arm with the Spiral Claw insignia, indicating his higher rank. His face was a brutal canvas of scars and burns, his mouth curled into a smile that exposed his filed reptilian teeth. His red-and-yellow eyes wandered around the area with a ravenous and sadistic edge…as he searched for the weakest link or the obvious straggler to pounce upon….to amuse his murderous leisure.

As he stomped his way over, sinking his raptor-like hind heels into the sand, the dozens of bent and ragged slaves gave their first emotional expression of fear. Their eyes followed his footsteps fearfully like beasts watching the ring master, flinching or wincing out of mental, raw instinct produced by the pain inflicted on their bodies and minds. They cowered as he walked by, shivering as he coiled and flexed his whip lazily.

Wolf could tell by that brutish grin on his face what kind of person he was. Just another bully that he had seen on countless occasions…too many times as of late.

_I know his type…a sadistic idiot, using fear to cover his true, cowardly self…_

"Hey…" Wolf heard someone mutter in the back. "Is that…that General Talon everyone talks about?"

"Pah!" Another prisoner hissed. "Definitely not… as if the high-and-mighty Talon would ever stoop so low to be amongst his own slaves to do his dirty work for him… No, that ain't Talon…it's the Keeper of the Slave Yard, Drakon."

"Drakon?" Someone else whispered. "I've heard of him…he's the head scourge in this place….he's supposed to get pleasure and amusement by flogging his victims into senseless crap!"

The SharpClaw Elite, Drakon, stopped in front of them, and the crowd remained silent. Audible breaths of anticipation were faintly heard around the group, chains clinking as they shuffled their feet nervously.

Drakon stopped in front of the other two SharpClaws that stood over the woman.

"So…" The black SharpClaw sneered. "You decided to silence this brat by removing one of her arms, did you?" He glanced at the knife in the ground. "And without my consent, I see…"

"D-Drakon…" One of them stammered. "We were just dealing with her…the way we deal with the others. She would be a useless slave if she didn't adapt to the pain like the rest of them…"

"So you saw fit to hasten the process," Drakon finished. His clawed fingers curled around the whip handle dangerously. "Am I right?"

The Elite looked down fearfully. "Y-yes…"

_SHWROO-_KRAAAK!

There was a blurring shadow over the sunlight as the long whip shot out and lashed at the Elite's face brutally. The SharpClaw yelled in pain and clasped his maroon-scaled cheek, the black cloth that covered his mouth lying in a torn heap at his feet. He seethed through his teeth as black, thick liquid dripped from the wound and splashed in the sand like ink.

Wolf furrowed his eyebrows. _SharpClaw bleed….black blood?_

"Idiot!" Drakon spat. "You wanted to cut her arm off? Look around you! There are more than enough limbless wretches in this pit!" He shot his huge hand out and grabbed him by the collar. "You know what it means when a slave has one arm less? It means less speed…and less work! This temple needs strong hands to build it…_both _of them! I don't need more useless workers, so the next time you decide to remove limbs off of another one of these vermin, the next piece of scum that'll his back flogged into tattered flesh will YOU!"

SLAM!

He threw the bleeding SharpClaw back to the ground, and walked over to the rabbit, who cowered under the second Elite's foot.

"Besides…haven't you learned anything from my methods?" His looming shadow covered the fearful face of the woman. "Pain isn't a process that can be rushed. It's the kind of lesson that needs to be slow…and effective." He grinned deviously, his jagged fangs gleaming in the sunlight. "In time, the grueling labor and the sun's heat will malnourish her…and the endless work and the wounds etched into her back will break her…and shape her muscles and bones to create the only instinct in her bent mind…just like all the others."

Wolf growled with newfound, heated realization.

_So…_

This_ is the bastard responsible for all of this…_

He looked at the frail, whipped masses and then back at Drakon.

_These are HIS methods! HE'S the one who's been turning these people into mindless wretches!_

"But…"

SLAM!

In a rapid movement, Drakon seized the woman by her neck and hoisted her up, her feet dangling inches above the ground as she choked and whimpered, while staring with terrified eyes into the SharpClaw's red and yellow ones.

"…there's nothing more irritating to my ears than the tiresome, high-pitched screams of some whiny bitch!" He threw her back down to the ground and gestured to the Elites with his whip. "You want her to be silent? Forget the arms. Cut out her tongue."

The woman opened her mouth to scream, but the fear gripping her throat and wide-eyed gaze prevented the smallest utter of terror from escaping her mouth. The two Elites smiled evilly as they grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her away. The other slaves continued to trudge about and work, not one of them looking up from their grueling task to show sympathy or pity. The pushing, building, cracking, shouting and groaning resumed, like it had never happened.

Drakon spat in the sand and cracked his whip.

_WHEEWOOR-_TCCHHH!

"The rest of you, keep going! _Get those worms to work faster!_ General Talon wants that temple finished before the deadline, and I'll get these pitiful roaches to get it built even if they have to grind their flesh and bones into bricks to fill up the unfinished portions themselves!"

KER-KRAAKKK!

He brought his whip down to the ground, the sand dividing into a small shockwave from where the barb split the ground.

A SharpClaw, not one of the Elites, but one of the ones from the caravan, called over to him.

"Hey, Drakon!"

The Head Scourge turned to see the deep-voiced SharpClaw from the other night approach.

"Oh, it's you, Lieutenant…" He slung his whip over his shoulder casually. "What brings you back to my slave yard?"

"We've rounded up some new slaves for you…some of them are just the type you need. Most of them are runaways from the city…but a few of them are some off-worlders that were wandering the desert."

Drakon's eyes lit up hungrily. "Ah, newcomers…and the desert hasn't completely crippled them either! It's been a long time since I've heard the screams of agony tear from my victims' throats…most of the ones here have been beaten to the point where they barely respond. You can't imagine how boring it is…"

He strolled past the prisoners, who either cowered in fear or shot him dirty looks. Wolf remained expressionless, trying to avoid as much attention as possible.

He couldn't afford it, not in a place like this, in chains…without Leon…

_...without my Inner Power. _He grimaced uncomfortably.

Drakon stopped in front of the chained group, his eyes traveling across each prisoner as he analyzed them all, like a butcher measuring up cattle.

"Yes…this is a good crowd you've brought." His eyes fell on Wolf, and he smile broadened. "They've got some serious muscle…imagine how much labor I could squeeze out of them….they'd be able to do twice as much work as any slave I've got already."

Wolf avoided contact with the SharpClaw's goading eyes, determined to keep his head low.

Drakon turned towards the other SharpClaws. "These ones will do just fine. They'll do their job before it's their turn to join the burial mounds. You have my leave to go to Catalaya….you can claim your reward at the Palace."

The other SharpClaw chuckled greedily as they turned and headed towards the direction of the massive gate behind them.

Drakon turned back to the prisoners, smiling with brutish amusement. "Oh, I'm sorry…I've been neglecting my new guests, so rude of me…but then again, I've never been much of a good host, but I feel an introduction is in order. I am Drakon…and this lovely spot of hellground is the sight of the half-constructed SharpClaw Temple, as well as the holding grounds for the slaves. It is my honorable job issued from the highest authority, the exalted leader and ruler of the SharpClaw Army, to oversee the construction, as well as the slaves' treatment." He grinned sadistically, cracking his whip near a terrified slave who worked faster. "All of you unworthy miscreants are here because you've committed the heinous crime of treading on SharpClaw planetary territory. Some of you are serving punishment for crimes in Catalaya, a city under SharpClaw control. For these complete disregards for the Army's rule, you are all sentenced to the only use you have: to aid in the construction of this temple, built as honorable tribute to the exalted General Talon."

_Perfect… _Wolf thought bitterly. _This Talon guy sounds like quite the narcissist…_

_As if Andross wasn't bad enough…_

The Head Scourge paced in front of the line of prisoners, smiling at their dirty or fearful looks.

"I see a few of you don't approve of my methods to promote efficiency. I'll bet you hate it in those chains, don't you? You want to escape your fate, don't you?" He spread his arms wide, gesturing to the walls that surrounded them. "Look well, gentlemen…tell me, do you see any way to escape? These walls are thicker than a Goras' skin. There are sentries constantly patrolling the gate, which has a multi-purpose lock that can only be opened by the gesture of a SharpClaw's index claw. Slaves come through the gate, and bodies go out the gate. But I'm sure you have nowhere to run to…" His grin widened as he pointed outside the wall. "Even if, by some ungodly miracle, you _did _manage to escape, there's nothing but desert for a hundred miles in every direction. Once the desert has tortured your body and mind, your corpse will be food for the Kalra Birds and your body will be property of the sands. And for some of you fools who may have treacherous friends in Catalaya, whom you think will rescue you, this fortress is far enough from the city so that it's impossible to reach without a speeder or airship. You're in a cage, like the filthy mongrels you are. No one's coming to save you…and no one will hear your screams of pain when I break you into becoming a perfect, unquestioning slave like the others."

Ker-KRAAAK! _Twissshhh!_

He lashed his whip down at the ground and then drew it back up in a recoiling motion. A ragged trio of slaves scurried near him like pathetic rats with their heads lowered. Drakon pointed at the prisoners' shackles.

"You three! Unbind these newcomers and escort them to the tool racks."

The slaves bent down and unhinged the chained cufflinks from the prisoners' feet. Wolf looked down at the bandaged jackal that worked busily on his rusted chains, who avoided all possible eye contact with him.

_It's like I'm not even here…he's taking the chains off like I'm some kind of object…_

_What's wrong with him? It's like he can't even see me…_

Wolf's eyes widened with realization. _Can he?_

He bent down and waved a hand in front of the slave's eyes. The jackal paid no attention and un-clicked the final link of Wolf's chains.

Wolf looked at him with a mix of pity and confusion. _He doesn't _look _blind…_

His ankles felt so much better from the tightening constrictions of the chains, but the marks from where the bracelets were still dug into his fur.

"Now," Drakon drawled. "You're all going to be assigned a specific, individual task that will contribute to the construction. And if any of you pathetic scum still have any shitty notions of resistance or escape, just remember that you can all become pitiful retards like the others just a bit sooner!"

A bruised Cardinal, who had been keeping quiet the whole time they had been escorted inside, looked up with a scowl. "The hell I will!"

SLAM!

With a rushing motion, the Cardinal swept his hand back and pushed the loose chains off his feet. He called to the others loudly. "All of you, make a break for it while your chains are still off! Hurry! The gate won't stay open!"

A few of the prisoners, most of them consisting of the hotheaded ones who had been spurned with anger on first sight of the slaves, threw down their chains and began to sprint in the direction of the gates.

Wolf turned to face Drakon, expecting him to call forth the guards or the other Elites to stop them, or at least show some kind of alarm. But Drakon just broadened his smile and slung his whip over his shoulder.

"Well, now…" His grin expanded so that the sharp teeth caused the corner of his cheeks rise higher. "Things just got more interesting…"

_Shit! _Wolf gritted his teeth. _No wonder that bastard's so calm…he doesn't need to do a damn thing…_

He looked back at the escaping prisoners.

_You idiots! What are you doing? STAND DOWN!_

_You're trapped and outnumbered! You're walking into your own grave!_

The Cardinal turned back and dashed over to one of the slaves that had dismantled their chains.

"What are you waiting for? C'mon! You're free!" He grabbed the slave's arm and tugged it towards the direction of the gate. "You're not in chains…this is the moment to escape!"

But the jackal looked past the Cardinal expressionlessly, his eyes empty and unfeeling. His hands automatically picked up the chains laying on the ground, and he started to trudge away.

The Cardinal looked at the jackal in helpless horror. He turned him around and began to shake his shoulders. "C'mon, damn it! _Come on! _Those bastards will kill you if you stay!" The slave continued to look past him, his crippled mind only fixed on the task he was assigned. "You have to come with us, _now! _Jesus Christ…can't you hear me? What's wrong with you?"

_Shh-_FWWPPP!

There was a flash of silver that gleamed in the sunlight that embedded itself in the Cardinal's shoulder. His eyes widened.

KRRRRZZZZZ!

"_AAAARRRGGGHHH!"_

The Cardinal collapsed on the ground screaming, clutching his shoulder as swiveling streaks of blue electricity swarmed his red feathery body, causing him to writhe in pain. As more electric shocks tore at his arm, Wolf saw a small, silver arrow impaled into the bird's shoulder, sizzling with energy. He looked back at the battlements to see a SharpClaw guard holding a crossbow, already with another arrow notched for a second shot.

As the Cardinal continued to writhe in pain, Drakon laughed spitefully, his cruel and amused voice sounding like rusty knife-points grinding against stone.

"HA! So _this _is the fight you put up? _This _is the pathetic escape attempt that you bunch do? _What a fucking _JOKE!"

SLAM!

He aimed a savage kick at the Cardinal's face, who whimpered and yelped on the ground as blood oozed from his jaw.

"You're weak, lowly scum…not even able to defend yourself!" Drakon hissed contemptuously. "At least the batch of prisoners that were first brought here put up a better fight than you did! A foolish, defiant Lynx…a _woman _no less, put up a better fight than you! She even managed to kill one of the SharpClaw Scourges with her bare hands!" He chuckled to himself, as if savoring the memory. "You don't know what a pleasure it was, whipping _her _unworthy hide…at least until she got away…and I've been hunting her ever since…" His eyes and voice became cold for a moment, anger flickering in his stare. But he resumed his sadistic smile and looked down at the Cardinal. "Anyway…you thought you could take one of my slaves and just walk off, did you? Heh. Let me show you something…"

He drew his arm back and cracked his whip three times near his feet.

_Ker-_TAAACH! _Ker-_TAAACH! TWEEROO-_SHAAAKKK!_

The same jackal slave huddled over to Drakon's side with his head lowered, his expressions following the direction of the whip in his hand.

"You see this insufferable piece of filth here, groveling like a mutt with its tail cut off?" Drakon asked, pointing at the slave next to him. "About a month ago, he was just as impudent and resistant as you are now. But now, look at him…he's weak, pitiful and mindless. You can shout at him to abandon his task and escape, plead for him to run…you can shake his limbs and force him to come with you. But it won't do a damn thing. You know why? Because I've made it so." He grinned savagely and prodded the blank face of the jackal. "I've beaten all sense of stubbornness and resistance out of him. I've made him wince, and smart…and when he was on the ground, screaming in agony, clinging to the last morsel of sanity he had left, I took away the last privilege he had…._his free will."_

Wolf grinded his teeth into a growl, staring at him with intense hate.

_Damn you…_

_You fucking, cowardly, heartless piece of shit!_

Drakon's amused eyes wandered over to the jackal's crippled stance. "He has nothing left. He cannot see…he cannot hear…he cannot speak…and he cannot think. Hell's Claw, he can't even bleed unless I tell him to. The only thing he can do is feel…"

Sher-KRAAAK!

He cracked his whip near the jackal's face.

"…and obey."

The slave recoiled and stepped back in line with the others, chiseling blocks like he had never stepped out.

"The same can be said about every slave in here," Drakon said, spreading his arms wide. "They only respond to the pain they receive, and that builds their bodies to follow commands that I give them, and to do nothing else. You think you're the first that try to resist? Every batch of slaves has the same number of upstarts…and each of them learned their place and lost their will to fight. The rest of the inhabitants of this planet learned the same lesson when we SharpClaws first arrived….the same lesson that you will all learn… That those who put up resistance and try to fight will always become a slave eventually…no matter how much blood and flesh it takes to make you one. The amount of pain you will suffer in the process all depends on how slowly or quickly you succumb to our inevitable will."

Wolf clenched his fists.

_So that's their real plan… _

_They aren't turning us into slaves through the labor…it's by stripping us of our freedom and will to think for ourselves…to let the pain turn us into mindless slaves like these ones… _

_THAT'S the true nature of their design…_

_The real purpose of us being here isn't to build that temple to 'glorify' that General Talon, or whatever…it's to become mindless slaves without any strong wills…_

…_so that we can never fight back against the SharpClaw…so that we'll be their eternal servants without any free wills of our own…_

_Whoever this General Talon is…he isn't a fool…_

_He's a cunning strategist…and an immoral tyrant…_

_I've seen my share of cruelty…but I didn't think this kind of barbarism was possible…_

"Out here, in this place…you're _nothing," _Drakon spat spitefully. "You aren't living beings, with rights of your own…you have no power, no purpose, no strength, no offense…and no chance to escape or fight back. Because you're low, worthless, foul, loathsome, weak, spineless little insects…" His harsh but true words dug into the prisoners' minds, making them cower and give. "…with only one purpose: to exist as living tools and slaves to General Talon. And for those with rebellious thoughts, know this…"

He turned to the Cardinal lying on the ground, who was still wincing in pain and clutching the arrow in his shoulder.

"The punishment in this place…isn't death." He fixed his cold, murderous eyes on him. "I am in need of slaves, not more crypts….and personally, I feel that death is only a means of escape, not the pain that would serve as the right compensation. So how do I deal with impertinent scum? The same way you deal with a persistent insect without killing it…"

He twirled his whip back and rose it upwards.

"…I pluck its wings off…one…" He swung down.

"ARRGGH!"

The Cardinal screamed as the whip lashed brutally across his back, ripping through his clothes and edging deep into his skin.

Drakon pulled his whip back again, a light of cruel satisfaction in his eyes. "…by…"

_Shwoo -_KRAAAKKK!

"DAAARRGGHHH!"

Each prisoner flinched at the sight of the whip's merciless blows causing the Cardinal to writhe in pain.

"…_one."_

_Sher-PAAAAKKK!_

"_GAAAAAAARRRGGGHHHHH!"_

The Cardinal let out a spine-chilling scream of agony as he arched his back and body on the ground. His shoulders quivered as he barely kept himself up, his entire body shaking. Blood seeped and dripped in dark drops in the sand from three deep, fresh, raw wounds that were ripped into the victim's flesh from the merciless edges of the whip's barb. As the sun's rays shone down at the open gashes that stung in the open heat, tears of pain dripped down the Cardinal's cheeks as he panted and seethed on the ground, eyes wrenched shut with suffering.

Drakon coiled his crimson-tipped whip and pointed it at the crowd. "The insect will be crippled and unable to fly, but it will still hobble. The same can be said for this one…and the rest of you." He pointed his claw at them, his malicious eyes glinting. "In whatever time it takes…with whatever suffering it requires…or how much blood will be removed…you will all break. Your backs will learn, your bodies will learn, and finally…_you _will learn…who you belong to and where your place is."

With his mouth extending into a sadistic grin, the Head Scourge turned and walked off. The fearful eyes of every slave that worked and trudged nearby followed his footsteps, and cringed at the casual swaying of his whip.

A SharpClaw Elite barked at them from a distance. "All of you! Follow the guards to the tool station. You'll each be assigned a task according to your size. Any disruption will be met with doubled work! Now, move your filthy hides!"

Without a word of resistance or reluctant stares, the crowd silently allowed themselves to be escorted. No one eyed the walls with dying hopes of escape. No one muttered in discomfort at the yank of their chains. Everyone walked with a newfound air of humility…and fear.

But one prisoner didn't.

Wolf kept his head lowered, but his intense purple eyes followed the tracks in the sand made by Drakon's feet. He trudged his way around like everyone else, and kept in line while being escorted.

His claws flexed as he passed each Elite…his temper rose and fell with the passing of every ragged-looking slave…

He walked like and appeared a melancholy heavy-hearted prisoner just like the rest, but countless thoughts revolved in his mind.

_Tch…fine…_

_These SharpClaw filth want to try and make a slave out of me? Let them…_

_They want to starve me and deprive me of water? Fine by me…_

_They want to whip me and beat me? Let them try…_

_But whether they flog my back into tattered flesh…or torture me with malnourishment…_

…_.they won't break me._

His eyes shone defiantly.

_I'm not bowing down to any of this sadistic scum…let alone their cowardly leader…_

_They can do whatever they want…but they won't break my resolve, no matter what they do…_

_I won't turn into a mindless tool like the rest of them…I won't let them…_

_So what if they tear my body apart with pain or torture? So what if deprive me of water or rest?_

_They think I give a shit?_

He sneered under his breath.

_It's just another prison…just some more struggling to survive…_

_I've survived before…_

_I've been more outnumbered and more outmatched, with worse wounds…_

_It's all the same to me…the struggle just makes me strong enough to endure worse…_

He clenched his fists, his pace becoming quicker as his heated anger rose inside his stomach.

_I won't give these bastards the satisfaction of becoming a slave like the others! _

_I don't bow down or answer to anyone…_

_I didn't bow down to James's stupid code of conduct…or Andross's web of lies…_

…_and I'm most certainly not bowing down to these low-lifes!_

_I still have my freedom as a man…and I didn't break out of prison and avoid being captured to lose it to them!_

_They take my freedom, my flesh, my blood and whatever else…but they won't take my free will away…_

He looked at the other slaves with a mixed feeling of regret.

_What they're doing to these people is barbaric…and low…and cruel…_

_But I can't help them…I'm not the type who does things like that…_

_Especially to total strangers I don't even know…and shouldn't risk my life for…_

Wolf turned and fixed his hateful gaze on Drakon's tracks.

_I'll show them…I'll take all of them down…_

He looked down at his hand with a twist of discomfort and curled it up into a tight fist.

…_and I don't need my Inner Power to do it either._

_They may act tough…but they're weaker than me…_

_And even if I don't stand up for these other slaves…someone will…_

_If experience has taught me anything, there's always some stupid, heroic sap like Fox to step in…and someone will eventually…so I won't have to…_

_I just have to wait…_

He looked up, beyond the fences, to the freedom that was so close and yet so far.

_I'll do whatever crap they force me to do…for now…_

_But when the opportune moment comes…I'll be there with my claws sharp and my strikes quick…_

A snarl rose from the anger-filled depths of Wolf's throat.

_That Drakon bastard wants broken, I'll give him broken…_

_When I've split his skull, spine and ribs and hung his rotting corpse off the rafters of that temple with his own whip…then he'll know what broken is…_

_He's nothing more than a low, bullying snake with limbs…who needs to drown in his own blood so he can feel the pain he inflicts on others for amusement…_

He clenched his fists, his eyes fixed on the swinging whips of the Elites around him.

_He'll see…they'll all see…he'll know that I can't be broken…that my freedom can't be taken…_

_I'll find Leon and get him out of this place…_

_Even if it means getting cut down myself…and dragging Drakon and every other damn SharpClaw to hell with me!_

_SharpClaw Slave Yard (A few hours later)…_

CLANG!

The blade of Wolf's pickaxe shattered the surface of the rock in front of him, causing a cloud of dust and a spray of pebbles to erupt from its disintegration.

Wolf planted the butt of the pickaxe into the ground and leaned on it, mopping sweat from his brow and recovering short wisps of breath.

As the hot rays of the sun beat down on his unprotected neck, he squinted around to get a better look at his surroundings.

Everyone else was still working, with cautious glances at the patrolling SharpClaw Elites who occasionally yelled orders and cracked their whips at them. Wolf had been lucky enough to avoid their attention by being consistent with his work. He had been even more fortunate to get an easy job…to chisel rocks. True, it was a grueling task that made his arms ache and send countless sprains up his spine, but it could be worse. He could have been one of the poor souls pushing that wheel back at the main yard.

But he would have accepted hauling one of the asteroid-sized blocks up a hill if it meant getting out of the heat. The sun's wrath of monstrous heat waves lashed at his body, more devastating than the lash of any whip. The intense conditions weren't as bad as when he had first arrived on-planet, but maybe that was because he was used to it now…or maybe he had been losing fur to adapt to new area without noticing. It also had been hours since he'd eaten or drank anything…and the grumbling in his stomach and parched throat were only constant reminders.

He tried to shift his weight onto the pickaxe.

_Clink._

He felt a restraining tugging at his ankles, and looked down to be greeted by the all-too-familiar sight of his miserable shackles. He felt humiliated and confined with the chains on…like a stupid mutt.

Trying to take his mind off the work, Wolf looked around at the other slaves. The ragged, frail-looking ones that had been here longer than him were working steadily with no complaints….but their lack of speed and consistent movement made them easy victims for the Elite's whips.

The others that had arrived the same time Wolf did were working at a slower and sluggish pace, complaining and groaning as the heat made their blood boil and the work made their bodies malnourished. They were getting more attention from the slave-drivers for their sloppy work, and that only led to more lashes, more blood and more wails of pain.

Wolf looked away quickly and tried to appear busy, so that he wouldn't be next. But he was tempted to look back in hopes of finding a familiar face.

He hadn't found a glimpse of Leon in the hours he had been working, even after scanning every worker's face, one by one. Concern and anxiety built up inside Wolf, only imagining what kind of crap Leon must've been dealing with right now.

Even if Wolf got attention from the SharpClaws and received the abuse like everyone else, he could take it…maybe even put up a fight, if they pissed him off enough. But Leon was in a horrible condition…and probably barely keeping up with the back-breaking work…

_Don't worry…_ He told himself desperately. _You'll find him…just gotta keep my head down…_

"Agh!"

He gasped in pain and dropped the pickaxe, clutching his hand and seething through his teeth. A small drop of blood trickled from the inside of his closed-up fist. With a wince, he opened his hand with and saw a patch of red blisters etched into the palm of his hand, a few with tiny splinters from holding the pickaxe handle for so long.

"Stings, doesn't it?"

He turned around to see Riley crouching by him with a sheepish smile and a black eye, nimbly working his way through some granite with a hammer and chisel.

_Not exactly what I was hoping for, _Wolf thought. _But it's good to see a familiar face._

"Not as much as the heat does," He replied with a distasteful glance at the sun.

Riley nodded. "Tell me about it…I've been living here for three years, and I still hate it. Not as much as I hate the SharpClaws, though…at least the sun goes down and disappears eventually. But the SharpClaws?" He looked at the back of one yelling at a slave in the distance. "I'm beginning to wonder if they're evergonna disappear."

Wolf glanced at his black eye. "Looks to me like the SharpClaws hate you more than you hate them. What happened?"

"What, this?" He pointed to the swollen mark around his eye. "That's just me being careless."

"Maybe you should be careless around people your own size." Wolf looked down at the cat's small height. "That is, if there is anyone on this planet that's your size."

Riley laughed. "Hey! We can't all afford to be big and tough like you, Maxwell!"

"Tch, what are you talking about?" Wolf retorted. "'Big and tough'…big and tough enough to crash-land my ship and almost die out die out in the desert."

"Oh, come on! What about way you beat the crap outta that SharpClaw on the caravan? I'll bet you could take this entire bunch with your bare hands!"

Wolf looked down at his hands, reminded of his helpless state without Inner Power. "I wish it was that easy, kid." He shook the cold feeling off and looked up. "Besides, you just worry about not getting in over your head and starting fights that you can't finish."

Riley raised his eyebrows. "Really? What about you?" He glanced at Wolf's cloth eye-patch. "You look like _you_ got in over your head in a fight. How'd that happen?"

Wolf turned away coldly. "I had it under control…what happened was out of my hands…" His voice concreted dangerously. "And if I were you, I wouldn't ask too many questions about it. Got it?"

"Oh…" Riley's ears drooped and he edged away a little. "Sorry, Max…didn't know it was personal…" He sighed and looked around. "Well, I'm not one to talk. If any of these SharpClaws pick a fight with me, I won't be able to defend myself for crap. But then again, I'm not one to talk." His voice had a sulky edge to it.

Glancing at the young cat with a bit of sympathy, Wolf turned to him. "Don't let them get under your skin, Riley. They're just cowardly weaklings, the bunch of them…and their Leader's no better."

Riley looked up. "You met Drakon too, huh?" He half-smiled. "What do you think of him?"

"He's nothing but a cold-blooded bastard and a cowardly ass-wipe," Wolf spat harshly, his voice rising dangerously. "All he does is hide behind his whip and enjoy watching others weaker than him lost in their own pain…what he needs is to have every rib of his ripped out and shoved down his pathetic throat, and then he'll know what pain is."

Riley looked at him incredulously. "Geez, you really hate his guts. You seem more than pissed…"

"If you knew what it's like to watch people suffer like I do, kid, then you'd understand why." His eyes grew distant, and the sand disappeared and became the flame-trailed ashes of Kew. "To someone like me…there's nothing more disgusting than seeing people deprived of their free will…and losing the remnant of whatever human choice they had left."

"Well, no offense or anything, Max," Riley said with almost a dark laugh. "Where have you been for the last five years? It's not only on Titania…the Inquisitor's made it like this for the rest of Lylat."

"There's a difference between the people of Lylat and the miserable things here," Wolf said. "At least in the Lylat System, they have the motivation to survive…and they still have chumps like General Pepper or Star Fox to stand up for them. But here…these people have no will to live…and _no one _is standing up for them."

Riley studied his distant look inquisitively. "With the way you talk, you seem to have seen something like this before."

"I have, in a way," Wolf said grimly, his eyes suppressing an internal pain. "Years ago…it was a little different from this, but not that different. I've tried to run from it, but its somehow managed to haunt me still…and now that I've come back to it, that same sense of helplessness….the burden of standing idly and doing nothing like a weakling and a coward…" He clenched both his fists. "…it's just…unbearable."

"You sound a lot like my dad." The young cat looked ahead, his eyes becoming distant as well. "He saw this kind of thing during the Lylat Wars. He told me about how the countless times innocent people suffered right before his eyes…and even though he couldn't do anything, he still had the urge to help them. He used to say that it wasn't heroism, or anything like that…it was just being a man."

_Being a man…_

The words echoed in Wolf's mind. "Your dad was right…"

Riley sighed. "Yeah…he used to tell me all kinds of stories." He looked up with a smile. "Most of them were about Star Wolf."

Wolf's heart leapt instantly at hearing the two words.

_He knows who I am?_

_Wait, no…he doesn't know I'M Star Wolf…but he's heard of me…_

_How could that be? Leon said I was a myth now…_

He tried to hide his surprise as he turned to him. "Who's…who's Star Wolf?"

"_Who's Star Wolf?" _Riley yelped, partly in shock and amusement. "You're joking, right? Wait, you really don't know? Man, what galaxy are you from? Star Wolf's a pilot who-well, actually the name of a group of pilots. But their leader was one of the most legendary fighters of all time! They say that his combat his skills were without an equal…and he was an elite wingman, only outmatched by Star Fox themselves. He was supposed to be quicker than the speed of sound, strong enough to rip metal apart with claws the size of daggers…and he fought in hundreds of battles and slaughtered through countless armies with only his bare hands! He also had Inner Power, too! Fire, like Fox McCloud's, only it burned purple like one of the Solaris Comets of the Andromeda Galaxy!"

"It did, huh?" Wolf tried not to sound amused at the far-fetched extent of these stories.

_Countless armies? Faster than the speed of sound?_

_Tch…I wish…_

"But most of all, he was fearless. He had the kind of courage that wasn't even human! He dove into enemy lines against the entire Fichinese Army without hesitation, and rushed into the tsunami-stricken fields of Zoness without any fear of death! It was like, he didn't have the instinct of fear that a normal person should. Don't get me wrong…" He held up his hands, as if touching a sensitive subject. "I know he's a Venomian collaborator and he betrayed and murdered James McCloud, and all that…"

Wolf scowled. _Of course…_

_The bullshit accusations manage to wriggle their way into the rumors…as always…_

"…but all I'm saying is…well, there wasn't anyone, or any_thing _like him. He was supposed to be amazing…"

Wolf's ear twitched. "'Supposed' to be? What do you mean by that?"

"Well…" Riley shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "I'm only telling you what my dad told me…and that's just what he heard. Star Wolf…wasn't supposed to be real. At least, that's what people say."

A sinking feeling of disappointment dragged Wolf's heart down like an anchor. "Oh…he wasn't?"

"Well…no. I mean, it's been five years since the Lylat Wars ended. Think about it, if he _did _exist, wouldn't there be some kind proof that he did?"

Wolf's ears drooped and he looked away.

_Damn it…_

_For a second there, I thought that…maybe I hadn't been forgotten…_

_And I wasn't just a myth…_

_I guess not…_

"Max?" Riley looked at him curiously. "Maxwell, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Wolf said quickly, brushing the sulky look from his face instantly. "You're right. There would have to been some proof…"

_Shwoo-_PAAAKKK!

Suddenly, there was a curling sound in the air of a flexing whip before being followed by a loud lashing noise. Wolf watched as Riley's eyes grew huge and his fur bristled. He recoiled and lurched forward as if in pain, and let out a cross between a feline yowl and a cry of agony.

"Riley!" Wolf grabbed him by the shoulder and hoisted him up. The young cat looked up with a quivering shake of pain, a fresh bloody scar etched into his back.

They both looked up at a bark from behind.

"_Hurry up and get back to work, you lazy turds!"_

There was a second echo of whip-lashing in the air and Wolf dodged an incoming crack by heaving himself to the side, his chains tugging at his ankles.

With a growl of fury, Wolf looked up and saw that the SharpClaw that was having a go at them wasn't one of the Elites. It was the moss-colored SharpClaw from the caravan, Karn, the one Wolf had picked a fight with. His hand was wrapped in a bandage from being broken from Wolf's teeth, but he held a dangerous whip in the other.

Karn's cheeks broadened as a sadistic smile formed on his face. "Well, now…ain't this a small world…I start feeling pain in my left hand from the bastard who bit it, and low and behold...I run straight into him!"

_Damn it…_ Wolf grinded his teeth, recognizing him with an irritated scowl. _What's _he _doing here? _

_And now I'm even more restricted…I'm in chains…_

"Not so tough now, are ya, you little faggot?" Karn laughed brutishly. "Back on the caravan, you were as hotheaded and smug as ever, but now you're groveling in the sand like a pathetic roach! Tell me…how does the endless heat and grueling work suit you? Soon, your bones will shrink and your skin will tighten from the long hours of labor, and you'll just be another dumb, deaf retard with a stench like shit, just like the others!"

"HAAARGH!"

Wolf leapt to his feet and was about to stomp forward to punch that stupid look off his face, but the shackles tugged at his legs, confining him to stand.

Karn's smile faded and his eyes widened cautiously the minute Wolf rose from the ground, taking a step back in defensive recoil. But as Wolf struggled in his chains, his smile returned, this time more hateful and sickeningly conceited.

"HA! That's right…you can't do shit to me now! You can't even reach far enough to touch me! You're chained to the ground like the common dog you are, on a nice short leash!"

Seething through his teeth with intense hatred, Wolf drew back and stopped struggling, wincing at the deep, sore marks the shackles marked into his ankles. Feeling powerless and weak, all he could do was stand there and stare with intense loathing at the SharpClaw.

Karn laughed again. "That's right, stand down obediently…the process of becoming a slave is already starting…" Although he tried to avoid Wolf's fierce gaze, his arrogance didn't temper down. "Do you really think you can do anything? You might've been tough enough to hold on your own in a fight, but that doesn't change how insignificant and weak of a piece of shit you are." He pointed the coils of his whip in Wolf's direction. "You can't put a scratch on me."

That was his fatal mistake…and Wolf's opportunity.

While the haughty SharpClaw had his whip pointed in his direction, Wolf managed to grab the end of it while it was still in reach and yank it forward.

Karn's eyes widened as he stumbled forward into Wolf's range, a blurry grey object racing at bullet speed towards his surprised face, blotting out the sun from his vision and making everything go black.

_KRRMMNCCHHH!_

Wolf's fist smashed against the SharpClaw's snout until an ominous crack emitted from it, as well as a spray of blood from one of his nostrils. Karn staggered back but became subject to Wolf's elbow, which came down like a meteorite on his torso, the sound of one of his ribs vibrating as he collapsed on the ground.

"_AAARGHHH!"_

CLUMP!

He fell back in the sand, clutching his now-slightly crooked snout, howling with both pain and fury.

Wolf spat on the ground and cracked his fist. "I don't need to put a scratch on your filthy hide. The right number of bruises and shattered bones will let you know where your place is."

Riley gaped, still in a dazed shock from what just happened. "What're you-?"

"GAAARGH!"

Karn roared as he leapt back on his feet, drawing a sickle-shaped dagger from his sash.

"_You wretched little _SHIT!" He spat. _"I rip your carcass open!"_

Wolf sneered and flexed his claws, ready for whatever fight was thrown at him.

"What's going on here, Karn?"

Wolf, Karn and the still wide-eyed Riley turned to see the Head Scourge, Drakon, watching from afar, who apparently hadn't stepped in earlier just to watch out of pure amusement.

_Perfect… _Wolf thought. _One cowardly bastard attracts another…_

Karn's furious expression faltered and he shot a smug look to Wolf that clearly said _You're in deep shit now!_

"Nothing, Drakon," Karn replied in a seedy tone. "Just that obstinate prisoner I was telling you about earlier giving me some trouble."

"Ah, yes, I remember…the prisoner who survived the desert…" Drakon said with a sadistic smile that crept on his lips. "You know, I was most intrigued when I heard your story. No warm-blood ever makes it through the barren dunes for more than three days before we find them, other than the corpses anyway…but you…_you _survived four days. Where others would die of thirst or heat exhaustion, somehow you managed to drag your weak body. Even now, you still stand as a figure of one who has cheated death. Pretty damn impressive, I must say. But I'm afraid you've only survived the desert's harsh tortures to make it in my slave yard, and I can assure you…" His eyes glinted murderously. "…I'm nowhere near as lenient to _my _victims."

Some of the other slaves, including a few of the sullen, broken-backed ones that still maintained sight and hearing, looked up to watch Wolf cower in fear like the rest.

But he stood his ground.

"If everything I've seen today is your highest measure of power, then I think a week of being in the desert would probably scare me more," Wolf replied coolly. "I think I'm more afraid of the desert sun than your whip."

"You're starting to annoy me," Drakon said through his smile, but he fingered his whip dangerously. "You think you can fight in the state you are now? You're outmatched, outnumbered, without a weapon, and in chains. Even if you were free to attack me now, you'd be dead before you could take a step forward."

_Does he think that odds will make me afraid…?_

_Tch…this bastard obviously doesn't know me…_

Wolf sneered. "You're pretty good at talking at a safe distance, _Drakon," _He spat with a contemptuous tone. "But I'm not some slave that you can whip into place. I've killed cowards with more dignity than you, and I can tell you this: you're extremely lucky that this chain's holding me back…" He flexed his claws and drew his foot back into a fighting stance. "…because if it wasn't, you'd find it hard to shoot smug looks while I rip your head from your shoulders!"

The slaves looked at him inquisitively, glancing amongst themselves as if pondering _What's wrong with him?, _or _Is he mental?_

"HA! Where's the basis for that kind of bullshit arrogance?" Drakon laughed. "Who the hell do you think you are, anyway? You think because you're too stupid to realize that you're outmatched and outnumbered that you'd prevent me from making you into a slave…let alone kill me? Don't make me laugh…" He pointed a clawed finger in Wolf's direction. "Just look at you…you're probably some two-bit bounty hunter or mercenary from the outer region of the galaxy, without just hot-headed words and not a real fighting bone in your body. I've had dozens of rebellious runts with their heads held high run in and out of this place, and now, every one of them is either permanently bowing in mental submission, or buried outside the gates. What makes you believe you're any better than they are? Because you're more stubborn and you're more stupid to know when to stand down? Who the hell do you even think you are?"

With the scornful words stinging him, Wolf had a furious urge to tell him exactly who he was, but knew it would come to no use…or belief.

"Let me tell you something, _whelp," _Drakon continued. "I've been a warrior for the SharpClaw Army way longer than I've been a scourge. I've traveled with the entire SharpClaw battalion from planet to planet in the galaxy parallel to this one. I've heard the clang of steel, the wails of the dead, the screams of the dying…I've felt the spray of blood from my opponents, the remnant warmth of a corpse's flesh, and the pounding force of an entire legion spear against my division. I've tasted the sweat of the suffering, the heat of the tortured, and the blood of the weak. I've killed more insufferable weaklings and burned down more unstable armies than you've drawn breath. I am a SharpClaw," He raised his raptor-clawed finger, adjacent to his fearsome reptilian eyes. "And war and suffering is in my veins. Do you really think some common punk has what it takes to kill me? Not in one chance in a thousand. Not in a million."

Wolf stood there, all hotheaded and confident thoughts passing from his mind. Panic and caution started to emerge from the unstable side of his emotions, and his eyes darted around.

_Damn it…_

_He…he doesn't sound like a common thug at all…_

_The way he talks…I've heard that kind of description of the battlefield before…_

_He's like one of the Dragoons from the Venomian Army…a killer bred by savagery and destruction…_

_Riley was right…these SharpClaw aren't just dimwitted thugs…_

_They're keen and sharp…like the edge of a blade…_

_I can't underestimate them for a moment…_

He tried to calm himself down, and his stance was still unshakable, but it didn't change the shaky feeling inside him. That feeling like a trapped animal was overcoming him again. The words of Drakon's manipulative taunts…telling him that he was no different than the ones before him…and that his chances of survival were impossible…

…it all broke his concentration…and worse, his perseverance…

Wolf realized, with a dark sense of realization…that he was starting to believe him…

Drakon smiled viciously, a greedy look sparking in his eyes like a spider gazing at a juicy and vulnerable insect. "Look…the confidence is already fading from your eyes…even your stance has changed." He heaved his whip on his shoulder. "You're just common scum after all. Just a pathetic insect…a worthless, insignificant roach…waiting to be crushed by the hand of someone stronger. That's what a slave is…and that's the slave that you'll become. In time, the work, lashing, heat and beating will make you into an obedient, unquestioning slave that won't even flinch if I pluck your other eye out…just like the rest of them."

The other slaves tried to continue working, most of them avoiding Drakon as much as they could. It was clear that his talk of his bloody path through the battlefield had set them on a new trance of fearfulness, all of them terrified of his presence even more.

They all dismissed Wolf from their attention. He was just another nobody, like all the ones before him…and would broken into a slave, like the others…who would be taught his place with pain and strife, like the others…

Another nobody. That's all he was.

Helpless thoughts and the rush of panic flowed inside Wolf as he tried to maintain confidence.

_He's right…about everything…._

_I have no weapon…I'm in chains…and my Inner Power refuses to work…_

_I'm outnumbered…and I have no way to escape…_

_I can't put up a fight like I always have…and defeat is in every direction that I step in…like I'm in a maze…_

_Damn it…_

He shut his eyes, the frustration rising up his stomach like a serpent. He felt trapped and alone…without anyone to stand by him to aid him in the fight. A feeling of helplessness over took him…feeling like a helpless child without a way to defend himself…

It wasn't just a battle of escaping anymore…it was a battle of staying free and pushing himself not to give in and become a slave like the rest around him.

_But how can I defend myself if I face defeat everywhere I look…_

_I'm caught in a web…a web of obstacles and boundaries and limits…it's all bringing me down…_

_Everything's turning against me…even my Inner Power…_

He clenched his fist. He had felt this way before…a feeling of being trapped…without a hope to survive…desperation for maintaining his free will and individuality…

Drakon's words sounded familiar…manipulative and calculating…

_They remind me…of…_

Suddenly, a vivid image appeared in Wolf's mind…a glimmer of a familiar sight…

…Andross's vile and sickeningly triumphant smile.

Wolf's eyes shot open.

"Never…"

Drakon narrowed his eyes. "What?"

Rage teemed inside Wolf's veins, a familiar anger making his eyes glint and his claws sharpen. "I'll never become a slave…I'll _never _bow down to you…or anyone else!"

Everyone looked at him with shock, including Riley.

"So you've killed many and you've walked the battlefield, so what?" Wolf snarled. "That doesn't change who you are! I may be just a common punk to you, but you know what you are to me? Just a sick, pathetic waste who can only scrape the only smudge cowardly amusement on beating people who can't fight back! I've dealt with bastards like you my whole life…and I know for a fact that you aren't even half the scum-faced bully you pretend to be! Just a coward who hides behind the protection of chains!" His eyes gleamed murderously, and his snarl curved his mouth to bare his vicious canines. "Part of the SharpClaw Army…HA! Bullshit! You aren't two shits of a half of what a _real _warrior is! The only people you pick a fight with are ragged, helpless, weak humans that can't even dragged their whip hides across the sand!" He glanced at some of the fearful-looking slaves that watched the scene. "Their wills weren't strong enough…and they suffered for it…unfairly. But I can't help them…it's not my job…" He turned his furious gaze back to Drakon. "But you remember this, _Drakon…_you can make me push block after block in this miserable hellhole…you can put me to any kind of work…you can push me, whip me, starve me, punish me, torture me till my blood dries up and my body grows cold and dies. But you will never break me…as long as air passes through my lungs, I will NEVER lose my free will and sanity to become an mindless, obedient dog to ANYONE. I'll drag my own corpse to hell and yours with me before I ever become a slave without a mind. You want to try to break my resolve?" He sneered at him, and all the Elites watching. "Go ahead and try…try and see what happens. And that challenge goes for the rest of you too…"

_Shwa-_SHIING!

Wolf extended the claws on his right hand, and Riley stepped back cautiously at the sight of them.

"…but going within ten feet of me goes with the caution of losing your limbs and having your filthy spleen shoved down your dead mouths before becoming food for the maggots! I'll never bow down…I'll die by the blade before I live by the whip…" He glared at Drakon. "Especially as the servant of a low, loathsome, foul, sadistic, cowardly sack of putrid shit like you!"

SHING!

Everyone turned at the sound of Karn drawing his blade and preparing to charge.

"_You smug little bastard!"_

He swung it upwards, the sunlight glinting off its edge.

Riley yelled out. "Maxwell! LOOK OUT!"

A jagged smile of anticipation curved up Wolf's mouth, and he rose his claws up defensively. He knew that he had blown his cover of lying low, and that the fight was at the brink of getting out of hand and turning into a blood-letting…but he didn't care. He was already itching to fight.

Suddenly, the fragile air that brimmed the heat of combat was broken by the sound of a low chuckle.

Karn stopped and turned in confusion to see the Head Scourge laughing. "Drakon?"

"HAHAHA!" Drakon laughed, a blazing new look of excitement in his eyes. "Yes…excellent! This new arrival isn't like any of the common scum that keeps coming in here! He's different…far more different. I was wrong to even _think _that he falls into the same level as the other worthless punks! He's not like the others at all…without a single savage bone in their bodies, only heated words and no action to support them…he's sharper than the others. That ruthless evil glare, that murderous blood-lust in the eyes…" His grin widened, like an excited child. "He's a predator…like us. Any lower filth would cower with primal fear with just one look at those eyes. They're ruthless, without a glint of human mercy…not just willing to cripple an opponent, or to wound, but to rip apart…destroy…annihilate…to _take a life." _The SharpClaw raised a finger and pointed it in Wolf's direction. "With that kind of predatory dominance, you're above even the highest kind of sniveling canine…there's no way you can be part of the same species. Why, I'd go even as far as to say that he'd be more interesting than that vicious bitch of a lynx that was brought here!"

Riley's fear disappeared from his eyes and was replaced with a wide look of recognition. "Miyu? Miyu was here?"

Drakon whipped his head around and snarled. "SHUT UP! I wasn't talking to you, you filth! Speak only when spoken to!"

Wolf drew his claws back cautiously, baring his teeth into a threatening growl, before noticing something on the SharpClaw's belt. Drakon's abrupt turn towards Riley's direction caused him to reveal a strange blade latched under the folds of the sash around his waist. But it was too long for a dagger…and the curve wasn't the kind that could be formed by any craftsman or smith…it had a distinct gleam, a steely edge and a point that looked sharp enough to pierce the hull of a Cornerian _Dreadnought. _It had no guard, or any ornate hilt of any kind. Just simple black-leather binding to serve as a make-shift grip.

And that's when Wolf's eyes widened when he recognized it.

_My Claw! _

_What the hell is it doing with him?_

A singe of angry wanting dove into his stomach, the sight of his beloved weapon in the hands of an enemy.

_How did that slimy bastard get his filthy hands on it?_

_Wait…_

_Didn't Leon say he had it…before it got taken…?_

Karn must've caught a glimpse at the Claw too, because his angry stance lowered at the sight of it. "Hey, Drakon…what's that blade you've got?"

Drakon's anger faltered and he looked down. "What, this?"

_Shing! _

As he drew it from his sash, Wolf tried not to seethe at the Claw's taunting gleam in the SharpClaw's hands. It was so close…so near his reach…

"This is a weapon one of the lieutenants snuck off one of the prisoners in the caravan. Naturally, I confiscated from him. A blade as nice as this is too good for a common grunt. Much more fitting for an Elite, don't you think?" His eyes followed the gleam of the blade, a smile on his face matching the deadly shine. "Still…I must say, it bears a striking resemblance to the claws of one of the RedEye of Sauria…and not just the common ones, but a King, too. But there's no way it can be…it's made from steel, and everyone knows that RedEye only have ivory claws."

Wolf didn't know what "Red eye" he talking about. All he cared about was getting his Claw back.

"But addressing the matter at hand…" Drakon turned back into Wolf's direction, sheathing the Claw. "It's obvious that this one won't be as easy to mellow out as the others. With that kind of determination, he's going to be stubborn…and stupid. He won't back down when challenged with pain…and he _won't _succumb to any mental strife, any flinch or cut, or any form of torture. He can have no flesh left and still be the impudent bastard he is. So the question is…" His eyes traveled over to the Elites watching. "…what do I do with him?"

None of the other SharpClaw spoke. They remained silent under their mouth-covering masks of black cloth, their eyes watching Drakon intently.

"I break him…with his own body." Drakon pointed to the rocks they were chiseling. "I need no whip, club or blade to cripple this whelp. His body will do it for me… If he is strong enough to endure the desert, pick a fight with a SharpClaw and break his hand…" He glanced amusedly at Karn, who looked away with a humiliated scowl. "…then he's more than strong enough to carry his own weight. He will work… he will work day in, and day out, _ten _times the work a normal slave does. The sun will weaken his muscles, and the work will weaken his bones. His skin will tighten and his blood will stop, until finally...the _real _work that will cost him his energy and require his strength will be walking…then staying on his two legs…then breathing…then staying conscious….and staying alive."

The other slaves shuddered and gaped at the horrible fate, most of them looking at Wolf with a newfound sense of despair and pity.

Drakon smiled evilly. "In time, he will become weak, and mentally unstable. And by the end, he will be the frailest, weakest, lowest, most loyal, most unquestioning, most pathetic and most obedient slave in the slave yard. He will be a crippled wreckage of his former self, a living coffin carrying the decaying, mentally-shattered idiot he once was….living proof that _every _slave can be broken…" He pointed his clawed finger at Wolf. "If I push them that far."

Wolf, casting all fear and caution at his words, stood defiantly and sneered daringly.

_Tch… _He thought. _Just try it, scumbag._

"You will serve a different purpose then your fellow workers. Since you have the strength to fight and maul with a species twice your size, you shouldn't have any problem with handling work fit for ten slaves. You five, you over there-" He pointed at eight random slaves that were working nearby. "You, you and you." He ended with Riley, whose eyes widened at being addressed. "You're being assigned new work. Take your tools and head to the mud pit to mold bricks for the temple scaffolding. _He…" _He pointed his claw at Wolf. "…will be taking over all of your work."

The nine slaves gaped, and Riley, too frightened to speak, mouthed the word _No!_

Drakon turned to Wolf, a merciless glint in his eyes covered by the oil in his voice. "You will work all ten shifts, perfectly and without flaw or decrease in craftsmanship, and as an additional punishment, you will receive no water or rations for the next two days. In addition, every moment you spend resting for more than ten minutes, you will be docked off another day of no rations. If you have not completed your work by the time dusk arrives and the sun sets, you will receive a punishment of twenty lashes…" _Sher-_WUTAAAKK! He cracked his whip, emphasizing his point. "…on _both _sides of your wretched body!"

Wolf's eyes widened, then his eyebrows slanted in a facial scrunch of furious rage.

_You filthy, low, cowardly sack of…!_

"Hey, Drakon," One of the Elites walked over, his voice doubtful from behind his mouth-coverings. "I have no sympathy for the whelp, but don't you think adding days of no rations is a little much?" His reptilian eyes turned to Wolf. "He'll probably die of exhaustion, faster than the others have…and it will be a waste!"

"Don't worry," Drakon sneered. "He won't die. If he survived the desert, he can survive no rations…and he can certainly survive the labor, seeing as he broke Karn's hand with such ease. Can't you?"

Wolf bared his teeth and felt the heat of his anger pull on his temper, ready to spit as many insulting retorts as he could, but he didn't. Seething for a moment and then clearing his expressions, he bent over and picked up a pickaxe.

"Yeah…sure I can handle the work." He heaved the pickaxe on a shoulder, smiling daringly. "But I have to say, it wasn't that hard to break that bastard's hand. I've fought women with tougher bones than him!"

Karn's face twisted as he shouted lividly. _"Why, _YOU LITTLE-"

He prepared to advance forward, but Drakon thrust his whip out and blocked his path.

"Stop…leave him be." He smiled cunningly. "He's got a lot of work to do, and I want him fresh and unharmed for the task. Not like he's going to finish it…he'll collapse with exhaustion before the first hour passes." He flexed his whip dangerously. "I'm going to look forward to flogging your filthy hide when you fail."

"And I'll look forward to ripping your eyes out and letting your bleeding face get even uglier," Wolf replied in a dangerously low tone. He smiled fearlessly. "I guess you and I have a lot to look forward to, don't we?"

Drakon's broadening vicious smile masked the murderous glint in his eyes.

"We'll see."

He turned and cracked his whip impatiently.

_Shrrooo-_PAAKKK!

All of the slaves snapped to attention.

"What are all of you standing around and gawking at? _Get to the mud pit, _NOW!"

The slaves all picked up their weight and started to walk, avoiding gazes with their tall and ominous Elite escorts. A few of them glanced at Wolf with wide-eyed looks of shock, admiration or sympathy, while others kept their heads down in fear of attracting trouble. Most of them wanted to avoid contact with Wolf entirely, afraid of falling in with him and receiving the same treatment. Others thought he was reckless and blunt, acting stupid to try to stand up to the SharpClaw, and deserved his new punishment for stepping out of line so ignorantly.

Wolf could tell by some of the looks how they were trying to avoid him. And he didn't care.

_Whatever…let them think what they want…_

_It's not like they were going to do anything…none of them even stepped forward…_

_They're to cowardly…they have to wait for a stranger to show some balls around here…_

_And it has nothing to do with being broken….some of these slaves are new arrivals, like me…and they STILL didn't step forward…._

_That says a lot about them…_

_Cowards…_

He turned away scornfully.

But as the sound of sand-caked footsteps and dragging chains faded, Wolf heard the clinking of shackles of one slave who stayed behind.

Wolf looked up confusedly to see Riley standing alone, the only slave not leave with the others.

His expression was torn between with pity and helplessness. He looked at the crowd walking away, and then looked painfully at Wolf.

"Max…"

Wolf's angry look faltered. He had almost forgotten about Riley in the heat of everything that had happened.

_Stupid kid…he actually cares…_

_And he barely even knows me…_

The feeling was strange, being so surprised at any kind of kindness. It just told Wolf how rare human compassion was recently, and he began to appreciate Riley's companionship all of a sudden.

He raised two fingers and gestured in the slaves' direction. "Go with them, kid. I'll be fine. They can't do jack shit to me anyway. Just go!"

An Elite cracked his whip and prodded Riley in the back, escorting him to the mud pit. The young cat called back.

"I'll come back, Maxwell…I swear! I'll look around for any signs of your friend!"

"Just keep your head down and lay low!" Wolf called out in irritated anxiety. "I won't be there to save your skin this time!"

After they faded out of view, Wolf turned and looked with a disgruntled scowl at the ten new half-chiseled blocks next to him. Suddenly, he felt the tinge of heat crawl down his back, sweat forming from the depths of his fur.

He tried not to grip the handle of the pickaxe too hard, working the splintered wood around his already open blisters as gingerly as he could.

It would be a long, tiresome day…and it would take more energy than trekking the desert did. Suddenly, he began feeling a cold sense of regret, wishing that maybe he should've kept his head down and never gotten himself into this.

_I could've avoided all of this if I just stood in line like the rest of the slaves...It's not who I am, but at least I'd be doing less work…_

_Crap…_

_Why do I keep acting like a hero…that's the kind of job for idiots like Fox…_

_Besides…it hasn't helped me…or anyone else…_

He gripped the pickaxe tightly as he remembered that family if foxes on board the _Anatarres. _Their terrified faces…their screams…that feeling of helplessness as he watched…

CLANG!

He brought his pickaxe down on the corner of the block in front of him, the steel pike splitting the stone surface and crumbling broken stones over the side.

_No!_

_That wasn't my fault…there wasn't anything I could do…_

_But there is now…_

_And I'm not going to sit around like a coward this time!_

_I'm not trying to be a hero, or anything, I'm just trying to…_

He suddenly remembered Riley's words. _"Dad said it wasn't heroism…it was just being a man."_

Wolf looked down at his hands gripping the pickaxe, embedded in a heap of distorted rubble and dust.

The words echoed in his mind.

_Being a man…_

CLANG!

He cracked the stone deeper…his anger and determination fueling his strength to hack away at the block's surface.

_I won't let them break me…I WON'T!_

_I'm going to fight my way through this…with my claws, with this pickaxe…whichever one I need to use to get free!_

_I'll find a way out of this hell-hole…and I'm taking Leon with me!_

With a newfound sense of perseverance and motivation, he hammered away at the blocks, fighting the blazing sun, scorching heat and heavy air with his fixed goal. He hammered against his aching limbs, blistered hands, and heavy heart.

Freedom was distant…but it was accessible. He needed to wait…

…wait, and remain strong…and unbroken.

_End of Chapter_


	10. Chapter 10

I hate writer's block. I hate it.

You know how in your usual session of church, or synagogue, or mosque, or wherever else your parents drag you to sit through a three-hour sermon, and the priest talks about that one enemy that needs to be smote by mankind and mankind alone?

Yeah, well, that enemy isn't Satan…it's writer's block. THAT's the enemy that needs to be demolished. No form of torture concocted in the depths of hell could ever top the agony of writer's block. It sucks. It fucking SUCKS.

(DEEP BREATH). Well, with that out of the way, let me warn you that the following chapter was split into two to avoid reader's fatigue. So if the chapter after this one feels rushed, you'll know that it takes place directly after this one.

Enjoy!

_Chapter 10: Strife of a Broken Resolve - Part 1_

_SharpClaw Slaveyard,Titania Desert, _

…_.several hours later, lost in the endless time span of the heat…._

The twin suns began to set upon the peaks of the towering sand dunes, causing the sky to split between hues of streaking red and orange.

Dust coiled in the cooled wind, the evening's anticipation to arrive on the parched desert present in the air. The native scavenging birds, the Temengru Buzzards, circled the sky with restless impatience as they scoured the area for signs of decaying life.

The quiet setting of dusk was soon interrupted by the loud blaring of a deep and vibrating horn.

The slaves in the restricted walls of the slave-yard, fresh and worn alike, looked up at the sound.

A SharpClaw Elite standing on the North wall bellowed in their direction, pointing his claw to the battered brick wall to his left.

"Today's work session is over! All slaves, return to your barracks, _now!"_

The slaves waited for the ragged-looking workers in rags to undo their shackles before tossing their pick-axes, shovels, and other tools on the ground with groans of relief and relaxation. The newer arrivals fell over and staggered out of their chains, their bodies unused to the harsh demand for physical strength for the grueling work.

_Fsshh!_

One more tool fell into the sand, the grip stained with blood.

Wolf fell to his knees and panted, with harsh and heavy breaths just barely escaping his mouth. Every bone in his body seemed to scream in silent pain as every movement seemed to stretch out too far in their state of aching. His heart's continuous pounding seemed to deafen his ears, and his vision seemed somewhat hazy, his own hands planted in the sand seeming more blurry by the second. Every muscle seemed to take hours to get back into function, and the intense heat that tugged at his thirst made his stinging throat feel like insects had built a nest in the back of his mouth. It wasn't as horrible as the dying thirst he had felt in the desert, but it was still pretty bad.

Once his consciousness overcame his exhaustion, thoughts began to circulate back into his mind.

_If I survive through all this…_ He thought. _The first thing I'm doing is shaving off all this Goddamn fur…_

_It's supposed to keep me warm…well, it's doing one hell of a job, because I'm freaking roasting!_

Blood gushed over the sand from the open cuts in Wolf's hands, causing him to seethe as he curled his fist and tightened it to reduce the bleeding. Hours of shattering rocks and reopening blisters that had reopened before had made the palms of his hands raw. He had managed to cover all the work of all ten slaves, but at the cost of his stamina and hands.

Looking down with a disgruntled sigh at his grubby muscle shirt, Wolf tore off a chunk from the bottom.

_Rrr-r-rtch!_

Wrapping the makeshift bandages around his hand, he bit the corner of the cloth with his teeth and pulled back, tightening it around his palms.

He tried to pull down on his muscle-shirt.

_I probably look like a homeless person now…_

_Probably smell like one too…._

Wolf shook his head as he thought about it. He hadn't had the means or the chance to bathe in days. He probably smelled worse than Pigma by now…

_No. _He cleared that thought away immediately. _I could roll around in my own shit and probably smell nicer than him…blegh…_

He remembered those exaggerated stories Riley had been talking about, about all the great things the mighty Star Wolf had done.

_Tch…I wish everyone could see the great Star Wolf now…he's nothing more than a sack of bones…_

Then he looked away sulkily. _Not that they would recognize me anyway…_

_I don't exist…_

He tried to clench his fists in that angst-driven way he usually did, but he didn't have the energy, and didn't want the blood from the wounds to seep through the bandages.

Clink!

He looked down, and saw a slave working at his chains, recognizing him as the same, expressionless jackal that Drakon had used as a demonstration earlier. He kept his head lowered meekly and kept his eyes on Wolf's chains, his nimble fingers undoing the locks and springs on the shackles with remarkable speed and effortlessness.

Clank!

The chains detached from Wolf's ankles and slid onto the ground limply, and the slave got up and started to trudge away.

"Thanks," Wolf said in a weary but grateful voice.

The jackal didn't turn his head to acknowledge his gratitude, but nodded at the sound of his voice, before lowering his head back into his usual dip of humility.

_It's pointless… _Wolf thought. _He can't understand me._

_He nodded, though…so at least he can hear me…_

He looked down at his chains.

_He didn't even use a key to unlock those…he just used his hands to undo the spring in the lock…_

Wolf looked up again. _Maybe these slaves aren't as mentally wasted as they seem…_

With some grunting and rubbing of sore joints, Wolf made his way across the slave-yard towards the barracks where everyone else was going.

As he past the tents where the SharpClaw stayed, his eyes soon fell on the towering fortress wall, and he was once again reminded with a visual reminder that he was in another prison. He was grateful that he wasn't in a cell so far away from the exit, like in Denique Fatum, but his chances of escape were about as slim as they were there.

_Plus, my escape was easier because I had my Inner Power to back me up…_

_Now, for some reason, it doesn't want to work…_

_Now…when I need it the most…_

But he was too weary from the day's work to rack at his mind for any plan for escape. All he wanted to do now is to collapse on some flat surface in some form of shade and forget everything that had happened over the past few days.

_Sher-_WOOPAAAKKK!

Wolf's ears twitched as he heard the sound of a whip cracking in the distance, followed by the unmistakable sound of a sharp cry.

Suddenly, his exhaustion and aches seemed insignificant as he turned around to see what was happening.

A SharpClaw Elite was standing over the cowering body of a young woman, a sand-colored feline with a grubby and bruised face, clad in the ragged remains of a dress with a heavy-looking bundle latched around her shoulders like sack. The Elite's mouth was covered, but his eyes were blazing and maddened. His whip cracked relentlessly near the defeated-looking girl, as he bellowed angrily at her.

"GET UP! _Useless bitch!" _He yelled, aiming a kick at her legs. "Get your ass up and clean that mess. _Now!"_

He jabbed his whip in the direction of a cluttered pile of clay shards lying next to her, the obvious remains of a now-broken pot that she had dropped. The sand beneath it was damp and wet, indicating the presence of water from the inside of the pot, now being swallowed by the greedy sand.

The woman shakily recoiled and hurriedly began scraping up shards into her hands, her quivering so much that half of them cut her hands with their sharp edges.

"_Faster!" _The SharpClaw spat. "FASTER!" He swung his whip down.

_Shrrr-_TAAKKK!

The feline let out a small but pained scream as the whip's knotted, scarring ends lashed deeply into her exposed ankles, causing her to drop the pile of shards.

The SharpClaw roared furiously and grabbed the woman by the fur on her head, pulling back with his digging claws so that she yelped while being hoisted up and being forced to stand.

Wolf took a step forward, an urge of combined pity and anger daring him to step in and help. But he stopped himself from taking another step and turned away with a sudden change of mind.

_No…_

_Don't get involved…this isn't your problem…_ he told himself firmly.

_You've done enough heroics for one day…and it hasn't gotten you anywhere…_

Painfully acknowledging his bandaged hands, he forced himself to turn away.

He looked around and saw that other slaves were watching too, most of them with looks of horrified sympathy and anguish.

_They'll probably do something…_

_Yeah…there's always some heroic idiot like Fox who'll step up…_

_Someone else will take a stand…_

With much effort, Wolf urged himself to walk away, unsuccessfully buying the excuse that leaving was the best option.

CLUMP!

The Elite dragged the woman by her fur and threw her down roughly into the soggy heap of mud created by the water, causing her to grovel in the mud fearfully.

"Useless, trashy piece of filth...you waste perfectly good water, a perfectly good pot…because you screwed up out of your own stupidity! Give me a reason why I shouldn't waste a worthless hide like yours!"

SLAM!

He aimed a savage kick to her ribs, and she screamed and coughed as she struggled for breath, clutching her chest.

Wolf stopped walking away and looked back. The pitiful sight ripped at his emotions, his mind telling him to stay out of it, but his feet remained rooted in the ground.

_Keep walking… _He forced into his head. _Just keep walking…_

_You don't have to do anything…_

_Someone else will take care of it…someone always does…_

Clenching his teeth and fighting the hollow void of helplessness in his stomach, he forced his foot forward and walked away with difficulty and effort that was much more painful than any kind of labor in the sun.

As the woman's muffled cries of pain and the sound of flesh being beaten tugged at his ears, Wolf's steps became heavier. He tried to ignore the yearn of human sympathy….he tried to remain ignorant to the sting of the cries in the woman's strained voice…

_Just keep walking…keep walking…_

_It's not your problem…she's a total stranger…_

_You're not the type who defends the likes of her…_

_Just keep walking…_

His eyes were fixed on the group of slaves watching the scene, expecting one of them to go ahead and stand up for her. Someone would…

Someone _had _to…

More SharpClaw began to gather around the woman, cackling and jeering as she tried to hide her mud-stained face in her hands, too humiliated and afraid to let herself be seen.

"Tch. Don't waste your time with this piece of crap!"

"Look at her…wallowing in the mud like a mongrel. Heh…pathetic."

Soon, they all started taking turns kicking at her weak, muddy body and spitting on her, prodding her like a dumb animal with the coils of their whips and forcing her back into the mud.

Wolf stopped in his tracks. That was it…he couldn't keep walking away anymore. He turned around, refusing to leave until he received the safe sight of someone stepping in to help the woman.

But no one did. No one stepped forward. They all stood there, watching her with pained and sympathetic expressions, but none of them with the courage or humanity in them to stand up for her.

Wolf stood there, looking at all of them with shock.

_No one's going to step in?_

_Does no one have enough sympathy to stand up for her?_

_What kind of men are they?_

He stood there, waiting for the defensive aid that would never come. He couldn't believe it. There wasn't one decent man among them, let alone a hero, to step up.

The shock and disbelief inside Wolf was soon replaced with hot anger.

_I don't understand a single damn one of these cowards!_

_What's the matter with them? A defenseless, crippled woman is being beaten right in front of them, and all they can do is stand and watch?_

As the heated and angry disbelief rose and fell in Wolf's stomach, he looked around and realized that he was no better than they were. He hadn't stepped in to help…

_That's different…_ He said firmly but guiltily at the same time. _I've never been one to stand up for the weak…_

_I always left that kind of work up to chumps like Fox…_

_I didn't expect everyone to act like him…but I didn't expect this!_

As the kicking, jeering and spitting continued, Wolf couldn't stand there anymore. Looking around with helpless and agitated disgust at the lack of support, he took a deep breath as he forced himself to walk back.

"HEY! What's all this about?"

The SharpClaw stopped grinning and backed away from the cowering girl, as they turned to see Drakon standing a few feet away.

Wolf's eyes darted from the feline to Drakon with frantic anxiety. _Shit!_

The first Elite who had started it jabbed a claw in the feline's direction. "It's the girl, Drakon. She's screwed up again. This time, she dropped a pot of water for the supply tub in the barracks. It's all broken now…and the water's spoiled, and no better than piss because of this brat!"

Drakon turned his gaze to the defeated-looking and scared feline, his eyes faltering to a state of loathing and irritation. "Oh, this one? She's been giving me trouble all week. Breaking pots, spoiling water, letting food rot, lagging behind in her work…she's useless. Disgusting little wretch…the only purpose she would serve is to be food for the Temengru, but even they would probably reject her."

He began to circle her like a vulture, studying her while she crawled back and shielded herself with her arms, as if expecting another blow. As he walked around her Wolf drew nearer, watching his movements cautiously.

"I don't know why she's performing so poorly, unless something his weighing or slowing her down. But what could it be? She's in perfect health…she's only been here two weeks…and she isn't mentally crippled like the slaves that have been her longer….so what's her disability?"

He stopped in front of her, and she looked up with wide eyes.

"You, girl," He said sharply. "Get up."

The feline leapt to her feet hurriedly, already scarred from the others and not daring to test Drakon's patience to find out what _he _would do to her.

He looked at her legs. "You're moving too slow…something is slowing you down, like a weight. What is it? Is one of your legs broken?"

The woman's eyes were large and fearful, but her mouth remained closed with a sealing quiver, not speaking at all.

_SMAKK!_

Drakon's hand swept past her face in a blur, slapping her across the cheek so hard that she staggered back with a whimper.

"Are you deaf? _I asked you a question!"_

The woman cringed back so much that she seemed to shrink, looking so small and defenseless with the towering SharpClaw around her.

Wolf took a furious step forward, so determined that a slave behind him unsuccessfully tried to grab and stop him.

Drakon's lip curled up and twitched fumingly. _"You trashy, pathetic, useless little whore! _Answer me, NOW!"

He raised his massive fist and stormed forward, causing the girl to recoil in timid fear. Her hand shot up and clutched the bundle around her chest, almost protectively.

Drakon's glowering eyes traveled sharply to her hand, taking notice of the way she held the bundle. Wolf's eyes were also fixed on the bundle, confused at the way she held it as well.

Then, inside the cloth, there was a soft stirring noise, and the bundle moved.

The feline's face turned stark white.

Wolf blinked. _Did that bundle just…move?_

Drakon narrowed his eyes. "What's this?"

Wolf looked with confusion as the girl's widened with terror, her breath so fast it seemed like she was going to faint right there on the spot.

"What's in that bundle of rags?" Drakon repeated.

The girl clutched the bundle tightly, her hand trembling as she backed away with a shivering expression of pale fear.

Drakon glanced at some of the SharpClaw behind her. "Get that bundle from her. _Now."_

The girl screamed as she tried to bolt away and run, but a pair of muscular, scaly arms forced her down.

_NO!_

Wolf sprinted over, taking advantage of Drakon and the other SharpClaw having not seen him arrive yet.

She struggled and writhed as they forced her down, another one ripping the bundle from her, before letting Drakon snatch it.

Tears sprang from her eyes as she let out a muffled cry caught between a sob and a scream.

"NO! _Give him back! Give him back, _PLEASE! _Don't hurt him, he didn't do anything-!" _The rest of her voice was muffled out from under the scaly hands of a SharpClaw brute holding her down by the arms.

Drakon's snide look disappeared, and Wolf stopped, both thinking the same thing.

"_Him"?_

Eyes narrowed suspiciously, Drakon tore off the cloth rags on the top and looked inside, the woman's eyes becoming huge, her heart stopping…

Inside the rags of the blanket was the smooth-furred face a small, infant kitten, sand-colored like the girl. His eyes were closed and he was breathing softly, his small ears oblivious to the chaos around him as he remained locked in sleep.

With a heart-clenching jerk and a look from the girl to the kitten, Wolf's eyes widened with realization.

That was her son. Her infant son…

The sharp, raging look in Drakon's eyes disappeared, and his lips curled into a sly and snakelike smile.

"Well, now…" He said, lowering his voice. "And here I was thinking that a woundwas what's wearing you down…but I was wrong. It's a _child…_a recently newborn one, by the look of it. My, my, he looks just like you…"

The girl struggled under the SharpClaw's grip, forcing her chin out and calling out frantically.

"Don't hurt him! Please, just give him back!"

"Hurt him?" Drakon made a _tsk-tsk _noise reproachfully, almost sounding offended. _"Hurt him? _I wouldn't dare…he's asleep."

Wolf's eyes darted around suspiciously, expecting the worst.

_No!_

_I know what he's doing…he's going to take him away from her!_

He began to edge closer, but quietly, keeping a good distance with as little noise as possible.

Drakon bent down to one knee and set the bundle on the ground, the baby wrapped inside still sleeping.

Wolf stopped.

_Wait…_

_He's not taking it…?_

_What's he doing?_

The slaves that were watching from afar watched Drakon's action with equal confusion, suspicious looks of worry crossing their faces and eyes darting back and forth. Even some of the Elites looked like they were wondering what he was doing.

The young girl's eyes fluttered with relief as he set her baby down. But Drakon looked at the kitten with an almost hungry smile, and his eyes traveled towards the mother and back, as if linking a connection between them. His look was very similar to a predator noticing its prey walking with a limp…a vulnerable point of weakness…

"I must say, though…" Drakon said in a quiet voice. "It wasn't a wise move to breed an offspring in this place." He stood up and gestured around them. "The conditions of this slave-yard are harsh…and dangerous. Raising a child and carrying a burden such as this weighs down a person…" His eyes glinted slyly. "…and prevents them from working efficiently. Besides, think of the baby. It couldn't possibly survive wholesomely in this environment. The heat, the lack of water, and the weak state of his mother…he would surely die within a week."

The woman's eyes returned to their fearful widening, and she began to struggle.

Drakon turned and walked past the Elites that held her down. "His struggle will be long…and his death will be slow. Not a very merciful death for an infant, don't you think?"

The Elites blinked in confusion at their master's sudden tone of sympathy, gripping their pikes as they searched for the appropriate way to respond.

"Er…sure, I suppose…"

"Whatever you say, Drakon…"

Drakon laid his hand on one of their fists that clutched the long handle of the pike.

"Yes…of course…"

Wolf's eyes darted around, narrowed with suspicion.

_What's he…?_

"Then I think…" Drakon gripped the handle of the pike. "The only way to help the infant…is to put it out of its future misery…."

_HUANG!_

SPLRRRRTCCHHHH!

What happened next happened in such a blur, that Wolf barely caught it with a blink. There was a blur of black and a flash of steel, and the rush of breath as everyone watching gasped at the sudden movement of the Head Scourge turning around suddenly.

In a manner of seconds, all everyone could keep their eyes on, was a smiling, triumphant-looking Drakon, let go of the pike, its handle remaining vertical and fixed without him holding it….

…with its blade jabbed completely through the bundle with the baby in it, with blood seeping through the cloth.

Time seemed to slow down at that moment. The air was silent before the wave of gasps and cries erupted, with nothing more but the still, fixed, completely horrified facial expressions of every slave watching, torn with anguish.

The young girl's eyes widened, her body seeming to choke up with her breath stopping. Her face seemed to freeze in the heart-stopping anticipation before her scream, with emotion-shattering tears brimming at the bottom of her eyes.

All eyes watched as a small, limp, bloody hand fell from the cloth wrappings of the bundle, and baby's stirring stopped.

As cloud past in front of the setting suns and divided a line of fleeting orange dusk-light and shadows over his face, Wolf stood there in the time-slowing vibe of his numbing emotion, the pounding of his own heart-beat deafening his ears. His mouth opened with a twitch, the breath not reaching his throat to utter words of disbelief. His huge, astonished, anguish-filled eyes were locked on the baby's bundled carcass at the center of the sands, a horrified feeling beyond all description casting a veil over all possible thought.

He tried to speak, his breath shaky with misery so that his words were barely audible.

"n-n…no…_no…_"

No thought or reaction could reach his mind, and he watched without moving as the young girl ripped herself from the SharpClaw's grip. She staggered past Drakon's evil smile of satisfaction as she fell to her knees, a shaky hand reaching for the blood-stained bundle in front of her.

But there was no movement…no life. It was dead.

As she collapsed over the bundle and screamed, her bawling and crying more haunting to all the slaves watching than all the years of miserable suffering and death.

Wolf tried to step forward, but his body refused to move. He tried to gesture forward towards the baby, but his blood had seemed to stop.

Sadness tore at his heart with an ice-cold douse of helpless anguish, with no thoughts of intense regret able to reach him.

A life…an innocent life, completely innocent to the world…had been robbed in front of him.

His pained and horror-struck eyes traveled from the screaming mother, to the bundle…up the plunged pike…

…and over to Drakon.

His feelings of intense misery and monstrous pain stopped.

A thought made its way to his mind…

_You…_

His fists seemed to clench by themselves. His heartbeat had gone from a low, melancholy, emotion-wrenching pound to a heated and pulsing beat of rising anger.

_You…_

His teeth bit down together slowly and locked into a baring clench of sharp fury. His face began to twist with livid rage, a merciless glint in his eyes that seemed to radiate like a crackling fire. The battered feeling in his bones seemed to vaporize…the harsh struggle in his tired lungs disappearing…

All risks faded from his mind. The hesitation he felt without his Claw or Inner Power melted away in the flames of the anger that dominated his sight…

_YOU..._

His fur began to rise with spikes of fury. A churning, vicious, ferocious, murderous intense coursed inside him like gasoline added to a swirling flame of vehemence.

His feet began to move. His left foot stomped into the sand in front of him, drawing the looks of the other slaves.

_Murderer…MURDERER…_

_He didn't kill an innocent…or a woman…or a helpless child…_

Images of the flames of Kew and the cries of the Arctic Fox family flashed before his raging eyes.

_He killed an infant…a baby…_

Shwa-SHING! Shwa-SHING!

_YOU KILLED AN INFANT…YOU KILLED SOMETHING THAT COULD BARELY STAND!_

_A HELPLESS, DEFENSELESS, WEAK NEWBORN!_

_YOU WORM-RIDDEN, HONORLESS DEGENERATE_ _PIECE OF SHIT!_

Slowly, Drakon turned, the smug look of triumph still oozing on his stupid face. As his laid-back eyes traveled around, he saw Wolf.

His smile faltered….

The young girl's screams were suddenly inaudible by all spectators, slave and SharpClaw alike, as a more ferocious, anguish-filled, hellish voice drowned it out…

…the sound of Wolf's ringing scream of fury.

"_!"_

_Sher-_**BAAAAM!**

Wolf's feet kicked off the ground, the sand splitting under the soles in patched craters, as he sprinted forward with blurring speed, his fur shaking and his claws gleaming in a hazy muddle of sped-up flashes.

The Head Scourge didn't even have time to react. His only response fast enough to be visible before the collision was the startled widening of his eyes, until-

_SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!_

A grey missile-like object, moving at too-blazing of a speed to be identified as Wolf, kicked off the ground and slammed against Drakon with full-force, sending a wave of dust and sand up an explosion. The slaves watching recoiled and flung their hands in front of their eyes as sand flew in all directions.

The other SharpClaw were too startled to step in, half of them terrified by Wolf's intense, vengeful aura of hatred, others afraid of what Drakon would do to them if they stepped in and helped.

In mid-air, Wolf's hand shot out and grabbed Drakon's face with a powerful, clawed snatch and smashed it onto the ground.

SLAM!

Pinning him to the ground and remaining on top of him, Wolf grabbed the SharpClaw's neck with a savage grip and forced him down. The tight, ripping noise of stretching skin sounded from inside Wolf's shaking fist as Drakon choked and sputtered under the intense suffocation.

While his other hand continued to strangle Drakon and pin him to the ground, he raised his right hand into the air and curled it into a merciless fist.

SPRTNCH!

A blazingly-fast punch swung down and hammered against Drakon's face, again and again. Each blow was more overwhelming and puncturing than the first, and caused Drakon's head to slam against the ground, so that the grains of sand split into waves of impact underneath.

KRAAMMM! SMAAASH!

The ground vibrated and shook with each punch, the furious blows hammering relentlessly until black blood began to spew from Drakon's jaw, while bruises and wounds tore from his cheeks and snout.

A shadow passed over Wolf's face as he stood over him, with only his blazing eyes illuminated any light on his expression. His face was twisted into a horrible mask of anger, and his teeth were bared into a growling snarl of ferocity and wrath, making him look so terrifying that even the slaves watching backed away with frightened eyes

"YOU MURDERER…._YOU FUCKING MURDERER!"_ His roared furiously. "YOU DARE KILL AN INFANT? A FRAIL, INNOCENT LIFE? YOU ACT LIKE THE MASTER OF THIS PLACE, WHEN YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A PUTRID, SKULKING COWARD! YOU HAVE NO SHAME…YOU HAVE NO HONOR…AND FOR THAT, _YOU'LL HAVE NO LIFE!_"

_RRRNNNNCHHHH…_

His grip around The SharpClaw's neck intensified with rage,the sound of his skin tightening under the clenching fists. Drakon seethed his gasps and choking between the cracks of his teeth, staring up at Wolf with both fuming anger and fearful disbelief.

SLAM!

With his free hand, he struggled back and grabbed Wolf's face, ripping his claws into his cheeks, in an attempt to push him off and take the advantage

Wolf growled forcefully and continued to choke back, his fur spiking up as blood trickled down his cheek from the claw-point marks being etched into his face.

All watched with disbelief and shock as the two struggled, one having his face forced away with a clawed hand, while the other fought for breath with his throat in a tight grip. The SharpClaw Elites watching shifted their feet uneasily, all of them convinced that Drakon would take his anger out on any one of them that stepped in.

As Wolf tried to wrench his face away from Drakon's hand, he grabbed around blindly with his free hand. Drakon heaved his weight against his hand, trying to win the advantage by using his superior weight, but Wolf wouldn't budge.

Finally, Wolf grabbed Drakon's wrist and shakily forced it off his face, struggling against his larger reptilian strength. He curled his fingers around the large, scaly wrist and pulled it away, freeing his hand.

"_You like to wallow in the pain and suffering of people weaker than you…" _Wolf growled in a voice that sounded like a jagged blade dragging over concrete. "I'LL MAKE YOU REALIZE THE TRUE DEFINITION OF PAIN WHEN I CARVE IT INTO YOUR FILTHY CORPSE AND MAKE YOU PAY FOR SPILLING THE BLOOD OF AN INNOCENT…"

As his hand rose up and silhouetted in front of the sun, instead of forming a fist, Wolf opened it up and extended his claws.

_Shwa-_SHING!

"…WITH EVERY WORTHLESS, REPTILIAN DROP OF YOUR OWN!"

_SLTRRRRCHHH!_

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGHHHH!"_

Drakon screamed as the jagged claws ripped against his face, their sharp edges splitting the scales on his cheeks and causing black blood to shower on the sand near them. A set of deep, vertical claw-marks were etched down his face like bars on a cage, blood dripping from their depth of scarring skin.

"_Drakon!"_

The SharpClaw Elites drew their daggers from their sashes and bolted forward. Wolf's ears perked as he heard the first volley of vibrating footsteps pound in the sand behind him and whirled around with a challenging growl.

The first Elite grabbed Wolf's shoulder and forced him off their Leader, who gasped and hobbled to the side, breathing harsh, deprived rasps of breath while clutching his bleeding face with his hand.

The claws dug painfully into Wolf's shoulder as he dragged him to his feet and pushed him back, making him helpless to the guard's superior strength. The SharpClaw whirled his blade up and hacked at him, the blade's dull edge grazing the front of Wolf's fur with a humming scrape as he dodged back and grabbed his hand.

SLAM!

Pulling him down by his hand like a rope, Wolf brought his knee up and smashed it against his face, the bone-crunching crack emitting from his face as he yelled and staggered back. Chopping his hand down on his wrist, Wolf forced the knife out his hand before catching it by the handle and swinging it forward with a snarl.

"_HUAAARRRGHHH!"_

SLRTTCH!

The knife's blade sank into his chest, black blood dripping from where it jutted from outside the crack in his chain mail, as he fell down with a dying groan.

SLAM!

Wolf didn't have time to recover from the rush of the sudden attack as a pair of huge, scaly arms grabbed him from behind and latched around neck. Wolf let out struggling gasp for air as he was pulled down by an immensely overpowering weight, his foot sliding against the sand as he fell.

He heard the muffled growling of the SharpClaw behind his head, jerking his muscles as hard as he could to crane his neck out and catch some wisps of breath under the strangling hold.

Clenching both of his hands together, he arched his arms in front of him before swinging them to the side, making an arc as his elbow jabbed sharply in the ribs of the SharpClaw holding him.

CLNNCHH!

The SharpClaw howled as fell back, grabbing his broken rib, releasing Wolf from his choking hold. Sucking in relieving air as he freed himself, Wolf leapt to his feet and aimed a brutal kick against the SharpClaw on the ground, his boot heel colliding with his scaly neck.

_Shwoo-_PAKKK!

Wolf looked up to see a whip-wielding Elite attempt to ram straight into him and catch him off guard, but jumped back to avoid the dangerous barbed ends of the whip. As the coils missed and whipped at the sandy ground instead, sending up a wisp of dust upon impact, he planted his foot on the whip and forced it on the ground and out of the SharpClaw's hand, causing him to stumble forward and let go of it. Wolf pounced forward and swung his fist back, the draw-back speed blazing fast to build up pressure to deal a devastating blow…

_SPLRRNNNNK!_

Wolf's knuckle swung out and smashed against the SharpClaw's cheek, the fast tilt of his wrist causing a burst of impact against the vulnerable skin of his opponent. The Elite's masking mouth-covering ripped off as he flew back, exposing his scarlet-scaled face as he yelled, blood and broken fangs flying from his mouth.

Anger and rage fumed from Wolf's fists and claws as he continued to fight against his far-bigger opponents, fueled by the immense fury built by Drakon's unspeakable act as he took it out on one Elite after the next.

The smarter SharpClaw stepped in and out of Wolf's radius, cautious of his angry outbreaks of violent blows and damaging attacks. Most were amazed at how long he had managed to fight back despite being one man, and of a smaller and weaker species.

But it all came down, as the SharpClaw with the broken ribs that had been struck down before, reached out and grabbed Wolf by his foot and pulled back.

Eyes broadening in surprise for the brief second he was standing, Wolf staggered forward and felt his balance slip from under him like oil over a smooth floor, sand flying from under his feet as he fell face-first to the ground.

Every SharpClaw shot forward, taking advantage of his vulnerable position. They jumped on top of him and grabbed his arms with their huge, pincer-like hands that wrenched his bones the wrong way, making his movements rigid like he was bound with tight rope. He tried to struggle and rip his arms free, but every movement under their hands twisted his bones the wrong way.

His fur spiked up as he seethed with pain, his skin feeling numb.

_Shit…I can't move!_

_They're…way too strong…stronger than any race of Lylatian I've fought…_

_My bones are too small and my muscles are too weak compared to them…_

_I can't—_

SLAM!

A black fist-shaped blur caused the sun to disappear and a cloud Wolf's vision, before feeling something hard and bony smash against his face. The searing pain caused his eye-sight to blur, his head pulsing with a sudden wrenching of sharp pain.

He blinked blindly, his eyes searching blurrily for any familiar shape to overcome his stunned state of mind.

A tall figure stood over him, to shaky from disoriented vision to identify, raised his foot and aimed it at Wolf's face.

_SNAAAKKK!_

"DAAARRGGHHH!"

Wolf yelled in pain as the blow struck his face hard and quick, causing him to fall back against the hot and uncomfortable sand. His snout met the ground with dangerous speed until-

CRACK.

A sickening feeling rushed in the hot area where Wolf had felt his nose barely a second ago, the numb spot where it was slightly bent to painful to feel. As blood trickled from his nose, he looked around in a helpless daze, taking blows from every SharpClaw around him.

SMACK! _CRRNCH!_

CRAAAKK! _SLAM!_

"KK—_AAAR-_AARRGHH-!"

Wolf's muffled and helpless scream echoed from beneath the surface of flailing fists and kicks, taking bruises, cuts and blisters like a guilty rain of pained hits that he couldn't even prevent. It was horrible…he couldn't move to run, he couldn't raise a hand to defend himself…he couldn't even hold his weak voice long enough to scream.

Blindly taking hits and coughing on his own blood, Wolf staggered with a wince of helpless cooperation as he was dragged to his feet by the furry scruff of his neck like a common mutt. He tried to struggle and free one of his hands, to at least lash back…

But he couldn't. He was powerless…helpless…and outnumbered.

_Get up… _He pleaded to his body. _Get up and fight back…_

_Don't just take the hits like a child, damn it…DO SOMETHING!_

Buried underneath the pain and helplessness, Wolf felt a pathetic sense of relief that he was under enough fists and hands so that none of the other slaves could see him in his crippled state of shame.

**SLAM!**

"_AARRRRRRGGHHHH!"_

Wolf yelled as blood tore from his mouth, a devastating punch knocking his head to the side. He coughed and panted, his fur in tattered clumps and the muffled Mohawk on his head hanging over his forehead with sweat like spider legs. As his arms struggled weakly but uselessly by themselves under the tightening grip of two SharpClaw on either side of him, his bare feet scrapped against the hot and blistering sand as he was dragged forward.

They stopped and lowered him forward, his head falling forward with battered exhaustion as he panted. Suddenly, he flinched and clenched his teeth as a clawed set of fingers grabbed a handful of his head-fur and pulled back, forcing him to look forward.

Revolving and numerous shapes of the same object came together and forced him out of the disoriented state of mind and he looked up with a shivering pant of exhausted effort.

The slaves were staring at him with looks of horrified pity and shock, their eyes traveling up and down his body, as if examining the scars and bruises that covered him. Others were looking fearfully at the other SharpClaw and then back at Wolf, like they were contemplating with their terrified imaginations what unspeakable punishment awaited him.

Up ahead, a few of the Elites were standing around a crouching and panting Drakon, who was still clutching his face in both fury and disbelief. He wasn't breathing his anger out or shaking with lividness….just staring wide-eyed at the puddle of black blood formed from the dripping lines on his cheeks, as if he was still in aftershock and in half-sane denial that it was even there, and that nothing had happened.

A SharpClaw reached over to him, ginger with caution rather than comforting. "Drakon…are you-?"

Drakon's lips quivered for a fraction of a second, his low, vibrating voice barely audible.

"Get off of me."

"But, Drakon…" He put an aiding hand on his shoulder.

_Fwmp!_

Drakon leapt up like a cat with blurring speed and swatted his arm off, all of his claws out.

"_I said _GET OFF ME!" He spat.

The SharpClaw staggered back, his half-covered face without expression but his eyes wide with stunned fear.

Drakon stood there, seething through his Rex-like fangs, his shoulders rising and lowering with every furious breath that steamed out of his lungs. His neck was dented and raw from Wolf's finger-marks on it, and blood continued to trickle down his face. His expression was an image that made everyone nearby cower, fearing a sudden, raving break down from him at any moment. The corner of his mouth twitched with uncontrollable rage, and his eyes were huge and blazing with livid anger.

It was obvious that he was in a state of disbelief. He had just been almost completely mauled to death by one of his own slaves. A single, outmatched prisoner, who had not stood up to him, but almost _overpowered _him.

But that wasn't what made him angry…not the stinging of the claw-marks, not being tackled by a common slave…but his own fear. He was furious that he had been afraid. No matter how brief it was, he had felt a very human shiver of fear turn his blood cold…and at the hands of one of his own slaves, which he had failed to break.

The merciless figure of brutality, the lead Scourge himself, Drakon…had been afraid of him.

_Fwshh!_

Sand sprayed in multiple directions as Drakon stomped over towards Wolf, breathing heavily like a mad beast and grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.

"_You…._you loathsome little INSECT! You're not going to humiliate me in front of my men and slaves without suffering long and hard! I thought that the exhaustion and depriving energy from all that work would break you…but I see now that the only way kick you into your place is to make you writhe in your own blood!" He stared down at Wolf's bleeding, weakened but angry face with furious disbelief. "I won't rest until I see you crippled like a maimed child! No one rises against me…no man, woman, child or bleeding filth that I take as slave… what makes you think that YOU can?"

SLAM!

Wolf felt Drakon's massive fist pound against his stomach, the size and strength of his genetically superior bones feeling like a boulder smashing against his body. It was only one blow, but it was enough to cause Wolf's ribs to rupture with pain and cough blood.

Drakon grabbed Wolf's face and pulled him up to his level.

"You're just a weak, pathetic slave, do you hear me? Groveling, defenseless, and pitiful…just one hit from my fist makes you spit out your own innards! You're as weak as that mangled infant corpse back there, and nothing more!"

Wolf tore his face from Drakon's grip, wincing as his claws scraped against his cheek.

"SHUT UP!" He spat. _"You're _the one who's nothing, you deranged child-killing SON OF A BITCH! _You _have the fucking nerve to talk to me about weakness? How dare you even _look _at me, after killing that infant! How low and vile do you have to be to murder something too small enough to think for itself? The worms infesting the corpses of the countless graves outside this place aren't as low as you! You're just a cowardly, twisted, self-deceiving bastard only good for slaughtering victims too weak to even move, and isn't used to having the shit kicked out of him by a real man!"

Drakon swung his whip back, now caught in a real rage. "YOU INSOLENT LITTLE MONGREL! I SWEAR, I'LL-"

Then, he stopped abruptly, the knotted chords hanging from his halted grip. Everyone watching relaxed their wide-eyed gazes of anticipation with confusion.

Slowly, as if waking up with realization, his scowl and murderous glare disappeared, and curling, fiendish, snake-like smile crept onto his lips until his teeth showed. A devious light of wicked triumph illuminated his slit-like, reptilian eyes.

"No…" He hissed with a low chuckle. "No, you won't get the luxury of normal pain. Your suffering will be long and slow…and bypass the usual punishment. I'll make sure of that… Gsildon!"

His voice rose to a sharp order, and a SharpClaw nearby Drakon jumped nervously.

"Yes…Drakon?"

Drakon's smile grew wider, like an insane child greedy with anticipation for a dose of newfound amusement.

"Bring out the Adder Tongues."

There was a sudden hush over all noise in the slave-yard, as there was a halt to all activities in response to the Head Scourge's ominous sentence.

All creaking and clanking of chains stopped. The slaves, not the new arrivals or adapting ones, the ragged ones in a mentally-disrupted and mute state, looked up. The first lines of emotional expression appeared on their faces, as if waking up from a melancholy daze. Their eyes and mind probably didn't understand what Drakon had said, but their ears that were trained for every whip command caught two very horribly familiar words….

_Adder Tongues._

Their eyes all widened in distraught expressions of perplexed fear…their mouths shakily opened simultaneously, emitting small, soundless gasps of air-deprived trepidation. They cringed and stepped back, one by one, their terror-stricken heartbeats acting as the only audible noise across the sand….

The SharpClaw, however, began to laugh quietly in a jeering tone of triumph. They all looked at each other with cunning eyes, as if in on a private joke.

Wolf's hate-filled glare faltered as he looked around in confusion.

_Adder Tongues? What the…what does that mean…?_

He looked over his restrained shoulder at the terrified glances of the slaves. Apparently, the mention of these "Adder Tongues" was the only thing that brought any emotion of any kind to their dehumanized faces.

…and the only emotion it drew out was fear.

His eyes grew larger. He could only imagine what beat-up, mentally-scarred, crippled slaves who had suffered every torture imaginable could be afraid of…

All of their eyes said different things…some were imploring, as if desperately hoping Wolf would survive…others had pained doubt….while some had their heads lowered completely.

The other slaves, the newer ones, were just as oblivious as Wolf as to what was going on.

"'Adder Tongues'? What's that mean?"

They all looked around confusedly, looking down at the ragged slaves for some explanation, but they just continued to shake their lowered heads with pity and shame.

Wolf's heart began to speed up with a low panic he tried to keep away from his face and eyes.

_What are they doing…?_

_What are they going to do…?_

The SharpClaw holding him grabbed the scruff of his shirt and dragged him in the opposite direction; Drakon's evil, smiling face disappearing from view…

Wolf looked around frantically, his eyes large and his fur in matted spikes, looking like a small, scared child next to the much-larger SharpClaw. Being a war-forged fighter who always planned ahead by determining the situation, there was nothing more horrible than having a threat or affliction approaching that he knew nothing about…

As he was pulled roughly with the reptiles' claws digging painfully into his fur and his feet scraping uselessly against the sand under him, he saw a large slab of rock dropped in front of him by a burly Elite.

_Clump!_

Wrapping their cold, scaly hands around the back of his neck, the SharpClaw jerked Wolf down and forced him on his knees in front of the slab. Then, one of them grabbed him by the top of his head-fur, causing him to wince, and pushed him down.

"_Mnf!"_

Wolf grunted as he was pushed on the rock, its stone surface jutting into his stomach while his knees remained planted in the baking, uncomfortable sand that was scrunched under them. His neck hung over the slab's edge, making him kneel over it like a criminal about to be beheaded. The stone's cold and flat surface dug into Wolf's chest, causing him to cough dryly.

As he was forced to kneel over the stone that his chest rested on, the two SharpClaw stood on either side of him, holding his arms down like human bonds. Their grip was tight and uncaring, the slightest struggle causing Wolf's fur or bones to wrench the wrong way painfully.

The setting sun cast a hew of orange across Wolf's bruised, panting face, as he raised his head that hung over the rock.

His vision blurred back to normal as he fixed it on all the slaves watching with fear and sympathy.

_Damn it… _

He clenched his teeth and tried to look away from their sorrowful faces.

_They're all watching…all of them…_

_They're going to watch me get punished…I'm going to made an example of…_

He shut his eyes, but could still feel their stares burn against his skin.

_Couldn't those SharpClaw bastards at least put a blindfold on me…?_

…_so that all these people…I don't have to see their faces…their looks of 'pity'…in my state of disgrace…when I'm being punished and broken like a weakling…_

The pain from their drawn stares stung him like nails. Burning hatred and miserable coldness made his heart heavy…

_Couldn't they save me that much of a humiliation? _

Then, he heard the muffled sound of sand crunching under large feet. He looked up to see Drakon standing in front of him.

The black SharpClaw smiled, enjoying the sight of Wolf's helplessness.

"Look at you…struggling, like an insect trapped under a magnifying glass. It's so pathetic it's almost funny…"

Wolf looked up with glowering eyes of restrained fury. He couldn't describe how much he wanted to wriggle free from the SharpClaw's grip and rip that stupid smile off his face.

"Bastard…" Wolf spat with struggling effort, as the stone dug into his ribs.

Drakon's eyelids lowered amusedly, making them into snake-like slits. "I'd save my energy if I were in your place…you'd wish you had in a few moments…"

_If you were in my place, and I was in yours, you wouldn't have any senses that weren't beaten out of you to even feel energy… _Wolf thought with extreme loathing.

Drakon glanced at the SharpClaw next to him, who held something in leather wrappings.

"Are all the slaves watching? The new ones, I mean."

"Yes…they are."

"Good. A lesson is to be learned here…and the first one to learn it is this slave right here."

He snatched the lather-wrapped object from the SharpClaw's hands, who all-too-willingly let go of it with shaking hands. He tugged on the leather's flap and unfurled it until the object wrapped inside of it fell on his hand.

_Clink._

The first thing Wolf saw were black coiled strands, that looked like leather, and seemed to writhe and move like snakes. It was only when they fell limp that he realized what they were…and widened his eyes.

In Drakon's hand was a leather-strung, twisted, vicious cat-of-nine-tails whip. Its material consisted of some kind of rawhide, from a beast with scales much larger than the SharpClaw. The handle was made from a bone that had been bleached white by the sun, the only visible portions of it spaced between the leather straps of the woven grip. The whip was huge, its handle the size of a thick branch and fashioned to suit Drakon's huge, merciless grip. The snake-like thongs hung over at an extreme length, a length that would be most definitely outlawed in the Lylat System for unnecessary barbarism. But the truly horrid trait of this monstrous-looking whip was the ends of the tails. Each lash ended with a hard strand of leather looped through a barbed, jagged shard of black metal, each of them with a fork-like split like that of an adder's tongue. They all dangled and clinked against each other, looking sharp enough to rip skin off with a single lash from just one of them. Even from where Wolf stood, he could see flecks of dried blood on each barb, a grim indication that it had been used recently. As the lashes swayed in the seemingly-hollow desert wind, he could almost hear the screams of dismay of every victim the whip had punished, trailing in a chilling echo from the fluttering sound of the lashes scraping each others' surfaces like snakes.

Wolf's blood ran cold just looking at the horrible thing. His heart beat against the empty outskirts of his fear-stricken stomach, feeling the foreboding fear creep up against his spine at what excruciating pain his body would endure at the lashes of the whip.

_No…not this…_

_Not this…._

The huddled and malnourished-looking slaves seemed to have their eyes locked on the whip's swaying chords and cringed, the same way a dog would recoil at their master holding a stick to beat it with.

And that's when it all came together. Every fragment of confusion Wolf had disappeared under a wave of realization.

This was how Drakon did it. His boasts of how he turned strong and defiant people into cringing creatures of undying obedience….he did it using this whip…

It wasn't just a beating. It was a lesson.

Wolf remembered his words from earlier, when he was describing his mute Jackal slave that groveled like a dog at his feet.

"_About a month ago, he was just as impudent and resistant as you are now…. But I've beaten all sense of stubbornness and resistance out of him. I've made him wince, and smart…and when he was on the ground, screaming in agony, clinging to the last morsel of sanity he had left, I took away the last privilege he had….his free will."_

_That's how he turns men into slaves…_

_He turns their resistance against them…he binds them down, so that they're helpless and can't fight…_

…_has every slave watch them like beasts in an arena…_

…_and beat the defiance out of them…_

Ripping the wings off of an insect…one…by…one…

Fear began to rise like a cold tide in Wolf's stomach.

_That's what he's going to do to me…that's how he's going to make me pay for standing up to him…_

…_by making me feel more helpless…and then flogging me until I have no sanity left…_

His eyes were fixed on the sunken-faced slaves that watched him, his previous gaze of sympathetic ignorance draped with newfound understanding and terror.

…_like them._

_This isn't the end of the scene. See Chapter 11 for the rest -_


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter 11: Strife of a Broken Resolve – Part 2_

_SharpClaw Slaveyard,Titania Desert,_

Wolf's arms seemed to move on his own. He tried to struggle and wrench his arms free of the SharpClaw's intense grip, biting back at his tongue at the pain of his skin being twisted in the wrong direction.

_NO! _

_I'm not going to submit to him…I WON'T LET HIM TURN ME INTO HIS OBEDIENT DOG!_

But his angry and desperate thoughts couldn't cloud the sense of horror that surrounded him like thick, black smoke.

As Drakon walked past his line of vision ad he began to hear his footsteps behind him, Wolf felt the same trapped, stomach-tightening feeling he felt when he had been lowered into his horrible cell at Denique Fatum for the first time. But the only towering, secluding cell-walls that seemed to close in on him were the ones consisting of frantic dread and feverish terror.

He was going to lose it all….

His mentality…his memory, his free will, his emotions…he wouldn't even be able to recognize Leon if he ever found him…

It was all going to be over…in a matter of seconds…

_R-r-r-ippp!_

Wolf felt the SharpClaw holding him down plunge their cold fingers down his shirt and tear it off his body. The sun seethed its pitiless heat down on his vulnerable bare back. As Wolf heard the clinking and swishing of the whip rising just inches above his head, his breath became heavy and choking, and sweat began to dampen his forehead.

_Don't give in… _He thought in a determined but hopeless attempt to comfort himself. _It'll all be over quickly if you don't give in…_

_Don't cringe…don't moan…don't even scream…you'll give him the satisfaction of your pain if you do…_

_WHOOOSH…._

He shut his eyes and clenched his teeth, his heart pounding as his body cringed in horrible anticipation for the pain…

_**...KRAAAAKKKKK!**_

The sudden rush of pain against his body was overwhelming. The jagged points of the whip's barb lashed against his back, so deep that it tore off a layer of skin from his back. This wasn't the all-too-familiar ripping and coiling of electricity fused against his skin…he could feel the hot blood escape the wound, the twisting sting that tore at his back. The swinging lash came down so suddenly that his fur spiked up immediately, causing him to dig his feet into the ground and writhe under the SharpClaw's grip.

In the aftermath of the lash, Wolf's breathing returned to his pain-tightened throat, his body feeling limp and frail. He allowed his shoulders to sink and rise at his heavy breathing. The sun's rays wafted down against the wound, pressing its heat like a red-hot iron against his stinging cut.

Drakon rose his whip and watched as Wolf shivered and cringed pitifully from the deep wound. Then, he drew it back, and lashed down again.

KERRR-SHAAAKKKK!

Wolf barely had time to recover from the first cut when the second one came down on his back. The new cut opened up just inches above his neck, biting into his skin like fangs drenched in molten heat, blood trickling down his back and grazing painfully past the first. He let out a gasp of pain and collapsed in a writhing heap over the stone, his head hanging over as he watched his own drops of blood hit the sand below him.

But as the painful blows continued, he shut his eyes tight. He curled his restrained fists and tightened his clenched teeth as he determinedly prevented a scream from escaping his body.

KERRR-SHAAAKKKK!

"Come on…" Drakon hissed tauntingly. "Do something. Scowl, jeer, defy me…where's your arrogance now, you wretched mutt?"

KERRR-SHAAAKKKK!

Wolf swallowed a muffled yell in his throat, the cuts seeping into his body and mellowing his bones with their intense burden.

Drakon paced behind Wolf, the clinking sound of his barbed whip-chords echoing alongside his footsteps in the sand.

"Didn't you say…that I could starve, beat and cripple you till there's no skin left on your hide, but you'd still never break? Or were those words only in vain?"

Wolf coughed and rasped some mangled breaths from his throat, the pain from the dripping wounds on his back sinking in to him like drizzling rain, with agony instead of droplets of pounding water.

_Damn it….it burns…_

_These cuts aren't even that deep…why do they feel so painful…?_

_I could take worse damage before….even Andross's electric torture didn't affect as much…how can a meager strike of a whip feel worse?_

_This never happened before…not since…_

Then he looked up, his memory stirring. The sudden vision of a dozen flaming hands reaching for him…and the haunting echoes of distant voices…

His body reacting on the _Anatarres…_and failing him when he needed it most.

His head started to feel heavy just thinking about it, but he could feel the ominous connection in his bones. The strange disruption in his Inner Power…did it have something do to with it?

_Did that weird thing with my Inner Power on board the ship…make my body weaker…?_

KERRR-SHAAAKKKK!

The vicious bite of another lash etched its agonizing mark into Wolf's back, ripping his mental consciousness back into the coldness of reality. He squirmed against the rock slab, feeling each callous open wound throb between the torn-open shreds of ripped fur.

The pain rushing up his spine provoked him into letting out an exhale of harsh breath, but the danger of a pained sound lingered on his voice. Shutting his mouth quickly, he clenched his fists and let the pain sink in, firmly stopping the screams from escaping his lungs.

Drakon sped up his pace impatiently, his raptor-clawed feet scraping against the ground.

"You're starting to bore me, slave…and boredom tries my patience." He swung his whip back, preparing for another swing. "Come on…. Squeal. Yell. Shudder. Moan. Scream. I want to hear the sound of submission while I break you. I want to hear your last cries of agony before I strip your skin and sanity from you. Do it…NOW!"

He brought the whip down savagely.

_Shrr—_TAKKK!

"_Mrhhnnnn!" _Wolf's muffled yell vibrated from between his teeth. He collapsed over the stone slab, the SharpClaw tightening their grip as he wriggled in pain underneath his helpless captivity.

Krr-TWHAAKKK!

He let out a gasp of haggard breath, heavy with the burden of his own agony, his body numbing and shaking. He kept his eyes shot, clinging onto his senses as the pain sunk deeper and deeper into his body and soul…

Drakon's rage grew at Wolf's stubbornness to give in, his thrashing swinging down and more mercilessly with every exhale of fury.

Sherruu-KRAAAKKK!

"_HRRMMM!" _Wolf groaned, digging his claws into his sweaty, clenched palms with such struggle that blood dripped from the cracks between his knuckles.

"Louder," Drakon spat. He swung his whip up again.

Ker-_SHWAAAKKK!_

Wolf bled his pain out through his back and his restrained voice, staring in the darkness of his scrunched-up eyelids while his ears rang with the traumatizing echo of the whip's crack, while he felt the blows hammer into his body again and again…

KER-SKAAAAKKKK!

"_GNNNNNN!"_

Wolf's eyes shot open as the metal barbs scraped across his shoulders, with hot stinging blood flying up the back of his heat-scorched neck.

"LOUDER!" Drakon roared.

Ker-_SHWAAAKKK!_

_Fsshh-_WAAAKKKK!

Wolf began to wince and stagger in one spot as the pace of the whip strikes leapt to a rapid state, skin being torn from his back with barely enough time for his body to contemplate the pain.

As Drakon flogged and kicked his tattered body furiously, the slaves in the distance looked on with anguish-stricken horror. Every strike caused them to flinch and swerve their faces away from the pitiful sight, only to look back with mournful sympathy and scream in silent yearning to step forward and help him.

Wolf wanted to turn away, shut his eyes, and escape the douse of shame and pitiful burden of sympathy. He continued to helplessly take lash after lash, the pain in his wounds nowhere near as painful as the distorted feeling of woeful, humiliating helplessness.

KERRR-SHAAAKKKK!

Suddenly, the next blow cut into the side of his ribs, causing him to scream into the confines of his mouth, before his audible gasps of pain were dragged down by the tugging coughs that erupted from his dry throat. Blood and saliva spewed and dribbled down his chin, his knees crumbling into the sand as his forehead collapsed over the stone. He shivered and coughed in a bleeding and spit-splattered state of broken humility, his vision becoming hazy…

Everyone watching drew sobs of horrified pity as they watched Wolf cringe with bloody spit dripping down his chin like a crippled dog, while Drakon continued to flog him without a moment's hesitation.

KERRR-SHAAAKKKK!  
Blood and tattered fur pelted the ground around him. Brewing tears of pain began to join the rivers of blood and sweat that traveled down his face. But he kept his pain inside…and held it in. He wouldn't give in…he would never give someone like Drakon the satisfaction….

KERRR-SHAAAKKKK!

Wolf desperately clung to his remaining strength, the agonizing wounds seeping their thorn-like stings into his flesh and bone. His mouth shook as he clenched his teeth so hard he could hear them gnash against each other, blood drenching his fore-arms as it grew from the gashes dug from his clawed fist-clench…

KERRR-SHAAAKKKK!

The blow etched another cut across the maze of crimson scars in his heat-struck back, bleeding on top of each other like oozing paint joining into multiple collided droplets over a smudged, wet canvas.

KERRR-SHAAAKKKK!

The inside of Wolf's stomach, mind, wounds and soul screamed for the pain to stop, or at least for the chance to tear the defiant restraints back and let out a cry of expressed suffering. He hopelessly tried to cling onto the hollow and empty fragments of rebellious desperation. He kept telling himself to hold on, to endure the pain, to maintain his sanity, to prevent himself from sinking into the horrifying abyss of slavehood…

KRAAAKKKK!

But the next lash wiped all that away.

In an instant moment, where the world seemed to slow down all around Wolf, the whip came down. All sound seemed to be lost in a distorted vacuum like space, the only sound being the deafening pounding of his heartbeat. The barbed metal shards raked the borders of an already-open wound, tearing off the blood and sinew till they dug their fangs into the folds of his tattered fur and skin. The points bit into the under-wrappings of Wolf's flesh, opening a gauging stroke of inexplicable agony that tore a hole of throbbing pain throughout his body.

His eyes widened, their purple glint engulfed in the massive shadow of his gaunt and torn expression of stunned reaction. His fur spiked up from the tips of his ears to his limp and sand-caked tail, his mouth opening slowly to let out a scream that dragged a line of agonized horror and ripping misery with it.

"_**GUAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!"**_

Wolf's knees gave out from under him as he collapsed onto the ground and slid off the stone, his eyes huge and his face trembling in a state of petrified agony. His breath was caught between the ragged remnants of his sob-like voice, agonized tears streaming down his cheeks. The SharpClaw hoisted his limp body from the ground and slammed him back upon the stone slab.

A snakelike smile of triumph parted Drakon's mouth, his eyes looking down with a hungry glint from behind the blood-stained lines of his claw-scarred face. He hurriedly rose his whip and struck down again.

KRAAAK!

"_AAAAAAARRRGHHHHH!"_

Wolf screamed, his pain pouring onto the stone slab along with his own blood. He wrenched himself under the grinning SharpClaws' tight fists, wallowing in pain.

Eyes filled with cruel excitement, Drakon drew his whip and struck down again, and again, and again…the lashes becoming faster and rapidly hurling down on Wolf's back like rawhide and barbed-metal lightning.

KRAAAK! Shhrrr-_THWAAAP!_

_Krrr-_CRAAACK!

Feeling the lashes smash against his back and the sting of his hoarse voice that deafened his ears with pitiful screams, Wolf remained helpless in a state of petrified suffering as he took the beating like a common dog.

Every lash stripped him of his haughty and anger-driven pride, the defiance that drove him not to back down, not to submit…

Brick by brick, the bold wall of resistance of the once-proud and unbreakable Wolf O'Donnell collapsed under Drakon's whip. His heart was flayed open with shame at each escaping scream that left his throat, at each wound-inflicted throb of his crippled body.

Drakon basked in the helplessness and shame of his victim, flailing Wolf's back as flecks of blood splattered across his insanely-triumphant grinning face.

Tears of pain drifted from Wolf's shut eyes, his cries of pain and desperate pleading for an end to his torture answered only with the vicious, unfeeling lashes of the whip.

As he was stripped of his strength and defiance, his dragged from his perch of freedom, his body refused to respond like his cries that echoed across the sand. It only cringed and winced….like those of the slaves he tried desperately not to join…

He was not that strong-willed Wolf he was seconds ago…

He was helpless….helpless to stand up to Drakon, helpless to stand up for that woman…

…and helpless to stand up for himself.

_KRAAAAK!_

"GAAAAARGH!"

Finally, after so much blood, sweat, saliva, tears, fur, and broken shame had littered the sand, Wolf gave out a frail and pitiful cry, followed by a canine whimper of pain. Breath heavy, bones aching, cuts bleeding, emotions empty and resolve broken, he let his shoulders fall and his head collapse over the stone. His arms hung limply in the SharpClaw's grip, his breath scattered in to hushed gasps and his body bristled and shivering. Senses tormented by the traumatizing pain that locked his body into a state of half-consciousness, Wolf's vision began to blur while his ears were clogged with the sound of his pounding heart and frail rasps for breath escaping from his beaten throat.

Drakon straightened his stance, wiping the blood from his face. The drenched barbed-metal lashes clinked against each other as he lowered his whip, which was still followed by the stares of the wide-eyed slaves.

"Release him."

The two SharpClaw stepped back from the slab of rock, which was now covered in red lines of blood that outlined the dry imprint where Wolf's body used to be.

Whatever sight of the sand and sun visible through the thin slit of his heavy eye-lids did a cartwheel in his blurred vision. As the support of the SharpClaw's hands slipped from under his limp arms, his body fell forward in a heavy heap.

THUNK.

The sandy ground smashed against his face, the scalding, sun-baked grains scraping his blood-stained cheek and shaking his body out of the disoriented and pain-drenched state of half-consciousness.

As the sun's rays beat down on his scarred back, and sand drifted back and forth in front of his line of vision from every passing breath from his mouth and nostrils, all thought and senses poured into him.

The first and only thing his mind couldn't tear itself away from was the excruciating pain in his back. He could feel every scar etched into his back, too exhausted to wince at the build-up of blood from the cuts that bled beyond counting. The whip's lashes had torn and flayed his skin into an unrecognizable mess of cruel lines and peeling flesh, barely resembling the strong, muscular back it had been before. The intense amount of blood loss was already making his head numb and heavy, and he could swear that he could feel his bones prod and show through his fur. His coat, already reduced to a tattered and faded grey from the grueling desert hike, was now hanging in a miserable set of spiked clumps, a sorrowful remnant of the magnificent lupine coat he had in what seemed so long ago.

His pink eye stared around blurrily, stung from the drawback of pain and overflow of agony-driven tears. His gaunt and weakened face was frozen in a state of defeated anguish and suffering, and the back of his head was splattered with lines of blood that had sprayed from the wounds on his back. He watched his own blood and sweat hit the sand in front of his eyes like a rain consisting of the shame of his defeat and submission, before disappearing beneath the sand along with his reputation and pride.

His muscles were too sore to even bend, and his beaten nerves were too frail to twitch. He wasn't alive or dead, just suffering in the horrible state in between. No hell could top the wounds in his back…and his beleaguered soul.

The harsh breath, just inches from exhaustion with his mind on the brim of mental submission, Wolf blinked hazily on the ground.

_D-D…._

_Damn it…_

_My bones….they won't move…_

He tried to shift his face from the baking grasp of the sand, but cringed as the immense wounds sucked out the stamina from his aching body.

Through the remnant of his shattered fragments of energy, he bit his teeth down weakly into a weak, seething wince. Even that felt painful…

_It hurts…_

He was too weak to fuel his emotions into his thoughts. It only made him more tired…

_It hurts so much…._

_My body feels so heavy…but how…_

_That desert…turned me into a starving, ragged wretch…_

_Nothing but fur…and bones…_

_So why do I feel so heavy….?_

His mind swerved past the pain, and raised his feeble purple gaze up at the sight of Drakon walking away from him, and gesturing to the slaves.

"…is what will happen. Let this idiot of a slave stand as a testimony to that. His impudence and arrogance only weakened him…and only let me break him faster. He's a slave, and will remain one as long as his battered legs allow him to stand. But no matter how strong he appears or how much work he does before he collapses…" He slung his whip into its coiled form. "…doesn't change the fact that he's weaker than that dead infant over there."

Fur on Wolf's shoulders rose for an instant, the scorn from the insult just barely making it through the agonized and exhausted barrier around his emotions. But they only rose for a second before he stopped with a wince, shivered slightly, and then sunk them back down.

He couldn't. He couldn't get up.

He was too weak.

_I can't….I can't do it…_

_I don't have enough energy…_

…_not enough to even curl my hand into a fist…_

His tired eye wandered towards the bandaged hand that lay next to him, seeming unnaturally distant from his line of vision.

_I have to get back up…_

_I've got to get back up and face him!_

Then, as a dry gust of desert wind stirred the blood in his stinging cuts, he let his weight fall with exhaustion.

_No…_

_It won't do any good…it won't do a damn thing…_

_I'm too weak…too inferior…_

_I don't have the build…the strength…not even the same genetic build-up…_

_He's a stronger species…a deadlier one…_

_And without a weapon…or Inner Power…_

_He'll just strike me down and beat me again…_

_And I'll be weak and helpless…again…_

He shut his eyes. How many times was this going to happen to him?

He let that family on board the _Anatarres _die, because he was too weak to stand up for them. And now, he had failed again. An infant child, a _baby…._was lying in a pool of his own blood…

And he couldn't even stand on his feet to face Drakon. He couldn't fight one opponent.

_What's the point…?_

_I'm too weak…I couldn't protect anyone…_

_I can barely breathe through my lungs and stay conscious…._

_Am I that weak…?_

_That broken…?_

Then, the hand he was staring at for so long twitched.

All the fingers moved simultaneously…and almost automatically, they slowly clenched into a bandaged fist.

A low kindle of perseverance lit beneath his tired exterior.

_No._

_I'm NOT broken._

_I need to calm down…_

_I'm still alive…and conscious, aren't I…?_

_I'm just…hesitant…_

The kindle burned brighter. His breathing became slower and steadier…

_Yes…that's the problem…_

_I didn't fall so easily because I'm weak…_

_It's because I hesitated too long…_

_The reason that infant died was because I waited too long…waited for someone else to do what I should have done…_

…_because I was afraid!_

His eye opened fully. His vision cleared.

_I was afraid I'd be too weak without my Inner Power! I was afraid I'd lose!_

_Why the hell am I acting like such a pussy?_

_Because one idiot struck me down?_

_No…_

_I didn't escape those Agents, that rogue Warp Tunnel, and drag my hide across an ocean of scorching sand just to bow down to a loathsome scumbag like him!_

_I'm not afraid of him…_

_I'm not retreating…_

_I'm not bowing…_

_I'm not submitting…_

…_and I'm NOT HESITATING!_

_He's cut my skin…but he can't put a scratch in my resolve!_

_I won't let him turn me into a mindless slave like the rest of them! I didn't bow down to Andross, the Devourer, that Inquisitor that was hunting me, or anyone…least of all him!_

He glared in Drakon's direction, and then blinked at the dazzling reflection of a gleaming object hanging from his belt.

His Claw…

A powerful yearning stung Wolf's insides. It was still there…so close, so in his reach…

He couldn't pass off this opportunity. He was out of his chains, and he could still move.

_Get up… _He told himself. _If you lie down in defeat, you'll be trampled over like the rest of the corpses…_

The words echoed in his head with familiarity, but he couldn't remember from whom he had heard them. But it didn't matter…nothing mattered right now.

All that mattered was getting out alive.

It was another test of survival. First, the desert…now this.

…and he wasn't going to show weakness….not again.

He drew some deep breaths, and exhaled, the haggard rush of air slowing down to a steady one. Raising his head, he looked forward, concentrating his line of vision until the foggy blurriness went away. As he attempted to draw his body up, he winced at the tug of the wounds on his back, slowing his movements fragilely to ease the stinging. Clenching his teeth with determination, he dragged his battered arm out of the hot, scraping sand and shakily planted the palm of his hand into the ground.

_Fsshhh…_

As the sand coiled off Wolf's arms made a soft noise on the ground, everyone turned with open mouths and wide-eyed expressions. Hushed gasps echoed from the terrified ranks of slaves, while the SharpClaw gaped in shock that Wolf was still able to move.

But Drakon was the last to turn. His expression upon turning was with confusion, but melted into a state of furious disbelief at the sight of Wolf weakly rising up.

Wolf's shoulders shook as he forced all of his weight onto his arm, attempting to hoist himself up. But the exhausted strain on his bones caused him to gasp painfully and sink back to the ground.

CLUMP.

As his face was greeted once again with hardness of the sandy surface of the ground, Wolf swallowed whatever saliva he had left and breathed heavily. With his head still lowered in a crippled bow, he planted both hands into the sand, raising his shaky shoulders. With a grunt of effort, he swerved his head away from the sight of blood dripping down the sides of his arms from on his back. As the muffled sound of his wounded breathing stopped distorting his hearing, he slowly rose to his feet. His bare foot reached out forward in a staggering step, his head heavy from the immense toll on his body, his arms hanging limply by his side. For a split second, his body swerved back into the danger of a staggering fall, but his other foot caught his weight.

With his feet shaking, his fur spiked, back hunched, shoulders rising, and head lowered, Wolf's strained gaze was fixed on the ground below him, watching as droplets of blood and sweat fell like rain near his feet. The sunlight glinting off each drop before it sank and disappeared beneath the sand.

He was standing…in the midst of his own suffering, with the immense wounds he had suffered, he _still _clung to his defiance and pushed his tired body to stand.

No one could believe it. Not the slaves, the SharpClaw, or anyone. Not once, in the time any of them had been a slave or beaten one, had there ever been a slave who had not only stood after taking a beating from the Adder Tongues, but had stood up a free man…instead of a tortured, broken soul with their sanity robbed from them.

Drakon leaned forward, a low growl creeping from the depths of his throat and out the cracks of his reptilian fangs. His murderous eyes were fixed on Wolf's lowered face. The slave he had beaten, crippled to a mauled corpse, was standing…perfectly…

_What….?_

_But…no…_

_It can't be…_

_I put so many lashes in him he should be drowning in blood…_

_How's he still able to move?_

_Someone like him…someTHING like him…_

_A canine doesn't have that kind of strength!_

It completely baffled him. He had broken hundreds of slaves, all bigger and stronger. Mercenaries, bounty hunters, war veterans, murderers…all of them turned into silent, ragged, miserable servants who couldn't even feel the sun on their backs. What the hell made this slave any different?

_Wait…no…_

_His head's still lowered…he's probably staggering from the tension on his body…_

A cold-blooded smile turned his lip up.

_Yes…that's how they all start…_

_The agony's already causing his muscles and sanity to shrink…he can't take much more…_

_You can always tell how far they've fallen…by their eyes…by how blank and empty they are…_

_He's probably the same..._

He waited patiently, expecting him to raise his head at any moment.

"_Kkk-chhachhh!"_

There was a dry, rasping noise as Wolf coughed hoarsely, and bloody saliva escaping from his mouth. As he rose a weak hand to wipe his mouth, he raised his face, and the shadows that draped his tired eyes lifted.

Drakon smiled, eager to see that defiant stare mellowed out into the gaunt, expressionless pits of despair he had seen on the faces of every slave he had ever broken.

But by the time he caught a glimpse of Wolf's eyes, his smile was already gone.

From waist-up and everywhere else on his body, Wolf did more than resemble a battered and crippled slave. He was _worse. _Deprived of nourishment, blood, and mercy, he looked like a living corpse. His fur was tattered and uneven in numerous places, the grimy dirt and blood dying patches of his fur, like he had been shot in a dozen places. His back was bent with weakness that had been hammered into his body by the labor and whip, and red dots circled his feet from where the blood trickled down his back from the deep gashes that had been cut into him by the Adder Tongue barbs. But despite how much his feet shook, and heavy his raspy breaths were, one thing shattered his lifeless image.

His purple eyes, staring from between the dirty strands of matted head-fur that hung over his forehead like bangs, continued to glint with intensity. The gleam of the single amethyst iris drove into Drakon's wide eyes like a defiant scalpel, unyielding and fierce, just like they had been before.

His wounds stung, every breath felt like an excruciating task, he was covered in blood, and just striving to stand made his entire body ache and sear with exhaustion. Not a word could escape his battered throat, and his face hung so heavy that he couldn't twist it into a rueful scowl. His body and face barely hung to their functions, so weak that they hung on to the strands of their raw form. Everywhere else, he was as good as dead…but his eyes remained vigilant, and undying.

Not a word was uttered from anyone on any side, but the message was clear.

Drakon may have broken and butchered Wolf's body, but barely scratched the surface of his resolve.

The Head Scourge stood there, digging his clawed feet into the sand. Of all emotions that distorted his reptilian face, angry shock seemed to be the most present. The black scales around his mouth and eyes seemed to extend and grow wide, his eyes thinning into slits. His lip quivered over his bared teeth, locking his mouth open.

The other SharpClaw Elites could already feel their master fuming from ten feet away. They twisted their whips and shuffled their feet, fearfully thinking how he would throw his anger out on them after this was all over.

A low, barely-audible hiss came from his mouth…

"_He still stands…"_

A far braver Elite took a meek step forward. "Er…Drakon, sir…with your command, we could easily restrain him. He may appear vigilant, but he's still weak. All we have to-"

"GET BACK!" Drakon screeched.

_Thwack!_

He swung his massive hand back and struck the Elite without even turning his head, the impact of the strike so powerful that it caused him to topple back and collapse on the ground. The other SharpClaw gaped with identical looks of stunned silence, as the Elite on the ground clutched his snout. Black blood spurted out of his reptilian nostrils.

"_Dwaykon!"_ He garbled through his bleeding nose. "BHAT ARE YOU-?"

But everyone watching could tell that there was no conscience in Drakon's voice or eyes, which were locked onto Wolf.

"_Get back, all of you!" _He shrieked. "The first SharpClaw to step forward, I'll stamp the blood and breath out of his body like a cockroach!"

He stomped forward, fuming like a mad bull, causing both slaves and SharpClaw to cower in his wake. But Wolf remained where he stood, his intense eyes not faltering for a moment.

"No one will deprive me of breaking this mangy whelp…not you Elites, the slaves, or even General Talon! This bastard's _mine _to rip open!"

He flailed outward with his whip.

_Shrr—_TAAAKKK!

Wolf managed to stagger back fast enough to escape the barbed-iron's range, their jagged points grazing the fur on his stomach. But his vision and reflexes were to groggy and beaten to react to Drakon swing his other hand down on his shoulder.

SLAM!

"_Gargh!"_

Wolf let out a feeble grunt as the massive, black-scaled fist smashed down on top of his bloodstained and sand-caked shoulder, causing him to stumble weakly to the ground. But Drakon's hand shot out like a serpent and grabbed a fistful of his head-fur before he could hit the ground. Feeling the reptilian claws yank at the very top of his fur, Wolf winced as he was dragged up to Drakon's height so that they were face to face.

The Head Scourge stared furiously into Wolf's gaunt and bruised face, which still maintained a weak but determined scowl as well as an intense glare.

"So…" Drakon hissed, so close that Wolf could smell the rotten meat on his breath. "Even now, you defy me…but trying to shake off the inevitable will only wound you further…" He tightened his grip on his fur, causing Wolf to seethe through his teeth. "You're going to pay very dearly for your stupid, useless defiance. I'll tear the arrogance out of those eyes…and then, I'll destroy you with it, slowly…"

He stared down at him, his fist shaking with rage as it clutched his fur, but realized Wolf's eyes were on something else. He hesitated confusedly.

_What's he…?_

Then, he felt a small tug at his sash. His eyes moved down to see Wolf's fingers feebly cup around the handle of the Claw in his belt, apparently trying to snatch it away from Drakon without him noticing.

Drakon's lip curled.

_So…he wasn't trying to provoke me after all…_

_He wanted to get close enough to snatch the blade from me…_

_After all the toil his body has taken…he STILL attempts to fight…?_

_Tch…this one just continues to amaze me with his stupidity…_

Wolf's hand froze and he looked up, aware that he had been caught. His eyes darted around feebly, prepared for whatever Drakon would do next.

"So…" The SharpClaw said in a low voice, while his eyes narrowed, filled with a newfound slyness. "You want a chance to fight me again, do you?"

Wolf's eyes never broke their locked stares, but he gave no response.

Drakon looked back at the slaves who were watching, and then back at Wolf. "Well, then…you shall have it, slave."

Now it was Wolf's turn to narrow his eyes, but they reflected suspicion more than anything else.

CLUMP!

Wolf grunted as Drakon dropped him abruptly, causing his sore body to clash with the hot and uncomfortable surface of the ground again. He wanted to rub the searing spots on his head where his fur had been pulled, but his arms were way too heavy.

_CLANG!_

Wolf froze, his eyes wide with caution. He looked to his left to see the Claw impaled into the sand, just inches from his bandaged hand. Confused, he looked up to see Drakon, who pointed at the Claw impatiently.

"Pick it up."

Wolf didn't move, his eyes darting from Drakon to the crowd of watching slaves. The crippled ones continued to stare blankly, but the ones that were still sane had eyes filled with fear and anxiety, equally confused about what was going on.

Drakon twisted the chords of his whip, his eyes wandering as he lost patience.

SLAM!

He aimed a savage kick at Wolf's face, who cringed and seethed on the ground.

"I said _pick it up!" _He spat. "Get up! Pick it up and strike me down…" A hateful smile grew at the corner of his mouth. "You won't get another chance."

Wolf glared at him hatefully, wanting nothing more to snatch his Claw and drive it into that smiling mouth of his. But even though his body and senses were scathed and disoriented, his cautious wits weren't.

Every voice in his head was screaming for him to ignore the challenge. What could he do? He was beaten and broken, feeling more wounds ache and sear than the heat rain down on his bare back. His bones seared with such agonized rigidness that he was sure that just standing completely straight would shatter his spine. His hands and limbs shook with malnourished weakness, the amount of blood he lost causing him to feel nauseous.

Fighting with Drakon now, with the way he was, would be nothing short of pointless. He and everyone watching knew it was a trap of some kind.

Getting up would only mean getting beaten back down to the ground…and Wolf knew it. His body recoiled with reluctance just thinking about it…

But then…a dim gleam of hope appeared in the back of his mind.

His Inner Power…

_No… _He thought glumly. _It won't work…_

_It didn't work on board the Anatarres…and when it didn't work, it only got in the way…_

He clenched his bandaged fist weakly.

_I can't afford to try and use it now…it paralyzed me last time…and Leon isn't here to help me this time…_

_And with the state of my body now…another stroke of that weird Inner Power repulse would probably…_

He looked at the Claw near his hand, which gleamed temptingly.

It was so close…the chance to fight, to escape…

With his odds and conditions, his mind was hammering the impossibility of victory into his skull…but he couldn't ignore a chance like this…

As the desert wind bristled the sand with its dusk wind, all watched with silent anticipation. The slaves shook their heads and mouthed _No! _or _Don't!_

Wolf exhaled a rattled, tired breath of harsh exhaustion. Then, he slowly dragged his arm across the sand and curled his fingers around the Claw's leather-bound handle.

Grunting with effort and deprived of breath, he shakily rose himself to his feet, the Claw suddenly feeling heavy in his weak hands.

He looked up at Drakon, who smiled fiendishly as he took a few steps back, as if giving Wolf room to attack.

Wolf raised his Claw and gingerly bent his body in a crippled but firm attempt for a fighting stance.

_I don't need Inner Power… _He told himself. _I don't need it…_

_I didn't need it to survive this long…or get through the desert…_

_I can do this without it…but only if I channel my anger on him…it's the only source of strength I have left…._

Then, with eyes locked with concentration, hatred for the humiliation and helplessness he suffered, Wolf charged forward.

He didn't stumble or fall, thankfully, and his posture remained rigid. He felt the wind pick up at the edge of his arm as he swung his Claw towards Drakon's face-

But all Drakon had to do was side-step with a cunning sneer, bring his missile-sized fist up.

Wolf's eyes widened in slow, frantic fear, before their vision drowned out by the massive fist.

_What-?_

**KRRRTTTCHHH!**

A pulsing blow shattered the side of Wolf's jaw, causing his face and hands to go numb in response. The Claw slipped uselessly from his hands and fell to the ground with a clatter.

His frail legs gave under the weight of his scarred, aching body, and he collapsed onto the ground.

Drakon let out a ringing laugh of malice.

"HA! Well, now…isn't the persistence of this one admirable. Quite the cunning warrior, wouldn't you say so?" His reptilian eyes darted towards the crowd of slaves that were watching.

The SharpClaw Elites laughed spitefully.

The ragged and mindless ones, who still hadn't uttered a word the entire time, lowered their heads. They already knew what was on the way, just by the sudden change of tone in Drakon's voice…

Pain had done nothing…so now, he was going to humiliate Wolf.

Pacing around Wolf's body as he shakily tried to crawl back up, Drakon circled the spot like a vulture, swinging the whip in his hands back and forth like a pendulum.

"Observe, the cunning warrior, striding with his held high."

_SLAM!_

Drakon's foot landed on Wolf's neck, forcing his head into the ground with a muffled yell of pain. He coughed and breathed in pitiful gasps that sounded like muffled screams, as his face was pressed deeper into the sand by the SharpClaw's clawed foot.

The Elites continued to cackle in the distant. With sight and face covered in sand, too weak to struggle under the massive weight of Drakon's foot, Wolf continued to have his ears branded with the miserable jeering and laughter in the distance, covering all memory of his loyal 302nd Legion cheering his name….

So much for the once-proud Star Wolf…as if anyone here knew that much about him…

Drakon lifted his foot and continued his pace, while Wolf coughed out sand and raised his bruised face from the ground.

Wolf tried hoist himself up weakly, but Drakon paced in front of him, his tall height draping an ominous shadow over him.

"Take note of his strong build, surpassing the strength of a common canine, as well as the endurance."

KRTCCH!

"_Kaaargghh-!"_

A suffocated scream tore from Wolf's mouth as Drakon slammed his foot into the ribs that poked out of his hollow stomach. His body flipped over so that he was on his back, gasping faintly and weakly, exposing his malnourished look and scarred body.

Cruel laughter erupted from the crowd of SharpClaw, burning harder into Wolf than the most scalding of brands. His ears were deafened with their jeering, feeling miserable and weak in his repulsively ragged form. It only cemented the tarnished image he now had, no longer reminiscent of that powerful fighter that struck fear in his enemies so long ago…now reduced to the corpselike shell of a man, with a size and face that could easily pass for someone older and greyer…

With arms to mangled to clutch the tightening dent in his weak stomach, Wolf rolled himself over with a faint grunt, and used whatever faltering strength in his battered hand to try crawl himself up.

Drakon walked behind him, watching him struggle like an insect under a magnifying lens.

"He walks with a tall stride of unshakable dignity…"

Wolf swerved his face away from the pained looks of the watching slaves, wishing he could clog his ears to escape the agonizingly humiliating laughter from all sides of his wretched body.

Drakon stopped behind his legs.

"Look upon his keen stance, legs held firm to be invincible in combat."

_SLRRRTCH!_

"AAARGGHHH!"

Wolf gasped in pain as Drakon aimed his next kick at the back of his knees, feeling the tips of his raptor-like claws dig into the exposed part of his fur. His pitiful crawl came to a dead halt as he collapsed on the spot. Panting with eyes shut in pain, he let his head sink back to the ground while his struggling forearms supported his shaking shoulders. His breaths broke into agonized sobs, broken in deprived struggling for breath.

He was pathetic. And what was worse…was that he knew it.

Slaves turned their pained gazes away, not willing to watch. It was a pathetic sight, seeing someone being thrashed by so much pain and humility, hearing the screams of someone who had been so defiant only minutes ago.

Red blood dripping from the front claws of his foot, Drakon walked back in front of Wolf. With a wickedly triumphant smile, he prodded Wolf's face up with the handle of his whip, raising it into view.

Wolf's face was a picture of dejected defeat. That defiant gleam in his eyes was gone, now replaced with the half-open, feeble look of imploring pain. The tear-stricken, shivering face that looked so small now, only had a look that begged for a merciful end.

It hurt too much…everything just agonized him more than he could take. Moving, breathing, even crying seemed to take more out of his body than it should. And he knew perfectly well that it shouldn't…he was supposed to be strong, unyielding, like the leader he used to be, taking beatings like this all the time. But he didn't care….he hated the pain. The helpless feeling of anguish that tore at his emotions and eyes that he had foolishly tried to hide in heap of his stupid pride.

The sobs turned to wheezes, and they became a marbled combination as the reluctant tears trickled down his bloody cheeks. He had never been in more pain, anguish and shame in his life.

Such a state of human suffering only widened Drakon's smile.

"Just look at that ruthless glare…those fearsome eyes, without a glint of human mercy in them. He's got murderous intent in those eyes, doesn't he? You all see it?"

The SharpClaw in the distance stopped laughing, their grins fading.

Drakon turned back to Wolf. "No? That's right…" His grin melted away in to bared reptilian fangs. "…it's because he's a FAKE!"

_KRRTTCHHH!_

Drakon brought his fist down on the back of his neck, and a sickening pop echoed across the sandy ground. Wolf's eyes grew huge for a moment before he let out a scream of pain. The weakness in his arms jolted as he raised them to clutch the searing pain that pulsed out his neck.

His feet twisted and writhed on the ground, as he lay there, groaning.

"All you do is whine and preach about how powerful you are, how unbreakable you are. But when all your layers of fake heroism are ripped off, you're nothing but a meager, wretched shell of a man." Drakon paced around him, watching him squirm on the ground. "No matter how much you try to act all haughty and powerful, it doesn't change that you're still made from weak flesh and warm blood. You can still lose breath, break bones and bleed like a man…and from what I've seen today, you can still pine like a pitiful mutt, too. With all the warrior-wannabe bullshit and arrogance taken away, what are you? Nothing, that's what, nothing but another slave that's too easily broken."

In the maimed heap of bruises and cuts, Wolf was stabbed even deeper by the driving singe of Drakon's worse. He tried to hammer his useless doubt in his mind, trying to defy the truth in them.

_Don't listen to him… _He told his hollowing self uselessly. _He's wrong…about everything…_

Drakon kneeled down and faced Wolf. "You think you're so different from the countless other hot-headed masses that have come and gone? You're as naive as they come. You can tell yourself in your head how unbreakable you are, how you'll fight masses to your last breath to stay alive, how you won't bow to anyone else's law but your own. But that means nothing out here. Your impudence only makes you look like a bigger idiot who thinks that he'll find no superior that'll crush him down to size. And now you can stare at the reality of your own foolish presumptions of invincibility in the pool of your own blood. You aren't even half the warrior you say you are…you're weak. You couldn't stop me from gutting that miserable brat over there…you couldn't even stop me from flaying the skin off your back like lambs for the slaughter. You could stop nothing. You _are _nothing."

Wolf tried to shut his eyes, trying to shake the horribly true words out of his mind. But he couldn't draw his stare away from Drakon's hypnotic gaze. He could only watch with misery as the Scourge exposed him for the weak fraud he was.

"You're just like every other resistant idiot that's turned into a slave. You're all the same…thinking that just because you were a bounty hunter, or pilot, or assassin, or soldier, that you were hounded into fighting someone else's war like machine…that it makes you _strong. _Tch…as if you know what real strength is. I couldn't give two shits about what you were before you arrived here on Titania. It doesn't amount to anything out here. When a man is stripped of his rank and title, whipped like a dog and dragged out into the sand, his true form is exposed. The only difference is that your true form was obvious to see before my whip touched a hair on your back."

_No…_ Wolf yelled in his mind with frantic desperation. _It's not true…_

_I'm…I'm not…_

SLAM!

Drakon planted his foot on Wolf's head and dug it into the ground, causing his vision to blacken and sand to fill his mouth and nose. As he coughed with his face pressed against the hot sand, Wolf gasped and suffocated with hoarse spluttering noises.

Unfortunately, above all other forms of infliction, one was still present. His ears could still hear…and the scalding words didn't end.

As his heartbeat became distorted in heavy anguish, and his tear-soaked eyes searched for a flaw in Drakon's words, began to feel the imprint of their truth carve its mark into his soul…the resolve-driven one that had deceived him for so long.

"When all is said and done, you're just a fake. You're not strong, or courageous or even powerful. You're just blind to the fact that you repetitively make a laughable spectacle of your so-called resistance. Your mediocre claims only drag you down from your ignorant perch. The more you wallow in pain, the more you'll see how pathetic your own self-deception was. For the longest time, you had everyone fooled into thinking that you were powerful and dominant….but I see you for what you are." Drakon's lip curled as his eyes blazed scornfully. "And you're nothing but a pretentious fraud, begging for someone to tear you down to place. You know nothing of battle, of relying on your own strength and wit. You only know how to bask in your own obnoxious attitude like the others before you. You're powerless, weak, and pathetic. Every sightless, mindless and retarded slave on this site combined amount to more strength than you. There's nothing significant or unique about you. You're an insect, not even worth killing….and you know it."

Drakon lifted his foot from Wolf's head and stepped back, looking down with disdain. He twirled his whip, as if daring him to raise himself up.

But his head didn't rise. His shoulders stopped shaking, and his breathing became strained and heavy. There wasn't enough air in his punctured lungs to fuel his battered body into moving itself.

Wolf was too weak…breathing and moving themselves had become tasks of effort, just like Drakon said it would. He could already feel his senses becoming number, and even feeling the sun's rays felt wayward in his tired mind.

He was becoming one of _them…_one of the slaves that were broken beyond all help…

But in spite of his broken position…his unmoving legs and unresponsive spine…one part of his body felt intact.

His fingers twitched. Slowly, he rose his arms shakily, hand outstretched.

The slaves and SharpClaw watching leaned forward. Not a word had been uttered amongst either crowd, but the common thought that they were all thinking was obvious without the presence of speech. They all knew that he couldn't take much more pain, and that he was hanging on the last strands of his shattered senses to stay conscious and sane. But now, the climactic moment had arrived.

This was his chance to submit. His chance to use his only functioning limb to crawl away…to use it to gesture some form of surrender…

It was his last chance to save himself…to preserve whatever was left of his senses and end his suffering.

Wolf panted hoarsely, his breath reduced to thing wisps that passed through his weak lungs. He stretched out his arm…

…and reached for his Claw that lay near him.

Drakon's eyes widened with enraged disbelief.

After everything…._everything _he had gone through…the shame, the agony, the defeat, suffering at the hands of endless torment….this slave was still holding on to whatever free will he had left. And when he had the chance to use it to save himself…he was using it to fight back.

An insect that refused to stop wriggling after his wings had been torn off. A living defiance against him.

For a moment, Drakon just stood there staring at him. His grip around the Adder Tongues began to shake with fury, so that they clinked together. As all reasonable sense and sanity deteriorated from his rage-engulfed mind, words seeped through the cracks between his clenched teeth.

"Why do you keep fighting back…._when you have so much to lose?"_

SWISHH-_**PAAAAKKK!**_

The only warning for the second-splitting events that followed was the sound of Drakon's whip ringing in Wolf's numb ear-drums. No thought or emotion was fast enough to react to that sound. His heart leapt and his body tensed, as if waiting in horrible anticipation for the pain to hit his back or torso.

But the pain didn't erupt there. His eye wandered upwards in distorted time, and only too late did he see the black shape dominate his vision.

The instant that his vision was blackened, a nerve-wrenching sting erupted in the area underneath Wolf's eyelid, as well as on his cheek. The pain caught his butchered senses off guard, and his vision blurred under the burden of the sudden rush of agony. The feeling was like if someone had taken a branch of thorns, and dragged their edges across his face so that they dug into his flesh under his fur…and then, with those same thorns, drove their points into the edge of the cuts, so to agonizingly stretch the borders of torn skin.

The whip-lash to his face threw him into a sub-consciousness of pain-reaction. He couldn't breathe…all line of thought was thrown into disarray…

It was only when he raised a weak hand to clutch his face when he physically responded to the pain. As the bandage-bound palm of his hand pressed against the open cut, the blood sharpened its sting within its raw surface. As the agony seared excruciatingly through his body, he shut his eye tightly, unable to keep it open.

In the blackness of his own sightlessness, Wolf remained locked in throbbing and swelling that tightened on the skin on his cheek. He opened his mouth and let out what felt like a scream, but from his worn throat sounded like a rasping, shaky attempt for a cry, high-pitched and deprived of air.

As he looked around blindly through the shut eye, his only source of sight, he winced cringingly as the hot blood seeped through the cracks between his fingers. His broken gasps and wheezes eventually evolved into choked sobs.

Helpless and blind with pain, he rummaged around with his hand, half of him looking for means of escape and the other trapped in the confused aftermath of the agonizing cuts.

Drakon, apparently, thinking that Wolf was looking for his Claw, snarled with maddened ferocity. In a bolting move, his black-scaled hand grabbed Wolf by the wrist.

In his state of blindness, Wolf felt a pincer-like hand, far bigger than his own, grab his wrist and pull it up.

Then, he heard Drakon's unmistakable voice, dripping with anger.

"You will break…you _will_ break…If I have to rip the skin clean off your corpse, so be it, but I WILL see you submit to me…"

He felt the massive grip tighten around his wrist, causing the fur to twist painfully in the wrong direction.

"If your defiance is what raises you back up…then I will bring it down!"

He wrenched his grip back.

**CRACK.**

The next bolt of pain didn't drive its effect slowly into his body like the one before. If anything, it took effect a hundred times faster.

A burst of hot pain erupted from his shoulder and all the way down his arm, dazing Wolf with its impact. He'd had his limbs broken before…his body remembered such instances if anything else. But this was different. Drakon had grabbed his arm and had bent it so far in the opposite direction that he felt his shoulder crack and the back of his own hand touch the wounds on his back. The intensity of the pain was so immense that it disoriented his state of blindness, and made him feel sick to his stomach. Scalding tears leaked through his shut eyes, and he felt them pour down his cheeks like boiling drops of rain.

As Wolf hung limply by his broken arm from Drakon's grip, the Head Scourge released him and let him drop onto the ground like an inanimate doll.

The hardness of the ground clashed against his sore body, startling the rigidness of his shattered collar-bone and numb arm, which didn't even twitch as it remained, bent back across his back.

His face sank into the ground; the blistering grains of sand digging into the open cuts in his face, like scalding gnats prying open the bleeding gashes. The sand scraped painfully against the cuts so that Wolf whimpered in a hushed gasp of suffocated pain.

With a sore body that could barely move…a bent back, broken arm that _couldn't _move…and locked into enough pain to keep his eyes shut and sightless…Wolf was in a blind and broken state of helplessness.

But Drakon wasn't done. He wasn't thinking, in his enraged state of contempt, or mentally fixated on any particular goal that could cause him to stop.

Wolf was helpless and deprived of any form of movement…exactly how Drakon wanted him to be.

There was no running, no crawling…no means of escape.

KLMMP!

Drakon kicked Wolf's body over so that he was on his back (and that his bent arm pushed ever-upwards), and uncoiled his whip. Flaying him on his back was out of the question…there were more cuts than skin there. But his chest was unscathed…

In the murky depths of the sightless dark, Wolf heard the clinking sound of the Adder Tongues being raised above him.

A horrible feeling of dread swelled up in his stomach like dry ice once he realized what he was going to do. With the tattered remains of his failing strength, Wolf's lips moved slightly, attempting to force his strained throat to form some speech. The words were frail and barely almost inaudible, but Drakon could just barely hear them.

"…p-p…plea…please…"

Utter shock engulfed the crowd of onlookers in the form of stunned silence.

Was he _begging?_

Wolf had lost his strength, his prized weapon, his pride, his Inner Power…and now, his courage.

He had been reduced to the final level of cowardice and weakness. He had begged…not surrendered, but _begged_ for his life.

But Drakon, too enraged to smile, but foul enough to savor the crumbling of Wolf's willpower, raised his whip.

_FWSSHH-_TRRRK!

Blood tore from the fresh wound that was forged into Wolf's chest from the fanglike barbs. The blow repulsed against his ribs and lungs beneath his chest, and he choked out a strained cry.

SWSSHH-TRAAKKK!

Wolf's body cringed slightly as another reddening scar gushed from over his chest, the ribs showing through the blood-stained fur. The pain thrown upon his breathing passage stripped him of any breaths of relief to his recovering body, causing the pain to bottle up upon his bleeding skin.

KRR-_PAAKKK!_

"GNNRGGHHH!"

Wolf's haggard scream emerged through a layer of deprived breath and gasping, as blood seeped from his colliding wounds while tears seeped through his shut eyes.

**KRRSSHH-**_**KRAAAK!**_

**PRR-KRAAK!**

**SHWSH-**_**PAAAKKK!**_

Soon, Drakon was flaying the whip so fast that the blows became blurs, not allowing Wolf to recover from the first wound by covering it with another. He swung down the whip again, and again and again, a sight of terror with fangs bared into an insane snarl and eyes flaming with intense bloodlust.

As Wolf's butchered body shivered between lashes, Drakon's blows became so fast that he had no time to react to the pain, so that it built up into a massive toll. The black Adder-Tongues flew down and raked Wolf's skin, causing blood to fly in merciless amounts. The immense loss of blood only made Wolf weaker and his shivering more, the agony ripping at his weakened senses.

**KERRR-**_**TAKKK!**_

**SHWSH-PAAAKKK!**

The blows became faster and more brutal, until the obsidian-colored scales on Drakon's face were contrasted by the flecks of red blood that splattered against them.

**SHRR-KRAAAK! **

Lash after lash, Wolf's cries became fainter. His face had become sunken and pale from the losing the blood that he now laid in. The wheezing breaths from his mouth had become thin and small, as if hanging on the diminishing fragments of his strength. A patchwork of scars were criss-crossed across his bare chest, some scars hammered at so many times over that the faintest, yellow sign of bone was visible. Even as the lashes didn't increase or decrease in their unpityingly fast rate, the shivers and cringing of his body began to stop.

The endless onslaughts of pain started to be drowning into one gruesome ache and stinging sensation, Wolf's consciousness being engulfed by the blackness of weary fall-out. In the dark of his own closed eyes, his desperate clinging to his senses started to wither and fade…and the sound of the lashes started to grow faint and distorted…

In moments, the pain gripped his body into a state of paralysis. The recoiling and cringing stopped, and Drakon was whipping a frozen body.

The slaves that were watching remained frozen in their state of shock. They had stood rooted in that spot, throughout the entire beating. They stood there, too afraid to overcome their grief at this brutality to move from the spot, but also to afraid to act. The women put clasped their mouths to hide their gasps of anguish, tears of shock brewing from their eyes. The men had a mixed reaction, depending on who they were. The more neutral ones had frozen pictures of horrified shock woven into their expressions, while the quarrelsome ones wore looks of disgust at the harshness of the torture. The naïve ones looked around desperately, like Wolf had before, as if expecting someone to step forward.

And the slaves…the batterd, ragged, mentally-crippled ones only stared on with their hollow and blank expressions. Their empty eyes continued to follow the lashes of the Adder Tongue whips that they feared and remembered so much.

The atmosphere amongst the SharpClaw Elites watching was closer to the slaves' than expected. The smiles and jeering air was now gone, and the expressions among them were as lively as a sealed crypt. True, there was no real sympathy among them, being higher-class SharpClaw with barely any form of mercy present in their calculating minds. But at the torture of a slave had never reached the point where the ground was damp with the massive stain of blood surrounding him, and they were more tense and uncomfortable than anything else.

No amount of bloodlust or harshness they had could match their Drakon's. One by one, each Elite began to shuffle his claws and look away from the intense bloodbath.

_**KERR-**_**TAKKK!**

**WHRRR-PAKKK!**

Finally, shattering the still air of the hushed silence, a voice called out.

"_That's enough!"_

CLAMP!

Just when nothing could shock the onlookers more, a SharpClaw Elite strode forward from the crowded ranks and grabbed Drakon's wrist before he could deal another blow. The other SharpClaws' reptilian eyes widened simultaneously.

The Elite struggled, but managed to restrain the Head Scourge's quivering arm and keep it from swinging down.

Drakon, who still stood in his shoulder-hunched position, looked up furiously at the upstart SharpClaw.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He hissed through bared fangs. "You dare step out of ranks to defy me? Release me, or you'll join him!"

The Elite tore off his black scarf that covered his mouth, revealing his scarlet-scaled face.

"I said ENOUGH! This whipping session ends now!"

Drakon wrenched himself from his grip. "You insolent cur…you can suffer the same fate!" He rose his whip.

But the Scarlet Elite didn't move.

"Think what you're doing, Drakon!" He said with a sharp voice that made the Scourge hesitate. "If you whip him anymore, you'll be carving his corpse! We need him alive, remember? You're the one who said we needed slaves, and not more corpses!"

Drakon's intense scowl faltered. His eyes darted around in irritated realization.

The crowd SharpClaw Elites didn't know what surprised them more: that one of their own went out of his way to oppose Drakon to spare a slave, or the fact that Drakon actually listened.

"If you keep flaying him, there'll be more scars than skin," the Scarlet Elite said. "Eventually, he'll die. And all his strength that we could've used will go to waste. Is that what you want?"

Logic was embedded in his words like stone, but his eyes showed his real intentions. They were mixed with determination, mild regret…even signs of pity.

The Adder-Tongues clinked against each other in Drakon's shaking grip. Finally, Drakon stood straight and wiped the crimson flecks off his face.

"Fine. It doesn't matter…" He looked down at Wolf's motionless body. "The lesson has been learned." His eyes traveled to the group of watching slaves. "By all."

He took off towards the cluster of tents in the distance, tossing his blood-drenched whip into a startled SharpClaw's hands.

Once Drakon was gone from view, the Scarlet SharpClaw looked back at Wolf.

"Someone move him. Take him to the Infirmary Tent, and move quickly. If he doesn't get treatment soon…" His eyebrows knitted together. "He'll join the others outside the walls in the burial mounds."

A pair of Elites walked over (stepping over the blood-stained sand with repulsed grimaces) and took Wolf by his limp arms, who didn't even stir.

The Scarlet SharpClaw looked at the crowd of slaves. "The rest of you! Get to your barracks. There's nothing more to see here."

Without a word, the slaves continued to trudge away, not one of them looking back. The ragged ones shook their heads sadly, all thinking the same thing:

Just another nobody…put in his place like all the rest.

But while all other activities in the slave yard continued, Wolf hung onto the remaining strands of his consciousness. Like all minds, all recollection of his last few seconds of being awake was lost. For all he knew, he was still lying on the ground, being whipped. His mind was too pained to get any farther…

Without sight, feeling, or any of his senses in tune, he was left victim to his own tormenting thoughts that were frozen in the atmosphere of his own pain while he slipped into unconsciousness.

_I can't do it…I can't do it…_

_I can't keep going on like this…_

_God…why did I wait…WHY did I wait so long…?_

_I watched him beat that woman…and kill her baby…_

_I just stood there and watched…I hesitated…just like I had done on Kew…_

_I didn't act in time…_

_I didn't step forward and help because I waited for someone else to do it for me…out of fear that I'd have to risk my own skin…_

_I didn't stand up for them…like a selfish coward and a weakling….and now no one's standing up for me…_

_And they shouldn't…I don't deserve pity…_

_I let this happen…. all of this is my fault…_

The cuts caused him pain, the humiliation was agonizing…but in the end, it was the truth that stung him worst of all.

His whole life, he had always strove to avoid being seen as heroic or courageous like the people he despised…and when the time came for him to not act like a hero, but a decent man at least, to stop wrongdoing that happened in front of him…he had failed.

He failed to defend that family on the Anatarres…and he watched them die. He failed the infant that Drakon slaughtered in cold blood…and watched him die. Now, he had failed to defend himself…

…and everyone was going to watch him die.

If Wolf had been conscious, he almost would've laughed if his pain didn't cripple his body to the point where emotion was non-existent.

It was no use pretending. He knew why this all was happening to him…why he was losing, why he appeared so weak to his enemies and was so defenseless without his Inner Power…

For years, he had been naïve, possessing the thought process of a stupid, arrogant child. He thought every battle was making him stronger, and each one granted him endurance and power in the form of perseverance.

But the whole time, without knowing…he was weak.

He always battled with Inner Power, relying on its destructive impact and the edge it gave to his strength. He relied on it so much, that when it was no longer at his disposal, he was as weak as a newborn child. Stripped of his power and rank, he was pathetic and weak.

All that talk of him being powerful and enduring was all fake. He wasn't a warrior…not a true one….just a pitiful waste to weak to fight without any Inner Power to back him up. There was no real battle-scarred prowess in him…no real strength in his blood and soul…

He was shielded behind his Inner power for so long…he _hid _behind it…and behind it was a coward too afraid to stand up for the weak…low enough to beg for his own life.

And for years, he paraded around like he was unstoppable, taking on hordes of armies single-handedly like an exaggerated myth, stupidly thinking that he would never be dragged down and defeated, and he had nothing to lose…

But he wasn't. Now, he was a ragged, starving, scarred mound of flesh and cowardice, afraid to lose his honor…his best friend…and his life.

Through his struggling for survival, he had always fancied himself to be invulnerable to fighting for a cause, to be some kind of anti-hero…

And it had made him hollow. He didn't stop and think about the fine line between heroism and being human. When that thought was put in his head, he realized what waste it had all been…

_I push myself through years of prison…through hoards of pursuers….through hostile space….through deserts…through slavery…_

…_all for what?_

_Nothing…I've got nothing to fight for…no cause of any kind…_

_No cause…no motivation…_

He was pathetic, weak-willed…false. His entire life of solitude, individuality and heroism was a lie that he forced himself to buy. Everything he knew, everything he was false…he was nothing more than a wasted, humiliated shell of the man he was before…only to be further humiliated by the neglecting galaxy that didn't even know he existed…

A forgotten soldier…a faded legend.

_Tch…_ he thought. _Faded legend…there was no legend to begin with…just a fake._

His consciousness started to drift away…his senses started to deplete…

Death was near. He could feel it.

Not that he cared…death would be a blessing to him now, after everything he had reduced himself to.

Gripped by anguish and hatred of himself, Wolf looked back at his existence with strangled feeling of regret. It was then, that he recalled Andross's scalding words…which were now proven to be true…

"_You only believe what I wanted you to believe, you stupid boy! __Everything you think you know is a lie….a mere delusion…..you thought your status as a fighter was real…..you thought that your constant defying feats were real…but it only helped break you sooner."_

Andross had been right….about everything.

His whole life…everything he knew, and thought he was…was a lie.

He would perish now, in the midst of his own defeat, as he truly was…frail, vulnerable, self-deceived, powerless….and not worth remembering.

As the blackness closed in on his mind, a sorrow-gripped Wolf welcomed it as the last comfort of life, the only soothing to his pain. After years of defying death, surviving through perseverance…he couldn't go on.

It wasn't worth it…not anymore.

Not after everything he had failed to do…everything he had become.

Maybe, just maybe…

Despite his own arrogance, naivety, hollowness, and choices had been cruel to him…after a life of suffering at the merciless feet of fate…

…maybe his death would be kind to him.

_Meanwhile, somewhere on the other side of the Slave Yard…_

While the west side of the Slave Yard was locked in a melancholy silence, the typical atmosphere of heat-worn exhaustion lingered in the east.

The sand-shifting thuds of tools slipping from the relieved hands of slaves echoed across the working site, as everyone anxiously awaited the SharpClaw's only blissful order of the day:

"Remove the chains and escort the slaves back to barracks!"

One by one, SharpClaw Elites walked up and unlocked the rusted, padlocked shackles of each disoriented person that stood in a single-file line.

_Clic-clank!_

The shackles slid off of the blistered ankles of every slave, the cool dusk blowing a soothing wind over the sore mark that dented their skin. With slunk-over backs and half-dead expressions, the group of people known the previous morning as "human beings" trudged back to the stone wall of the fortress to the welcoming sight of iron-barred windows, grimy inmates, and thankfully, a cool cell.

But one figure didn't make it two steps out of his chains before collapsing.

CLUMP!

A SharpClaw Elite turned at the sound, his hand already on the coiled whip on his belt for any form of insolence.

In the distance, he saw a skinny-looking body with sweat-stained clothes that looked too big for him, sprawled on the floor like he'd been crushed flat.

Rolling his eyes in an irritated fashion, the SharpClaw stomped over to where the slave was.

"Hey, YOU!" He barked loudly, causing the other slaves to whirl around in terror of being addressed. "I just issued the order to go back to the cells! I'd like nothing more than to have you sleep out here with the other corpses, but regulation comes first. Now, get up!"

The slave's shoulders shook, but he barely lifted himself off the ground.

SLAM!

The SharpClaw aimed a claw-footed kick at the slave's body.

"Didn't you hear me? I said, GET UP!" His teeth bared behind his face-cloth, his blood boiling from the long day in the heat as well as from his own vile temper. He turned to a slave that was walking near him. "You! Do you know this one here, his name?"

The slave, a ruffled-up furred skunk, jumped to attention. His eyes darted to the body cautiously.

"Him? Oh, um…" His eyebrows furrowed. "He said his name was Vincent Hellavichi. I think he's from Aquas. I mean, I think, I don't really know," he added hastily.

"Aquasian, huh? Well, Mr. Hellavichi, you can either walk your ass to your cell or have me kick it there, it's your choice. Get UP!"

But there was no response from the slave.

The SharpClaw snarled and grabbed him by the scruff of his coat collar, bringing his face up. It was a frail-looking face of a lizard; with yellowed-green scales that made him look sickly in the light of the setting sun. Patches of the scales on his face were dry and falling off, and his eyes were barely open. Beads of sweat collided with one another on his forehead…which seemed strange since the sun was almost down and there was no heat…

"I've just had enough of you, you persistent, shit-stained son of a filthy-"

Suddenly, the lizard's eyes widened, and his electric-blue pupils grew huge. His lips trembled as scales on his face paled, a horrible, bubbling feeling rising up his throat that caused his stomach to tighten nauseously, and provoking a wet feeling in his mouth.

The SharpClaw's sneer melted into a confused expression. "What the-?"

"_UUURRRAAAALLLAAACCCCGGGHHH-!"_

A sickening retching noise tore from the lizard's mouth, as well as an onslaught of thick, gray, wet, and yellow-dotted phlegm all over the SharpClaw's front. The SharpClaw cursed and dropped him instantly, his face half-covered with the black cloth but his eyed wide in repulsed anger.

"JESUS FUCKING-_CHRIST!" _The SharpClaw howled in disgust, his tunic and chain-mail armor mesh covered in chunks of regurgitated food. _"What the hell are you-?"_

Leon looked up with a feeble groan, saliva and whatever else dangling from his open mouth, and the SharpClaw stopped.

"By the Claw…you're in real bad shape…" His eyes darted around, traces of worry in them. "Drakon's not going to like this…"

"Nagendra!"

The SharpClaw looked around at another Elite that was sprinting toward him. The other one stopped and looked at the putrid stains on him, his snout wrinkling.

"Ugh, what happened to you? Wait, never mind that…there's some slave on the western side who wouldn't stand down, so Drakon had to break him."

The first SharpClaw, Nagendra scowled over his stained tunic. "So what else is new, every new batch of slaves has an upstart that needs to be beaten down to size with the Adder Tongues. You came all this way to tell me that?"

"But that's not all. He…he went too far, and…well…" His expression looked uncomfortable. "…he sort of went into a rage. I've never seen him in such a rage. It was like watching Talon's brother in one of his fits. Anyway, the slave's hurt real bad, I mean _real _bad…like that osprey from two years ago…there's so many wounds, on _both _sides of his body, and he isn't moving. I'm serious, he won't even breathe."

The other SharpClaw looked up. "He's not? Who is he?"

"I dunno, some grey canine with an eye missing….I've never seen him before. But anyhow, Drakon's ordered him to be taken to the medical tent, and he wants every Lieutenant with medic experience over a sector of the slave yard to report there and help with the healing procedures!"

Leon's eyes widened at the description, before making a groaning noise that sounded something like: _"Haach-_Wol-_cch_uurgh-ff-! _Kacck-_haach!"

Nagendra scowled. "Look, I've got my own problems. This one here looks like he's in bad condition, and if Drakon finds him dead while I was on the job, he'll kill me. I think he's been stung by one of those NeedleWings….caught their disease, or something."

The other one glanced at Leon. "Fine, just bring him along...knowing Drakon, he'd probably find some way to blame me too."

As he felt his stomach churn and his feet drag across the sand for him, Leon's vision began to blur, and his head began to feel heavy…

Before succumbing to the weight of his own fatigue, one thought remained in his mind.

_Not Wolf…please not Wolf…_

_Take me instead, torture me, kill me instead if you have to…but don't take Wolf…_

_Please, God…don't…_

_No sufficient or nourished thoughts to recollect the passing time…_

While his consciousness danced on the border of illness and awareness, Leon saw nothing but the blur of distorted shapes towering over him like clouds of amoebas, and faint voices ringing nearby.

"….for the best. Just let me kill him. He was probably ill on the way here, anyway. There's no use keeping him alive to rot and only make it smell worse in here."

Even in his state of grogginess and muddled senses, Leon recognized the cruel malice and spite in the voice as that of a SharpClaw, and an Elite at the sound of it.

SHING!

Leon's heart jumped at the sound of a blade being drawn, and his weak wisps of breath became fast.

"NO! Don't harm him!" cried out another voice desperately. "If I can treat him fast enough, he can live…just give me a chance, at least!"

The second voice Leon didn't recognize, but could tell that it belonged to a young woman. Her voice was soft and timid, but sounded frantic with an imploring tone.

"Don't let your sympathy for the scum around here make you forget what your job is here, girl. It's the only thing keeping you from toiling in the heat and chains like the other slaves…so if you forget that job-"

"I can't forget job I'm not allowed to do," the female voice said firmly. "If you don't let help him, he'll succumb to the malaria and die. I'm the only slave here with medical knowledge, and if Drakon finds that one of his workers died with the potential of being saved, because you were impatient…it's not going to look good for you."

"You dare try to threaten me, you little brat?" The first voice roared. "In case you've forgotten, I can always snap your pretty little neck and still make it look like an accident!"

"Maybe…but…" The other voice cleared her throat, trying to hide the tremble in her voice. "If you kill me, Drakon will lose hiss only healer. That means less work and more death…you and I both know that."

Leon didn't know who this girl was, but the way she held her ground bravely made him admire her courage and persistence. Not to mention that she was standing up for someone she didn't know…

After a tense pause, and no immediate response from either voice, the SharpClaw spoke up, a definite presence of caution in his speech.

"Fine…just heal him quickly. Tell me what you need, and I'll send a SharpClaw Emissary to Catalaya and get the supplies."

Leon felt a hand pull a blanket over his shivering body.

"There's no time for that. He needs treatment now…just get whatever you can find from the stock we have left in the fortress and I'll see what I can do. He looks strong enough to hold out for a few more hours, but after that there'll be nothing I can do. Right now, I need some proguanil, some chloroquine, water and fresh blankets. The medicine should be in the silver tin on the bandage container next to the door of the Supply Shed…hurry!"

There was the sound of clawed feet scraping the sound and the brushing of a cloth tent flap.

Leon shivered and cough, looking up for the comfort of a face through the blurry layer of his vision.

"Ugh…_acch…_pl-pl…"

He felt small, gentle fingers rest on his fever-stricken forehead.

"Shhh…don't talk, please. You need to save your energy. Don't worry…you'll be safe here. I won't let anyone hurt you."

His head started to feel heavy, and he was afraid he'd pass out before he could ask her to help Wolf. Grunting with effort, he raised his head slightly and squeezed out as many words out of his weak throat as he could.

"Please, my friend…_haaach _-ukk…he's hurt in the West part of the yard…please help him, he's a wolf with-"

He saw the blurry outline of a figure rummaging through a satchel and pulling out something he couldn't make out.

"Please…I need you to rest. I'll help your friend as soon as he arrives…he'll be fine, you both will. Now, can you swallow this?"

"Y-Yeah…"

He opened his mouth slightly and felt the unmistakable bland surface of a pill slide down his dry tongue and sore throat.

A sleeping pill…

"Wait…" Leon called out weakly, as his eye-lids became heavy. "Who are you…?"

His vision became black, and his shivering became replaced by the warm comfort of sleep. The last thing his mind lingered on before he slept was the sound of the gentle voice.

"My name's Fay. Fay Weldon."

_End of Chapter_

Ooooooohhhh…

You thought those characters in the beginning of the story were for show? Heheh, NOPE.

Well, it seems our story is taking shape….and now, after years of monotonous Gary-Stueness, Wolf has been exposed to his own flaws. Character development time!

Stay tuned for Chapter 12, people!


	12. Chapter 12

_Chapter 12: Marching On - Part 1_

_Unknown Location within the SharpClaw Slave Yard, Titania, 5 ALW (HMD Period)_

The past few hours had been nothing but an onslaught of muddled and senseless confusion for Wolf.

The only instances he recalled happened during the brief moments he was flung into the cold, blurry concioussness of being half-awake, and the rest of the time when his heavy head dragged him back into the muddled blackness of sleep.

The clearest, but nonetheless vaguest things he remembered were the sounds of something clattering, the intense stinging of something being driven in to his skin before being ripped out, and the somewhat soothing sound of a voice...a woman's voice, or what at least sounded like one.

It was soft, and gentle...but at the same time, it sounded frantic.

He didn't know that voice...but, at the same time, there was something familiar about voice...

It was at that moment that Wolf woke with a start.

The first thing he felt and heard was the sound of his warm breath hitting a layer of cloth that lay under his face. He realized that they were bedsheets, thick ones too...but as he moved slightly, he realized how scratchy and uncomfortable they were against his fur.

His eyes opened and blinked sleepily, his groggy vision focusing on something that stood next to him. As the light and shape distinguished themselves in his vision, he made it out to be a wooden table, with a large basin of water sitting on it.

The sight of water made him smack his lips thirstily, remembering how sore his throat was...

But it wasn't. In a moment, he realized that his throat _wasn't _dry or dehydrated...which was strange.

That's when he realized how cool he was...wherever that may be. The lack of sun confirmed that he was indoors...the inside of a tent, from the look of the patch of sunshine that shone vaguely through a stitched-cloth roof. His eyes were soon drawn by instinct to the sliver of sunlight that shone through a vertical slip down the tent's cloth door-flap.

_Why am I here...?_

_What happened...?_

For a brief second, he thought that maybe he was in his room, on the Passenger's Quarters Deck of the _Anatarres._

_Wait...no..._

_It was destroyed...I watched it happened..._

Suddenly, an onslaught of images flashed in Wolf's mind from the bowels of his disoriented memory.

An endless sea of sand with his footprints trailing across its vast reaches…

Leon's frail-looking face in the dim light of the Caravan…

The stomach-clenching sight of a girl screaming over a blood-soaked bundle of cloth with a pike protruding from it…

The long strands of a metal-tipped whip with his own blood on it…

His gleaming Claw in the sand, just inches away…so close in his reach…

A dozen faces, all wearing looks of pity and shame…

…and the grin of a triumphant-looking Drakon.

The cold harshness of reality washed over him slowly, each element of everything he had witnessed when he was awake coming back and driving itself into his heart.

He sank back into the sheets.

It hadn't been a dream…or a nightmare. It was all real.

If misery hadn't proven itself more dominant than irony, he would've laughed at himself for hopelessly thinking that none of it had ever happened…and that he was still aboard the _Anatarres._

Wolf looked up at the illuminated cloth-ceiling of the tent he was in, breathing out a miserable sigh.

_All a dream…_

_Tch…if only I could dream up something that horrible…_

Even as he lay back, staring at the ceiling, he couldn't get Drakon's evil smile out of his mind…or the echoes of the countless threats about breaking Wolf…

_But I survived…_

_I thought no one survived…and those that did became broken… _

At that very instant, Wolf's eyes widened.

A horrible feeling of terror pinched coldly at his insides and slithered up his suddenly-fast heart and stomach. His lungs tightened and he almost stopped breathing, the horrible possibility repeating itself in his mind…

_Am I…alive, but also broken…_

_Did I endure the pain but became mentally crippled like the other slaves before me?_

_Is THAT why I can't feel my wounds or my thirst? Can I not feel or think, like them?_

The terror attacked his senses overwhelmingly, thoughts of losing all line of being and dependence…to reach the level of sightless, thoughtless animals like _them…_

What if it had already happened and he didn't know it?

What if he had lost his sanity right before he blacked out?

_Wait…no, calm down…_

_Calm down, you aren't defeated yet…_

He shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

_You can still see, can't you? _He told himself with shaky reassurance._ And you can still feel the scratchiness of the sheets, and the ache in your bones, and the weariness of morning fever…_

_I can still feel…my senses aren't broken…_

_And I still have a sane line of thought…I think…_

_Then I'm not…at least, I don't think I am…_

A gushing exhale of relief left Wolf's mouth, and breathing became easier.

For a horrible moment, he thought that he had succumbed to the pain and let his sanity and senses slip away from him. But it was all right…he had fallen low, but not _that _low…

Then, his ears perked up at the sound of rustling footsteps coming from the outside of the tent-flap door. Under the blanket draped over him, Wolf's hand flew to his waist on instinct, reaching for the spot where his Claw usually hung from his belt. Maybe after doing it for so long, the automatic gesture was a side effect of his cautious nature…which made things even more painful when his hand groped at nothing and he remembered that it wasn't there.

The footsteps faded away, indicating that whoever it was probably was just passing by the tent, rather than entering it. Judging by the heavy thuds of the footsteps and the clinking sound of chain mail, Wolf guessed that it had been a SharpClaw, an Elite by the sound of it.

Thinking about SharpClaw only made him feel more cautious, causing him to look around.

Sitting up, he realized that the tent he was in wasn't as spaced out as it seemed to him while lying down. There were three other beds in a row next to him, like stretcher beds in a hospital, all cluttered together like the other tables and assorted objects in the room. Clearly, whoever owned this tent had to move the tables and stretchers around constantly just to get around in this tiny place. Everything else in the room was either strewn across the floor or in untidy piles, as if amidst some kind of frantic situation. Dirty and used bandages were strung on the floor, as if cast aside in the rush of changing new ones. The table was a chaotic heap of syringes, medical tools, and empty buckets. Numerous pill bottles were toppled over, most of them without lids so that countless pills of every size and color were scattered all over the table. An unlit oil lamp creaked from its hanging spot over the bed next to Wolf, which had a huge pile of messy, crumpled, and mostly bloody bandages sitting on the sheets.

But what caught Wolf's attention in an instant was the person sitting on the other bed.

"Oh, good, you're awake. 'Bout time you woke up…I was getting tired of waiting. You know, if I didn't have a shred of respect in me, I could've easily smacked you awake with a pillow like You know, if I didn't have a shred of respect in me, I could've easily smacked you awake with a pillow like _you _always do to _me. _Luckily for you, I'm not that big of a prick."

"_Leon!"_

The tall and lean chameleon grinned his signature mischievous smile and stood up. He looked much better than when Wolf had last seen him. His eyes were no longer tired and had returned to their charismatic form. His scales were no longer dry and yellowish, but back to their lush green. Days of recovery had erased the sunken and frail traits from his face, and his body showed that his weight was slowly returning.

Relief returned to Wolf like recovered breath. The sight of the only friend he had left in the world had been the best one in the miserable past few hours.

"Jesus, Leon…I thought you were dead! The whole time I was by myself, I was constantly thinking about the state you were in when I last saw you, and how the conditions of this place could cripple you! But…" His eyes wandered up and down Leon's body. "You look much better. What happened? Did you recover?"

"Yeah, I was lucky enough to have some nice help, and I made a fast recovery." He narrowed his eyes skeptically. "Besides, after all the shit I've scraped my way out of, I really doubt that it'd be _malaria _that would kill me."

Wolf scowled. "Well, still…don't take chances. Take a bath in insect repellent if you have to, just avoid getting malaria again. You aren't allowed to die on me unless I tell you to…you're my right-hand wing. Irreplaceable, remember?"

Leon threw up his hands. "All right, all right…I'll get enough repellent to kill the whole species. But what about you? You were doing so bad, I was getting scared _you'd _die. And I'm pretty hard to scare, believe me…"

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. He looked down at his bare chest and saw a cluster of dressed bandages strapped hastily around his torso and stomach, along with white bandages wrapped around his hands.

He reached back and touched the bandaged scars on his back. "Huh…all my wounds have been treated. They healed up pretty fast for a few hours."

"A few hours?" Leon said. "Wolf, you've been injured longer than that. Your treatment finished last night."

Wolf sat up, feeling a little anxious. "How long have I been out?"

"A good week and a half, at least."

"A week and a half…" Wolf repeated. "Wait…who treated me?"

"I did. Well, technically, I've just been changing your bandages for the past few days. The one who treated your wounds was the same person who nursed me back to health….some girl. Her name was Fay. Fay…something."

"Don't you remember her last name?" Wolf asked.

Leon scratched his head. "I dunno, she told me right before I passed. Anyway, she's a canine, like you…but not a wolf. She's some white dog breed, red bow in her hair…she said she came from a Collie family, but she looks more like a Spaniel girl to me. Anyway, she's the only one with any medical knowledge around here, or so I've heard. Not the best medical skills, but I can't expect everyone else to have excelled at human anatomy. But she did enough to get me back to health… pretty fast, too. You took longer, though."

"What do you mean?" Wolf asked.

Leon scooted over and pointed to the pile of messy bandages next to him. "See all these? These are all yours, pal. You were losing so much blood that she had to constantly change the dressing. The scars were too deep and could've been infected really easily in this environment."

A sickening ripple spun through Wolf's stomach as he looked at the countless bandages. "I bled through all of those? Damn…"

"Yeah. That girl treated your wounds and sewed them up all by herself. Poor kid, I've never seen someone so frantic. She didn't have any help, so I stayed behind give her as much aid as I could. And that was after I recovered, so I have no idea how she managed to heal _both_ of us by herself."

Wolf looked around at the scattered mess. "Where is she now?"

Leon shrugged. "I don't know. She left early yesterday…said something about attending to something on the western side of the Slave Yard. Some violent incident with some of the newer slaves broke out, apparently."

Wolf sat at the edge of his bed, wincing slightly at the pinching of his scars. "Well, whoever she is, remind me to catch up with her. If she doesn't know who I am, and still went out of her way to save my life…the least I can do is thank her."

Leon got off the bed and stretched, his eyes darting cautiously to the tent-flap. "You can look for her later…we both can. But now isn't the right time. Drakon and the SharpClaw still think you're in a state of injury. By his orders, no one's allowed to touch you until you've recovered. But now that you have, you're back to slave status again. Except everybody thinks you've been broken." He managed a half-smile. "Once you're out and about, you can prove'em wrong."

Wolf nodded, but turned away quickly. "Yeah…right."

His eyes lowered in a melancholy state.

_He doesn't know…._

_He's probably stuck in this tent as long as I have, so no one's told him yet…_

"Hey…are you all right?" Leon asked concernedly. "Are those wounds still bothering you? There's plenty of medical aid here, if anything still hurts."

Wolf snapped out of it and looked back. "Um, no…it's fine! Really..." He nodded reassuringly, trying to wipe his face clean of any weakness or misery.

Everyone else thought Wolf was weak…he didn't need that kind of humiliating sympathy from Leon.

Leon looked around. "Well, we should probably take advantage of this tent before the SharpClaw find us recovered and drag us out. We better smuggle some bandages, some water-"

Wolf looked up immediately, his heart skipping a beat. "There's _water? _WHERE?"

Leon pointed to a bowl sitting on the side-table. "It's there, but it's for cleaning wounds, not-"

SPLASH.

Wolf grabbed the bowl, water sloshing clumsily from his shaking hands, and raised the brim to his mouth. He gulped down the water greedily, so fast that most dribbled past his mouth and down his chin.

"Jesus, Wolf, slow down!"

Gulping the water too quickly for his throat too keep up, a squirt of it shot down the wrong tube, causing Wolf to drop the bowl and cough some choked-out breaths.

Leon patted him on the back, trying to relieve the cough from him. "Take it easy. You're gonna be sick if you drink water that fast…and believe me, puking is not a fun experience."

Wolf wiped his mouth, exhaling hoarsely. "Sorry…I just haven't had water in a long time. I guess I've missed it too much…"

He picked up the bowl, which luckily had landed on its bottom with water still in it, and sipped it slower this time.

"By the way," Leon said. "I met up with that Riley kid while I was out getting bandages for you. The SharpClaw haven't done much to him."

"Riley's alright?" Wolf looked up from his bowl "That's good…the little punk did what I told him and kept out of trouble. But is he still…?"

Leon furrowed his eyebrows quizzically, but then realized what he meant. "Oh no, he's not broken. He's been moved to cementing blocks up the temple…so he's not been exposed to any grueling work lately. But never mind that…" He looked back at the tent flap, and walked over to close it tighter. "We've been talking a bit about making an escape from this place."

Wolf's ears perked up at the word. "Escape? To where? We're in the desert, there's no place to run off to!"

"Not entirely," Leon replied. "These SharpClaw aren't the only ones on planet. They get their supplies from the SharpClaw's main city…that Riley kid called it 'Catalaya'."

"Catalaya…" Wolf echoed. "Yeah, I heard one of those Desert Raiders mention that place while I was tied to their speeder. What kind of city is it, exactly?"

"It's a populated city, the only one on Titania. It's near a river, so it's inhabitable. But it's supposed to be huge, and other people, the ones that aren't resistant enough to be broken into slaves live there under the SharpClaw. Their ruler, General Talon, is supposed to live there as well."

"Wait, hold on a minute," Wolf interrupted. "You said 'people that didn't get broken into slaves'. You mean that there are Lylatians outside this slave yard?"

Leon nodded. "That's right. The ones that disobey the SharpClaw are either killed or sent here. Almost all of them were stranded here, like us. But there are thousands of people there, Wolf…_hundreds _of thousands. It's the perfect place to get lost in and plan the next move. It'll be just like the time we headed into Corneria City to lay low after we left the Academy, remember?"

Wolf blinked. "We did? When?"

"Six years ago. You know…" Leon said, like it was obvious. "It's when we were on the run after we left….before we met Andross, and…" He stopped, suddenly looking uneasy. "And…well, you know…_it _happened."

"What do you mean, _it?"_

Leon pointed to his own eye, as if trying to say it as gingerly as possible. "You know…you lost it."

Wolf remained silent, staring at him blankly. He had no idea what he was talking about.

"Lost what? You're not making any sense, Leon."

Leon let out an exasperated sigh.

"Your eye, Wolf!" He said in an irritated voice. "Jeez, did you have to make me say it? You're the one who always said it was a touchy subject and never to bring it up."

"Oh, yeah…I did." Wolf nodded, remembering how he got angry at Riley for asking too much about it before.

He didn't remember why, though…

"Wolf?"

"What?" Wolf looked up instantly. "You say something?"

Leon looked at him sideways. "You know, you seem a little disoriented. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I told you, I'm fine!" Wolf repeated angrily. "I just feel a little uneasy, that's all!"

"Alright, alright!" Leon threw his hands up defensively. "You just seem a little odd, that's all…"

Wolf _tched _under his breath and looked away. Then he stopped.

He was still trying not to appear weak in front of Leon, but that wasn't why he lied and said he was fine. He literally didn't know what Leon had been talking about…

…but that just made him feel even more troubled. What was going on?

Leon sat down next him, dropping his voice to a tone of sympathy. "Hey, don't get angry, okay? I was just…I mean, I know what it's like to be uneasy after recovering. I felt the same way after leaving Papetoon after that mission during the war." He laughed reminiscently. "Yeah, we were both uneasy after what happened there. You were the one who was the most anxious after that."

"Yeah, I know…" Wolf said absentmindedly, still thinking about what he had said about 'losing his eye'. Then he looked up. "Hold on…what mission?"

Leon leaned back against the rack behind the bed. "You know, that mission Andross sent us on after regrouping with the Legion…"

"No, Leon, I don't," Wolf replied. This was starting to make him tense. "What mission are you talking about? We never went to Papetoon." His determined gaze slackened. "Did we?"

"What's the matter with you?" Leon asked, looking at him like he had asked him what gender he was. "Seriously, you're acting weird…like a totally different person. You don't remember going to Papetoon…you barely knew what I was talking about when I mentioned that duel on Macbeth, when you lost your eye-"

"Will you calm down, it's nothing!" Wolf insisted. He sighed in annoyance, but then looked back. "Wait…that was on Macbeth?"

Leon stared at him.

"Something's wrong…something's very wrong here. You've never acted like this before…did something happen?"

"No!" Wolf repeated. "I mean, yes! I mean…ugh…" He rubbed his head, which suddenly felt heavy. "I don't know! I might be still disoriented from being unconscious for so long. But I'll probably get over it…"

He shifted his legs and sat on the edge of the bed, facing away from Leon.

"Maybe…" Leon said slowly. "But maybe not…"

Wolf could hear the suspicion peeking through the concern in Leon's voice, and could feel his eyes stare at him keenly. There wasn't any fooling him…he knew something was strange…

But who could blame him? Wolf was as confused as he was. What was happening? And why?

He rubbed his shoulder anxiously, feeling helpless again, but now more in the sense that he didn't know what was going on versus not having any strength to get involved.

Then, his mind revolved to a possibility…

His Inner Power was acting strange too.

His eye narrowed. Was there a link between the two things…?

He blinked.

_Probably not…_

_Don't worry about it… _He told himself firmly. _It's just a side-effect of the trauma, that's all…_

_Yeah…just a little disoriented confusion…that's all it is…_

Not buying the comfortless lie he kept telling himself and unable to ignore Leon's gaze piercing him from behind, he looked back.

"Never mind…just forget it. Did you and Riley talk about anything else?"

"No…" Leon said slowly, his eyes still fixed, as if clinging to the previous topic. "We didn't come with an escape plan yet. I told him we should wait for you, since you're the best strategist out of the two of us. Besides, you got out of Denique Fatum (but I didn't tell him that), so getting out of here should be easy for you. That's why I was waiting for you to wake up…to ask you."

Wolf turned around. "Ask me what?"

"What's the plan?" Leon said. "What's your plan to escape? Come on, give me the details. Riley will want to know."

_Clink._

Wolf set the bowl down on the side-table and sat there for a moment. A melancholy feeling stung his throat like the burn of thirst, like he hadn't left the desert at all.

There was no avoiding it.

"Leon...what did you hear about what happened with me and Drakon?"

Leon hesitated. "Well…I don't know. I heard rumors, most of them were exaggerated…but from the scraps of truth in between the rumors, I could tell you got beaten really badly." He looked down on the ground uncomfortably. "But…it doesn't matter now that you've recovered, right?"

"What do you think really happened?"

"I…I don't….know. I don't know, Wolf. I wasn't there."

Wolf looked down at the palm of his hand. He could still feel the leather-bound grip of the Claw clenched between his fingers. His claws flexed, tracing the points where they had brushed the handle of the Claw when it was a few inches away from him.

So close…

It had been so close…

"Wolf?" Leon asked in a tentative voice. "What happened up there on the other side of the slave yard? What really happened?"

Wolf clenched his fist and shut his eyes, exhaling with difficulty to soothe the emotional burden of recalling the traumatic events.

"I was just a bystander. That's all I was for five whole minutes. Just another stupid, selfish, inconsiderate bystander, not wanting to risk his own hide for anyone or anything lower than him…nothing that wasn't in his 'best interest'. I was walking back to my barracks, when…when I heard a scream. I looked around and saw a girl…a feline maybe eighteen or nineteen years old, kinda looked like Katt only less…" His gaze traveled around the tent, trying to find the right word. "…vivacious."

Leon's eyebrows furrowed confusedly. "So what, a girl that looked like Katt…nothing unusual about it…nothing to make you stop. Why did you-?"

"She was being beaten, viciously. By a SharpClaw."

There was a silence.

Leon looked down tensely, seeing where this was going. "Look, I know it's hard to pass the chance to stand up for people around here. I can't count the number of times I've seen women and children get abused around here and felt the urge to help, but….I have to restrain myself. You should've kept going."

Wolf let his head sink and his gaze fall. "I know I should've, I know should…but I kept watching. And then, Drakon came forward and…decided to deal with her himself…and…" He cleared his throat.

"What?" Leon leaned forward. "Wolf, what did he do?"

"He…" He choked out an anguished breath. He coughed loudly, trying to hide the shakiness in his voice as the memory replayed itself in his head. "He found that she had an infant child around her chest in a bundle…a son…and he…"

He cleared his throat. The horrible image of the pike's silhouette against the setting sun, plunged into the bleeding bundle of rags, grew more detailed and lifelike in Wolf's head.

After some tight exhales and more miserable attempts at words, Wolf clenched his fist and forced himself to speak.

"He killed him."

The silence that followed was heavy with a cryptic air. Neither one of them said anything for a long time, until Leon spoke.

"Jesus…" His electric-blue eyes were wide. "And it happened in front of you?"

"It was the worst death I had ever seen…and I've seen many lives taken in dishonorable cold blood…but this was completely different." The entire event seemed more vivid in Wolf's mind, with the recollection of every detail. "He didn't scream, he didn't cry…he didn't even wake up. I just watched as he….stopped moving…and stopped breathing."

"What did you do?"

Wolf shook his head. "I didn't know what to do, for the longest time…it was like everything in my body had stopped working. I couldn't think, I couldn't move…I, I wanted to run…either away or towards them, I didn't care….but my legs wouldn't move. They felt so heavy…" Wolf sat there in silence for a moment, and then looked up. "And then I looked at Drakon…and…"

Wolf stopped, and remained silent. His expression was blank.

"And what?" Leon asked anxiously. "Then what?"

He continued to sit there, until he clenched his hands so had that he could hear the bandages on them tighten. His expression suddenly became hard as concrete.

"I looked at the way he smiled...like he was triumphant. The way he stepped over the body like it was a pile of dead leaves…the complete disregard for the value of that child's life…the way he laughed at its suffering…" His stare burned through the cloth on the tent wall in front of him. "It was just like Andross…the way he talked about everyone he had killed….like they were insignificant, just worthless test tubes that he could demolish without a breath of remorse. Just watching him, I was filled with more than anger…it was rage…mad rage. I wanted to kill him, Leon..." He stared at his hands, which were now shaking. "I wanted to rip his legs off and make him sprint for his life…I wanted to clutch his skull in my hands until it shattered. I hadn't felt that angry in a long time…not even in front of Andross…not since…"

His eyes wandered, and the haunting laugh of the Devourer echoed in his ears.

"What happened after that?"

"I didn't stop to think…I didn't wait. I was too angry…I was too fixed on killing him…so I charged at him. I knocked him over, and I hit him and clawed his face, again and again…until his blood was all over the sand. And right as I started to choke him, while I had him pinned to the ground…some of his men grabbed me and attacked me from behind. I tried to get back up, to fight back…but they were too strong. And right when they had me pinned against a flat rock…right when I couldn't do anything but struggle like a fly caught in a web…Drakon took out that horrible whip…that iron one…and he beat me."

The memory alone of the Adder Tongues ripping at the flesh on his back made Wolf shudder. His wounds seemed to sting at the thought, causing his fur to bristle.

"I couldn't do anything. I was so helpless…I didn't have any Inner Power, any weapon…I didn't even have the strength to resist and fight him. I was so weak...even when I had the chance to strike him down. It was like watching that family get murdered on the _Anatarres_…except I was bring reminded constantly that I didn't act soon enough…that I failed. By the time he had whipped me so much that I couldn't feel my skin anymore…I had already begged for him to stop. _Me_…begging like a child. The rest I can't even remember…I was in too much pain to see an inch in front of my face…let alone speak."

"But you lived," Leon said, his hopeful voice trying to make the most of things. "You made it out alive…and sane. From what I hear, most people don't even remain mentally stable after suffering that kind of abuse, but you managed to. I guess you've got years of endurance to thank for that."

"Yeah, Leon, but…I still lost." Wolf let his head sink miserably. "I didn't step in soon enough…and when I was too late, I couldn't even avenge that child's death. I was beaten...broken…humiliated. I couldn't defend anyone…or myself." He clenched his fist, angry at himself. "All because I can't protect anyone for shit just because my Inner Power doesn't work. This is the second time this has happened…when someone died because I couldn't protect them…"H

"But, Wolf…" Leon stood up and walked around the bed to face him. "You can avenge that kid…you can avenge everyone, when we escape. You think I don't want to make these SharpClaw scum pay for what they've done? We both can…we just need a plan to escape, and fight back. You've got to have one, Wolf…" He looked down at him knowingly. "You always do…you're the leader of Star Wolf. We've gotten out of worse messes than this…thanks to you planning something on the spot. So, please…tell me. What are we going to do? What _is _your plan?"

Wolf said nothing for a moment, his eyes still fixed on the ground. Then he looked up.

"There is no plan, Leon."

Leon stared at him.

"_What?"_

"There isn't one. It's over…all of it. I've failed you…" Wolf sighed and stood up. "You and everyone else."

"You're giving up? You're joking, right?" Leon dashed in front of him and grabbed him by the shoulders. "After everything that's happened…after every prison, pursuer, Liberator, and hostile space we've escaped…the desert we've crossed, the wounds we've suffered…you're just going to give up and call it quits? Why would even _consider _that?"

Wolf shook himself from Leon's grasp. "We've gone as far as we can. We've got no power or influence down here…or anywhere else in the galaxy. There's nothing we can do now. If we keep going the way we're going now, we'll always end up in defeat…and eventually death."

Leon looked at him with disbelief, and then his expression hardened. "I don't know what that SharpClaw did to you, but you need to snap out of it quick. You're not acting like yourself…someone would have to kill you before you'd ever admit defeat."

Wolf scowled. "He didn't do anything to me, Leon…I tried to fight back and I lost, alright? That's all there is to it. The sooner you realize that, the better."

"So that's it?" Leon spat in contempt. "That's the end of everything? After talking about the value of freedom, and how you want to oppose the Inquisitor and everyone else…after all these years of your resistance and determination that I know so well…I'd have thought you would have fallen for a worthier reason."

"You think it's easy for me to admit that I've lost?" Wolf threw his hands up in exasperation. "It's the only choice I have left! I've lost everything else…my honor, my identity…everything! What else can I do but stay alive in defeat, if not die, Leon? You tell me!"

"It's better to keep going or die honorably than wallow in a lifetime of shame and defeat." Leon folded his arms skeptically. "You were the one who told me that for years, Wolf. Did that philosophy get torn off by that whip along with your skin? "

Wolf's angry expression faltered and he looked away. "Things were different then. Times were different…_I _was different. I was stronger than this…and my Inner Power still worked."

"Wait, your Inner Power? _That's _what this is about?" Leon asked. "You think you lost because you didn't have Inner Power to back you up?"

"I don't think, Leon, I _know._" Wolf rubbed his temples. "I think it's gone for good. It hasn't worked since we were on the _Anatarres, _and I don't think it'll ever work again. And it certainly didn't help me out here…"

Leon's eyebrows knitted quizzically. "What, did that weird paralysis thing happen like when you were on board the ship?"

"No…but without it, something worse happened…over a matter of time, too…" Wolf stopped rubbing his forehead and looked at his hands with frustration. "I was stupid this whole time. I had been using it continuously, for years now…and without realizing it, I had started to depend on it too much…so much, that I can't defend myself without it. I've become weak, without any offense…" He let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm useless."

"Come on, Wolf, you're being stupid _now." _Leon shook his head. "Your lack of Inner Power isn't why you lost out there…you were outmatched, by strength and numbers. That's not something to mope about. Nobody, least of all you could stand that."

"But I could before!" Wolf turned around suddenly. "Don't you see, Leon? I could take down dozens on my own back when I had Inner Power…and now I can't even hold my own without it!"

"And what about all those times you did _before _you got Inner Power?" Leon asked. "You learned how to fight professionally at the Academy years before you got Inner Power. You're just underestimating yourself. Besides, all those times, you fought your way through legion after legion using your wits and strategy, not raw muscle. That's what you have to do here with the SharpClaw when the time comes."

"What good will it do?" Wolf said in hopeless doubt. "Without my Inner Power, against these SharpClaw, all that means nothing! I'll just be defeated again, and more innocents will either die in my stead or because I couldn't protect them! I won't let it happen again!"

"Your resolve's so broken after one defeat?" Leon asked furiously. "After getting back up to fight so many times, after continuously pursuing Star Fox, all that determined persistence dies on the note of one defeat? You sound like the cowards you ridicule so much!"

"_I'm not a coward if I want to stop being the cause of innocents' death!" _Wolf yelled angrily. "I won't keep being defeated and then getting back to fight again and again until the piles of corpses blot out the grains of sand in this desert! If I have to stop fighting permanently to prevent people from dying because of me, then so be it!"

Leon's eyes glowered heatedly. "You're going to stop fighting? This is your solution? Running away from the problem instead of confronting it like you always so?" His teeth were bared as he seethed through them. "I'd never figure that you, the Leader of Star Wolf…the man I've followed for my entire life as a pilot…was such a damn coward."

Wolf stared at him with enraged disbelief. In the past few days, the government, the entire Lylat System, and the SharpClaw had turned against him.

And now, Leon, his only friend, had as well.

Wolf raised a fist threateningly, voice quaking with anger.

"You shut the hell up, do you hear me? I couldn't give a damn about what kind of a person you think I am. This has nothing to do with you. You don't care about how I feel…how could you? You don't even KNOW!"

In a huff, he swung around and sprinted towards the opposite end of the tent, prepared to haul as much medical supplies as he could before leaving.

But Leon didn't move.

"Tch, yes, _of course!" _He was so angry he was almost laughing. "HOW? How could I possibly know how helpless you feel? How could I know what it's like not to have Inner Power?"

Wolf stopped in his tracks, the anger inside of him melting away into a hollow sense of realization.

He looked back at Leon, the furious expression gone from his face.

For what seemed like the first time, he actually questioned how Leon survived everything with him…he didn't have any Inner Power, and he had been in every scathing situation with him. All he had was his wits…

As he stood there, Wolf actually pondered the possibility…that maybe Leon was the stronger out of the two of them.

Leon held on to his angry expression too, before conforming to a straightened posture. "Don't get me wrong…I don't need it. Just think twice before you put your little 'Inner-Powered' self above us 'regular' people. Besides…no matter how powerful you, Fox, or anyone else with Inner Power thinks they are…just remember you didn't always have it. You had to struggle before that…just like the rest of us."

Wolf said nothing. How could he? Leon was right, about all of that, and he knew it. There wasn't a single heated argument he could snatch from his blunt and high-strung hotheadedness that could counter it.

"So if you aren't going to fight…" Leon said slowly. "What is it you plan to do? Those SharpClaw won't let you just have your merry way around here. They'll just keep hurting and breaking you."

Wolf looked up. "It doesn't matter. I doubt they'll put any more effort in binding me down and beating me again…not now that they think I'm broken like the other slaves. I can take the work and heat…that was never the problem. If we both stay in line and keep our heads down…" He rubbed his bandages, twinges of regret stinging him. "…we can avoid getting involved…before failing."

"But that won't solve the issue at hand," Leon insisted. "Keeping our heads low won't keep us safe."

"We don't need to stay safe, we need to stay alive," Wolf said. "For as long as possible. We don't have a choice around here. All we can do is take the pain and the labor before someone on the outside does something to stop the SharpClaw. If what you said was true, and there _are _other Lylatians, then there will be others wanting to take a stand against Drakon and his slave drivers. We just have to stay alive till then."

"So that's it?" Leon asked in disbelief. _"That's _your strategy? To stay alive like rats for an unknown amount of time, to watch people around us cry in agony while we wait for a rescue that may never come? How hard did Drakon whip you?"

Wolf looked up angrily. "Do you have a better idea? You don't have a strategy either! You just say you want to 'rise up and attack the SharpClaw' like it's shooting asteroids with a Dreadnought laser!"

"Anything's better than skulking around like cowards and taking abuse like weaklings!" Leon retorted. "Besides, do you think laying low will keep you alive? Or maybe you haven't learned a damn thing from the slaves around you. After you've been taking lashes and labor for a few days, time will pass till a week goes by, and then a month. By that time, you'd have become a ragged, mindless, deformed version of your previous self like the others! Is that what you want?"

"No!" Wolf turned away, stung by the harsh realism in Leon's words.

"Then what? What do you plan to do at that point?"

"Something!" Wolf clasped his face in angry confusion and pressure. "I don't k

now!"

"OF COURSE you don't know!" Leon bellowed, almost ecstatic with rage. "You haven't thought it through because you haven't thought ANYTHING through in the past few days! You haven't made one good decision since we left Venom! Your first instinct was to fight the Inquisitor if I hadn't stopped you! Your first instinct was to head into that Warp Zone and land us in this hellhole! And your first instinct was to attack Drakon after he killed that boy, you attacked him head on before you had thought up a plan of attack! You know, for a person who criticizes James McCloud so much, you really seem to trust your instincts more than common sense!"

Scorned by the upbringing of that topic as well as being compared to James, Wolf turned on him angrily.

"Don't you _dare _bring that into this! If you know so much in your infinite logic, what the hell would you have done?"

Leon stared at him for the longest time, torn between his own realism and emotions. "I…I would've _thought _before I attacked. I know it can be hard…but maybe restraining your anger would've helped. At any rate, I probably wouldn't have stepped in. There's was nothing you could've done. Outnumbered, and outmatched…it wasn't your-"

"It's not what?" Wolf attacked him suddenly, daring him to say it. "Not my place to get involved? Not my problem?"

"No…no…" Leon said in a strained voice. "But, it's not your time to get involved. You were in chains…you were weak from the desert. You weren't armed either…you couldn't have stood a chance anyway-"

"_But I could have stopped that bastard from killing him!" _Wolf yelled. "I could've acted sooner. Yeah, fine…maybe you're right. Maybe I didn't have to pick a fight with those SharpClaw, but I still could've protected that boy!"

"How?" Leon demanded. "With no chains and no weapon? You would've been murdered on the spot!"

Wolf's expression hardened. "Maybe…but at least he would've been safe!"

"Oh, come on Wolf, use your head for a moment!" Leon said in an exasperated voice. "You think after the SharpClaw stepped over your bleeding corpse there would be anything stopping them from killing that woman and her son?"

Fuming, Wolf opened his mouth, ready to shout a retort…but again, found no counterargument. As much as it drove him crazy, as furious as it made him…Leon's words were true.

"Just remember what I told you aboard the _Anatarres, _Wolf. You're no good to anyone dead."

Wolf turned away, torn apart by his own anger at himself, at Drakon…and Leon for not being on his side…and also being right. He walked over to the tent flap door.

"Never mind…it's pointless talking this over with you. It's clear that we don't see things the same way. I'm leaving. I've had enough losing…enough sorrow…enough failure. I've had enough of everything. Maybe you don't have Inner Power…but you still don't know how I feel. You weren't there…you didn't see that child die…you weren't lying on the ground covered by the scars of your own defeat and lack of strength. If you don't know when to give up, fine. If you want to head out and get yourself killed, be my guest. But you can do it alone. I've had enough."

Leon looked at him for a long time. His eyes were so still and so fixed, that no clear expression was visible from their electric-blue, piercing depths.

"You know something? I think you really _have _been broken, Wolf. But it's got nothing to do with those scars on your back."

Wolf stopped before he left the tent, looking back before he swiped the tent-flap out of his way to head outside.

As he walked away, the scalding burn chiseled its way through the workings of Wolf's emotions. Leon's words hurt more than the Adder Tongues…

…probably, just like the rest of his words that hurt, because they were true.

_Meanwhile…_

In only an hour's time, the typical morning refreshment of stinging lashes, buzzing flies, and the endless ringing of groans washed over the slaves inhabiting the Slave Yard.

Most were back on the work site, chiseling blocks and working rapidly at the half-constructed temple. The usual creaking of the mud-wheel, groaning of the slaves heaving massive blocks, and wails of those unfortunate enough to let their feeble hands tremble while delicately carving the immense statues…and receiving the mercy of the closest whip.

But while the heat and exhaustion was unbearable out in the open, it was absolutely traumatizing somewhere else…

…the SharpClaw Temple mining grounds.

Just below the temple's unfinished surface, a tunnel led to the deep underground catacombs, where slaves dug wearily for precious ores to temper and add to the temple's statues and walls. Others heaved coal into the massive, bubbling furnaces until their fur and feathers were covered with black patches of soot.

The air inside was so hot and heavy, that the slaves could almost feel its burdening weight on their shoulders. They moved about between frothing furnace and columns of black smoke, the heat and sweat causing them to stagger around rigidly, like they were moving through a viscous substance.

The closed-in walls and tunnels of the catacombs, along with an atmosphere that required stamina just to be in, restricted any attempt of escape. The SharpClaw Elites looked down jeeringly at the inferior warm-bloods that suffered and toiled in this temperature with their shaggy fur and heavy feathers. The scourges were there to enforce the work, of course, but they had been assigned to prevent a different form of escape: suicide.

The hot furnaces were large enough to swallow the willing body of any slave who jumped in. Despite the foreboding promise of a slow, burning death, it was the most painless form of "escape" in the Slave Yard.

Not that the lives of these slaves meant anything to the SharpClaw…but charred corpses didn't make for good workers, and Drakon kept them stationed here nonetheless.

The keen and calculating Elites kept their eyes on each slave's expression, scanning them for any longing or desperate stares at the furnace. In this atmosphere of heat and disoriented attention, the SharpClaw started to pay less attention to anything other than their prisoner's faces…let alone their feet.

And it was the perfect atmosphere for Riley to take advantage of.

The young cat studied the walls keenly, but kept his eyelids heavy and expression as miserable as possible, so that he'd blend in with the others.

After being captured by the SharpClaw so many times, he had almost made it a personal sport to plan a more radical escape each time. And the new one he was concocting was working at well, so far…

Neglecting rations had hollowed his stomach down to the lines of his rib cage, and he had rubbed enough dirt on himself during the long nights in his cell to make himself appear even filthier than the slaves around him. And the SharpClaw bought it perfectly…by now, they probably considered him to be too weak and ragged to even carry his own weight around.

And by keeping his expression blank and insane, he managed to ward off any suspicion from the SharpClaw…as well as draw attention away from his feet.

He trudged from furnace to furnace, as miserably as possible, before waiting for the SharpClaw Elites' gazes to turn away, while he quickly picked up a piece of coal with his feet. Kicking the coal up to his hand swiftly, he hid it in his mouth and resumed his sullen walk.

While the other slaves obliviously valued food and water, he treasured every piece of coal, flint, and tinder he had gathered for the past week…especially the ones he had carved with the flat side of his feline claws to fit into the key hole of his shackles' lock.

The moment was coming for him to escape. Sooner or later, it would come.

He had hoped that he would be able to double back to Maxwell's tent and tell both him and Vincent his new escape plan.

But there was no time for that now. He could only hope that when the escape was occurring, Maxwell would dive into action and fight his way out, using the combat skills Riley had witnessed on the Caravan.

Riley smiled to himself.

_What am I worrying about? This is Maxwell we're talking about…_

_He doesn't need anyone's strength but his own to fight the SharpClaw, let alone mine…_

_He's probably won a victory against the SharpClaw already…_

_Meanwhile, on the Eastern Side of the Slave Yard…_

For someone who was supposed to be broken, Wolf was displaying numerous signs of stress and anger.

Without any groaning or complaint since the day's start of grueling conditions, he had already hammered away at the chiseled blocks of stone with his pick-axe. Nothing seemed to bother him…the heat, the blisters, the weight of his shackles, the occasional flick of the whip…nothing. He didn't care.

A few of the other slaves neighboring him eyed him curiously as he slammed the blade of his pick down on the crumbling rock, cursing under his breath. The rest of the slaves on the work site were too busy enduring the immense heat and labor to pay attention. The few that weren't exhausted spent their time fearfully avoiding eye contact from the Elites that walked back and forth.

The scald of anger and sting of Leon's words from the previous argument seemed to fuel Wolf's rage, giving him enough energy to cast all normal pain or exhaustion aside.

Then, the sand rippled to the echo of an ominous sound.

CLUMP!

Wolf's ears perked up at the noise, and he was distracted enough from his bitter mood to look around.

Everyone else turned to see a body that had just hit the ground, a wizened old hound, with his back covered with raw and scars that decayed with infection. The shackles around his feet were attached to a line of shackles that bound a line of slaves that had been marching in single file, indicating that he had fallen while trying to keep up with them.

The SharpClaw leading the slaves marched forward, the iron plates that made up his shoulder and kneepads rattling and shining in the sun.

"You!" He hissed. _"Get up! _Theatrics won't win you any mercy or spare rations."

The old man didn't stir.

SLAM!

The SharpClaw aimed a vicious kick at the back of the hound's skull.

"I said, GET UP! Before throw your rotting old carcass into the rock grinder! Didn't you hear me?" He grabbed one of the hound's ears and hoisted him up. "Get-!"

Then he stopped, and the other slaves stifled hushed gasps.

The old hound's eyes were wide, and his mouth hung open in a lifeless, grotesque state. A few flies landed on his face and worked their way around his hollow cheekbones.

The SharpClaw flung him back down, looking more annoyed than repulsed or grievous. Another Elite ran over with a ring of keys and undid his chains.

"Tch…this one's Temenegru food. Someone take his body outside and bury him with the rest, before he makes this place smell worse! He's going to need a replacement, though…"

His reptilian eyes wandered around, and stopped once they fell on Wolf.

"You! Canine!" His eyes narrowed as ten other dogs looked up. "The one with one eye missing! Get over here, you're taking over this one's work on the West side! Just march and follow the ones ahead of you!" He gestured to the single-file line of slaves next to him.

The moment the SharpClaw yelled out for the canine with one eye, all the other slaves that had been distracted by their work looked up. The numerous shackles clinked simultaneously, as those who were crouching stood, and those whose backs were turned looked around. Eyes wide with curiosity, slaves of every kind…the young, the old, the fresh, the ragged, the fearful weaklings and the skeptical former-mercenaries…all turned to see who the rumors that had echoed across the Slave Yard for the past week was about.

The fallen warrior, the broken rebel…

The only slave to keep rising after one beating from the Adder Tongues and _still _manage to live…

Wolf felt the eyes of many travel up and down his body uncomfortably, but morosely. He could already read the disbelief and skeptic air in their expressions.

They didn't think it was him. They didn't think that some faded-furred, malnourished, scrawny-looking, scarred canine was the one subject of the rumors they had heard. There was no way that this common slave was the one who had stood up to Drakon and clawed his face. Some were even looking past Wolf eagerly, as if still looking for the person had been called for.

Wolf became stone-faced and narrowed-eyed.

_Let them look…_

_It's not like I give two shits at this point…_

_I don't have an identity to tarnish with a bad reputation…not one that anyone remembers, anyway…_

With a disgruntled sigh, he heaved his pickaxe on one shoulder and walked forward, his feet making padding noises in the hot sand.

Ignoring the constant stares that rained on him as he walked by, he listened as they muttered and whispered among themselves, pointing at Wolf as they did so.

Wolf scowled. He almost preferred walking in the isolated wakes of the desert than trudging around with this many stares following him. It may have been more exhausting, but it wasn't this awkward or humiliating.

_Look at them…_

_Staring at the defeated slave…it's not like THEY did any better, or had the guts to step forward like I did._

A few of them took a few steps forward to get a better look at him.

But he kept walking, trying his best to ignore the looks of the more tough and muscular slaves, who looked at him with almost amused looks.

He caught a few muddled words as he walked past them.

"So that's him…?"

"Tch…he doesn't look half as fearsome as the stories made him out to be…"

"…there's nothing special about this skinny punk… Any one of us could have done it …"

Wolf gripped his pickaxe tighter.

_Then why didn't you, assface?_

_Tch…if they knew who I was, they would cringe in fear…_

_They wouldn't dare even breathe a word if they knew…_

Then, somewhere in the crowd that had gathered, he heard the sound of rushed footsteps making _pitter-patter _noises in the sand.

He turned towards it, raising his pickaxe heatedly to smack any of the slaves who challenged him.

But as the line of slaves parted to make way, and as Wolf realized from their looks that they were doing it out of respect, he saw that it wasn't a challenger…or a man, for that matter…

A young woman had stepped forward, a feline, with a tortoise-shell pattern on her fur. Her eyes were very round and sad-looking, and had the recovering mark of a fading scar on her cheek. She was draped in the ragged remains of a dress, but an old shawl, probably given by one of the more sympathetic old widows of the slave yard, hung on her shoulders.

At first, Wolf didn't recognize her. But after recalling her face from a past incident, and his mind picturing more dirt and sand covering the tortoise-shell pattern on her coat, along with a more scarred and terrified face, he realized with anguished shock who she was.

"It's you," He murmured, lowering the pickaxe. "You're the woman from before…the one with the-" He stopped himself. Then he lowered his voice. "…child."

The young woman nodded. Even with her face clean and free of scars, her defeated-looking expression seemed etched into her face.

"Yes…it's me. I didn't hear about what happened to you since you were taken away…I thought you had been killed." She managed a small smile, which warmed her melancholy expression. "But now I've found you, alive and well…and I can finally thank you for what you did…"

Wolf raised his hand to stop her. "No, don't. You don't have to…it's not necessary…"

"Yes, it is!" She insisted. "What you did out there took more courage than anything I could imagine…standing up for someone you barely knew…and then enduring the punishment…" Her eyes shimmered sorrowfully. "It was the noblest thing any stranger has done for me…" She closed her eyes. "Thank you…so much…"

Wolf looked around, feeling uncomfortable to accept this kind of gratitude. "I told you, don't thank me. My only regret is that I couldn't do any more…" His eyes shone with grief. "And I'm very sorry for your loss."

Pearly tears appeared in the poor girl's eyes, and she nodded and stifled a sob. Wolf wondered how many days she had spent crying and recovering from her son's death in the past week. He didn't blame the people who allowed her to come and go in the crowd, or whoever gave her the shawl…hell, he was surprised no one gave her a full wardrobe. It was the least she deserved, and even that wouldn't be enough.

Wolf heaved his pickaxe back up on his shoulder, nodding to her. "Just let me know if there's anything else I can do, miss." He turned and started walking.

The girl looked up alertly. "Wait! There _is_ something! That's why I came to find you!" She held up her hands pleadingly. "Please, I need your help, you're the only one I can come to!"

Wolf turned, about to decline, not wanting to involve himself in anything else. But when he saw her tear-stricken face, filled with anguish and desperation, he couldn't bring himself to do so.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I-It's my husband, sir…his name is Clark-and I'm Jenna," she added hastily, stuttering between sobs now.

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "Your husband? He's here, too?"

"Yes…he is…we were both brought here from the city…we couldn't make it on our own there, so the SharpClaw took advantage of us…and brought us here. I was still pregnant-" She wiped the tears from her eyes, but drew herself up, as if trying to be brave. "I had our son…Daniel, within our first week here…but I got separated from my husband, so I tried to keep him hidden as much as possible…"

"But Drakon found out…" Wolf finished grimly.

The feline blinked back her tears and nodded. "W-When you were taken away…t-they took Daniel's body and they…they…buried him outside the gates," she stammered through broken hiccups and weeping. "After that, I…I told Clark what had happened…and he got so angry…so mad with grief, I couldn't stop him…"

Wolf nodded. "He went after the first SharpClaw he could find, didn't he?"

"There wasn't anything I could do-_sniff-_" She wept and put her arms around herself, as if it was all her fault. "I _tried_ stop him…I begged for him not to go…but he…h-he attacked one of the guards…and beat him so much, that…Drakon deci-_sniff-_decided to punish him…by putting him in the stockade on the Western side…and…" Tears kept trickling down her cheeks from her tormented hazel eyes. "Drakon ordered th-that…every SharpClaw that walks by him…has to stop and…deal him…ten lashes…every time…"

The rest of her words were drowned out by her pitiful, heartbroken crying. Tears trickled down her face and hung on to her whiskers.

Wolf looked at her sympathetically. Then he looked away, his eyes glinting angrily.

_So that's Drakon's plan…to leave him strung there like a piece of meat in a gibbet cage…but let passing SharpClaw to deal the pain instead of the buzzards…_

"Please…no one else will help me…you've fought Drakon before, you almost won…I saw it!" The girl, Jenna, wiped her eyes and looked up pleadingly. "I'm not asking for a fight in my stead…I can't ask you to suffer anymore than you've already had…just protect my husband! You're the only one who can!"

Wolf rubbed his temples. "Wait…who told you that I could help you?"

The girl blinked confusedly. "What? Oh…some boy told me…a ginger cat…I think his name was Riley…"

_Riley… _Wolf thought sullenly.

_Tch…figures…._

_He probably doesn't know about what happened…_

"Never mind…How long has your husband been in the stockade?"

"T-Two days."

"_Shit…" _Wolf muttered under his breath. "Dozens of SharpClaw must've beaten him by now…he must be in a worse condition than I was…"

"Yes, and Drakon's ordered the Yard's Medical Attendant to stand down and not to take him in for healing!" The girl added miserably. "Please, sir….if Clark takes any more, he'll die!" Tears streamed back into her eyes, and she grasped his arm imploringly. "Please…_please…_I've already watched my son die…my husband is all I have left! I don't care what happens to me, but I beg you, protect him at least!"

Wolf looked at her, pity gripping his insides like sickness.

She was desperate…alone…suffering…and with no one coming to her aid. Just like he had been…when he was lying on the ground, broken and bleeding at Drakon's mercy, begging for the agony that tore at his wounds to stop…

This was his chance to take assertion and redeem himself from waiting so long to step in before…to help someone before it was too late…

He closed his eyes and sighed.

"I can't help you."

The young woman looked at him confusedly. "What?"

Wolf looked up with a stone expression but sad eyes. "There isn't anything I can do…I'm sorry."

The girl's puzzled look soon melted into panic. "What are you…? No…_No!" _She grabbed his arm. "You have to help me, please! You fought them before, you're the only one who can!"

"That didn't change the fact that I lost," He said, gently pulling her hand off. "I failed to defend myself, let alone you, the first time I tried to fight Drakon. And in the end, I was too weak to fight them anyway." His expression became pained. "Besides…you shouldn't have looked to me for help. I didn't even act soon enough to help your son…I just let it happen."

"_No!" _The girl yelped desperately. "Please…don't-that wasn't your fault! You did everything you could…and I'm grateful for that, but my husband's in danger…please, I'll never forgive myself if he dies…" Her eyes streamed with frantic tears. _"You have to help me! _No one else will help!"

Wolf gripped his pick-axe painfully. "I won't be of any help. I'll just fail again…"

He started to walk away.

"Wait…WAIT!" The girl took off after him, stumbling near his slow pace. "Please, help my husband…I'll do anything! I can make it worth your while…"

"It's not a matter of payment, I can't-" Wolf started.

The girl stood in front of him, putting her hands up imploringly. "Listen, I don't have much in the means of money…b-but, I could get a hold of food, medicine, supplies…things of value in this place…"

"Look…I don't need any of those things…" He said in exasperation. "Please, I need you to move-"

"I…I can pay you back later!" She said quickly, her eyes darting around frenetically. "Um…yes-if we ever get back to the city, I can pay you whatever I owe you!"

Wolf gave her a pained look and brushed past her. "Miss, please…I really-"

"PLEASE!" The girl collapsed to her knees, sobbing helplessly. "I'll give you whatever you want…_anything, _just help Clark, don't let them kill him…I know I can't offer anything else, not in money or anything but…"

Her breath became shaky and she swallowed. Suddenly, her eyes reverted to the side, and her cheeks turned pink with discomfort.

"I-I…I know that…maybe, being a man and all…you might be tired from a day's work, and…" She clutched the collar of her dress, her hand shaking. "I'm not very attractive…but I'm considerably…young….and…maybe…you'd w-want payment in a-another form…"

Wolf stopped in his tracks. He turned around.

He stared down at the girl with shocked disbelief, who looked too ashamed and afraid to make eye contact. He could tell _exactly _what she was offering him.

Suddenly, his widened eyes narrowed angrily, his face twisting into a scowl. His voice sharpened into a quick, concrete tone.

"Get up. Now."  
The girl almost jumped, but she got up, shivering slightly.

Wolf grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her terrified face to look at him.

"You listen to me…because I won't repeat myself. I'm not the kind of scum who buys, trades, or bargains for the flesh and body of a woman like they're a piece of meat to sample! I never was, and I never will be! I'd take a slow death than taint myself with that kind of dishonor!" He could feel her tremble underneath his grip. "If you really care about your husband, and value being his wife, then never succumb to your desperation and try to sell yourself like that as a last resort! Never, understand?"

The girl gulped and nodded fearfully.

Wolf released her, lowering her back down so that her feet touched the ground again. His face resumed its neutral but stern look.

"He's your husband…you need to stay strong for him, no matter what it takes."

She looked up at him. "Then you _do _know something about strength…more than you'll admit. If you do, then help me!"

Wolf turned sullenly to tear his eyes away from her woeful face. "It's not the kind of strength that'll help you….it sure as hell didn't help me, so I don't expect it to."

Then, a voice echoed from behind the two of them.

"Don't waste your time with him, miss. He's not going to help you."

Both Wolf and the girl looked around to see Leon walking towards them, or at least as far as his connected shackles would let him, since he was in chain-alignment like the crowd of on-lookers.

Wolf scowled. _Perfect. _

_Now HE'S going to lecture me…_

_Isn't bad enough being asked and being unable to help, but now he's going to rub it in more…_

Leon stopped in front them and folded his arms skeptically. "He's no good to you or anyone else. You might as well just let him walk away…he's only good for that."

Wolf glared at him. "You talk like I've got a choice in this. It's not like I don't want to, I _can't._ Remember?"

"You have a choice, and you know it. You were asked for help, and you chose to walk away...just like you did earlier with me."

"I didn't have a choice then, either!" Wolf barked angrily. "The reason I declined then, and now, is because I CAN'T! How many times to I have to hammer it into your thick skull?"

"Oh, what, did you lose your free will and all form of courage along with your Inner Power?" Leon retorted. "I might have a thick skull, but at least I still have some balls, instead of skulking around like a miserable, self-pitying idiot!"

CLANG!

Wolf threw down his pickaxe furiously, a quarrelsome fist rising.

"Just because I said I wouldn't fight the SharpClaw, doesn't mean I'm afraid to fight you!"

Leon folded his arms coolly. "Go ahead and try…we both know you won't. You're too afraid to fight anyone without your Inner Power. But you're also too afraid to listen to reason…" His smug look faded and became stern, almost regretful. "Maybe that's why you're so willing to lash out at the only one who's willing to help you in this miserable Slave Yard."

Wolf's fierce expression melted, his angry impulses disappearing.

It was then he remembered how helpless he felt during that horrible time he was lying wounded on the ground, wishing for once that someone would save him. Now, Leon was trying to do that, to help out as a friend, beneath all the spite and contempt he showed.

It might be the only help he would get. He wasn't about to turn it away.

He lowered his fist and sighed in exasperation.

"Look…what are we supposed to do? You tell me, Leon..." He raised his hands hopelessly. "We're outnumbered…unarmed…I was defeated, subject to my own failure, and completely helpless without my Inner Power. Neither of us has a way out of this…you yourself came to _me _because you didn't have a plan! You make it sound so easy, just to fight back and escape, than what do you propose we do?"

"_Try, _AT LEAST!" Leon almost yelled impatiently, like it had been something he had been get across this entire time. "Are you even listening to yourself? You're so set on giving up without even trying, it almost makes me wanna kill you!" He palmed his face in frustration. _"Jesus Christ…._whenever I hear you talk, your voice is coated with so much discouragement! Where did all this come from? You weren't like this before! Back on the _Anatarres, _whenever we talked about the Inquisitor, and everything he's done, you were the first to jump up and talk about wanting to rebel! You didn't have a plan, but that didn't stop you from wanting making a fighting attempt! That's the way you've always been! You've never had a straight-forward plan half the time you fought all these years, but you were determined enough to do it anyway! It's that determination and willingness to go on, with or without a plan or advantage that's helped us survive. It's the reason you became the Leader of our group at all, the reason I followed you…and now it's completely gone!"

Both stung and touched by Leon's words, Wolf clenched his fists.

"You keep missing the point here, Leon! All those years, we were always fighting an enemy we stood a chance against, one way or another. It's not the same now! These SharpClaw are superior to both of us in both strength and species! And even if we could hold our ground, they outnumber us!"

Leon sighed. "Yes, you're right about that, and I know it…but we wouldn't come out of a battle with them unscathed, even if we were armed or with Inner Power," He looked at Wolf when he said it, as if referring to him. "We need to try at least. Nothing will come out us sitting around…especially when someone needs our help!"

"But how am I supposed to protect anyone if I don't have Inner Power?" Wolf asked for what seemed the billionth time.

"Good God, _is it _THAT _much of a necessity?" _Leon threw his hands up in the air with furious impatience. "If it matters so much, than we can FIND someone who can help you, if we ever escape from this place!"

Wolf looked up quickly. "What do you mean, 'find someone'? Who could help me?"

"Oh, please…this can't be the first time in history that someone's Inner Power stopped working!" Leon said in a skeptic tone. "And remember, you aren't the only one with Inner Power in the Lylat System, Andross himself said so…and you certainly can't be the only one on this planet with it either…it wouldn't be logical. Who knows? Maybe someone in the city nearby knows something, it wouldn't hurt to look…but we'll never know unless we escape, so just make do with what you've got and fight anyway!"

"And what? Put everyone I try to defend at risk by fighting without any Inner Power until then? What kind of a plan is that?" Wolf shook his head reluctantly. "I can't take that risk, Leon…too many have died because I didn't have any Inner Power to protect them."

"So what's your guarantee that they _wouldn't _die if you _did _have it?" Leon asked. "You're just finding excuses not to try! You're not even making the attempt…I just stopped you from walking away!"

"Do you think it's easy for me to accept what's happened and do nothing when I'm asked for help?" Wolf asked angrily. Then, his eyes became sad. "I can't do it, Leon…the harder I try to prevent the deaths of the innocent or the people I care about, the more corpses litter the ground around me. I'm terrified that one of those corpses will be you…because I failed again."

Leon's eyes narrowed reproachfully. "Maybe you've forgotten that I'm not a terrified family or a helpless child. I can defend myself…but I can't fight these SharpClaw or help the girl's husband on my own. I need you…" He abandoned his angry look. "Please …help me. Help me help these people…at least try. Don't give up on me when I need you most…I'm asking you as your friend, look past the obstacles and break out this discouragement. If we work together, if you at least make an attempt to put up a fight, or make up a plan of attack like you always have, then-"

Wolf couldn't take it anymore. Torn apart by his desire to help the girl, the pain of his own defeat, his longing to stand by his friend, and the melancholy acceptance of being weak, he broke apart into shouting.

"God, Leon, _can't you see…_THERE IS NO PLAN! It's over, we're done…the both of us! There's no escaping this one, okay? Neither of us can do a damn thing! There's no strategy, no hidden weakness, no trump card, open window, empty ship, or plan for attack…just death and defeat in every direction! Things are different now…we're out of our element! We're the last two of our kind…the tarnished fragment of a bygone age! Our time is gone! Times have changed, the circumstances have changed, and the risks have changed…things aren't the way they used to be! You think shackles and chains are the source of our captivity? They're not! Us being helpless and unmatched are the prisons we've been thrown in, and there's no key or means of escape! And the only thing to do in an inescapable prison is to stay alive and accept the fact that we can't do anything! I already have, so now it's your turn! Just ACCEPT IT!"

In the stale silence in the aftermath, Leon looked at him for a long time. "I barely know you anymore. There wasn't a second in the last few minutes where I felt like I was talking to the man I became friends with."

Wolf's scowl faded, his eyes widening.

_Shwoo-_PAKKK!

They both looked around at the sound, the tall shadow of the SharpClaw Elite approaching.

"You, slave!" He pointed at Wolf. "I told you to march with the rest! If you don't want five lashes for lagging behind, get moving!"

Wolf looked back.

"I need to go."

"You might as well. There's nothing to keep you here," Leon replied coldly.

Wolf picked up his pick-axe and was about to start walking, when he took notice of the young feline, who was still standing there. Amidst the heat of the argument, he had forgotten all about her.

Wearing a look of beseeching desperation, tears brewing in her hopeless eyes, she reached out with her hand, gesturing for one final plea.

"Please…_please _help me. I'll do anything…I'll have nothing left if my husband dies. You can help him, I _know _you can…"

Wolf looked at her sadly…his hands clenched the handle of his pickaxe and still didn't tighten as painfully as his heart did. With pained forcefulness, he tore his himself away so that her importunate face was out of vision, in an attempt to make it less agonizing to walk away.

"I'm sorry…but you put your faith in the wrong person. I can't do any more good than you for your husband…I can only hope that he survives."

He turned and walked away, each of his footsteps heavier than the next, despite the light imprint they made on the sand.

As the girl watched Wolf walk away, she put her face in her hands and broke out into heart-broken sobs. The slaves that stood nearby looked the other way with pained looks.

Leon turned the opposite way and started walking, hoping to run into Riley.

As he walked away, bitter resentment nagged at his thoughts.

_Tch…_

_The world and times can change as much as they like, Wolf…_

_But they're more recognizable than what you've reduced to…_

Yet despite his anger, he hoped with all his longing that Wolf would change his mind, and climb out of the pit of depression he had dug himself into.

_An hour or so later, on the western side of the camp…._

_SLRRSH._

_MRRSHH._

The air around the block-crafting side of the temple was distorted with the simultaneous bubbling and sloshing sound of slaves stomping their feet in a massive pool of mud and clay. Their constant sloshing quickened the mixing of materials to make a suitable substance for the temple bricks.

Most slaves were stomping at a slow, disgruntled pace, exhausted from the heat and tediousness.

But Riley did his absolute best to stomp his feet quickly and madly, like he was having a seizure on the spot. He jumped up and down with catlike speed, sloshing the mud quickly, but not so quickly that the coal and flint in his pockets would clink against each other and make noise.

As sweat dripped down his neck and cheeks, he was going fast enough to garner attention from passing SharpClaw, particularly two who talked behind him and occasionally looked up and pointed at him.

Riley exhaled in relief and kept going, before a voice barked behind him.

"You, slave! The feline with the fast feet!"

The young cat smiled cunningly before turning and putting on the most fearful face he could, cringing timidly in his well-rehearsed "broken slave act".

"W-Who me?" He asked in a small voice, trying not to overdo the squeak.

"Yes, you," The SharpClaw said impatiently. "You seem fast on your feet."

Riley had the urge to say _"Well, of course…I wasn't part of the Cornerian Mobile Stealth Division for nothing!" _but that would've been arrogant. He thought it best to leave out the missions where he used his nimble feet to dash past the enemy's minefield_, _too.

Instead, he resolved to "Y…Yes. I mean, I guess so…"

"Alright, enough. Me and one of the General's Appointed Architects here have been watching you for a while. You look light and fast enough for a task we have in mind. You see the tall pillars up there?"

He pointed a claw up at a group of massive, lined pillars above them, covered with intricate carvings depicting fierce battles and past SharpClaw rulers all detailed to perfection, probably at the expense of the blood and sweat of many slaves.

Riley nodded. "Yes, I see them."

"Good. Those pillars hold up the central roof and archways of the temple, and are what's keeping it together. But they won't stand for more than three days before the bricks slip and the walls give in….and that would mean the collapse of the temple. General Talon has commanded the columns to be as tall as possible, so our pulleys can't go high enough to secure the cracks with the necessary cement. No SharpClaw is light enough to climb up there…so you are going to do it."

Riley nodded dumbly. "But where's the cement?"

The other SharpClaw pulled out a small bowl that was filled with what looked like pink cream.

"This cement contains the composites of the Magara Root, a plant that grows here on Titania. You know why we use this instead of normal cement?"

"No…" Riley lied, even though he could probably name every spot on the planet where that root grew.

"It dries far faster, and lasts longer. But it dries so fast that most slaves assigned to this task end up putting it too slow to do any good for the bricks." His tone became low and dangerous. "Which is why I know you won't make the same mistake, because you'll receive twenty lashes on both sides of your scrawny body as a reward. Understand, slave?"

"Y-Yes, sir." Riley put on a terrified tremble.

_Cross-eyed asswipe…_

_We'll see how intimidating you are in five minutes…_

"Good. Now take this and start climbing. When you reach the top, dab the cracks between the bricks with the cement. And try not to slip on your way up…" Him and his friend smiled evilly. "You'll lose a day's worth of rations every time you fall back down. Now, get!"

Riley took the bowl gingerly and walked over to the first pillar's base. As he trudged forward with his head lowered, he shot a quick nod to one the slaves in shackles that were working steadily at the temple with their chiseling tools.

The slave, a lean mockingbird, nodded quickly and made a hand gesture to his fellow workers, who kept their hands over their pockets preparedly.

Riley put the bowl in his teeth and looked up at the pillar. A bead of sweat rolled down his brow as his eyes measured its massive height.

_It's not that high… _He told himself comfortingly.

_That tree Thomas and I used to climb to get over ol' Mitchell Phoenix's fence near our old house was about half the height…_

_I can make the climb…_

Suddenly, oldmemories came back to him of stealing from the neighboring farmer's crops, forcing an unwilling Thomas to help him each time, and sneaking by the window to spy on the farmer's pretty daughter, Fara.

Good times…

_Pfft!_

Kicking his padded feet off the ground, he leapt up and started to climb up the pillar. He dug his claws into the small cracks that made up the tower of bricks.

Panting around the bowl in his mouth, he kept his face pointing up, refusing to let himself look down.

_Krrk-_krrrkk!

Small rocks slipped from under his feet as his foot slid off the smooth surface of the pillar.

He made a small, discouraged whimper, loud enough for the people below to here.

His ears perked up as he heard the jeering of the SharpClaw down below.

"Heh, get your whip ready. He's not gonna make the first climb!"

"Hey, who knows? Let him keep climbing! The higher he goes, the harder he'll fall!"

Riley smiled around his bowl, too high up for anyone to see.

They were buying it…

He kept climbing, making his speed as ginger and slow as possible.

"Pff, maybe we were wrong about this one, Ladon! Maybe he isn't that quick on his feet!"

Riley's eyes scanned each passing carving as he made his way up, until he found it: the one with the grey SharpClaw General, wielding a trident. He remembered looking at it from afar, and it marked the half-way point to the top.

Riley stopped climbing and took a breath. He shut his eyes.

He dug his claws into the stone, feeling the sun's haze down on his back like a scalding coal.

Then, he opened his eyes.

_KWAAAP!_

Riley drew his feet up so that his knees almost touched his chin, and vaulted himself up with blazing speed, with enough impact that small rocks grinded their way down the pillar's surface.

He heard the SharpClaw stop laughing.

"What the hell-? How'd he get so fast all of a sudden?"

Riley grinned, wishing he could look down and see their baffled expressions. He reached the top and looked down at the cracked surface of the pillar's high point. Placing the bowl on the top, and hanging on the side of the pillar's top like a perched bat, he drew his fingers to his mouth and blew a sharp whistle.

"_Phweeeet!"_

The mockingbird slave below yelled to the dozens of other slaves that chiseled at the wall around him.

"It's the signal! Let's have at it, boys!"

The group of slaves shot their hands down their ragged pockets and drew the acutely-carved pieces of coal and rock Riley had given them in secret, and forced their points into the lock to undo their shackles.

The SharpClaw Elites turned. "HEY!"

In seconds, the mass of slaves flung of their shackles and charged at the SharpClaw, armed with pickaxes, shovels, chisels and hammers.

As Riley poured the entire bowl of pink cement on the cracked pillar-top, he smiled to himself.

_That's THREE things the SharpClaw didn't find out soon enough…_

_One…I'm way faster than I look…_

_Two…The number of slaves in the Slave Yard double the number of SharpClaw…making a suitable counterattack force…_

_And three…_

After spreading the dollop of cement, he pulled out the flint and tinder from his pocket and grinded it on the coal he placed in the middle, until sparks appeared.

…_the Magara root not only makes for a quick-drying cement…but also an explosive about as devastating as nitroglycerin…_

As soon as he saw the fire appear in the center of the cement-covered pillar, he jumped off and prepared for a ground-roll.

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM! **

Charred stone and debris exploded in a tower of flame, causing the other pillars around it (each one cemented together with weeks of dried root-mixture) to explode simultaneously. Black smoke engulfed the top of the temple, sending waves of dust and sparks down on the sand. Flaming chunks of half-finished stone architecture rained down on the fleeing slaves, who undid their chains fast enough to escape while many Elites flung their arms up, yelling as the shattered temple came down on them.

Slaves of every kind ran in all directions, fleeing the pursuit of SharpClaw or rushing forward to fight them.

Leaping out of a cloud of smoke and landing in a perfect ground-roll, Riley stood and brushed ash off his fur and a small flame off his shoulder. He looked around, relishing the perfect outcome of his plan.

_Man…_

_If breaking out of the Slave Yard is this fun every time, I think I'll LET myself get caught the next time around…_

_End of Part 1 (Rest continued in Chapter 13) -_


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter 13: Marching on - Part 2_

_Fifteen minutes earlier, on the other side of the Slave Yard..._

Wolf did his best to trudge at the very back of the line of slaves he followed. That way, the SharpClaw Elite that led the group would be ahead, and all the working slaves surrounding them would respond by cringing away or avoiding eye contact, and fail to notice him.

Then he could get by without having a sea of wide eyes following him with their bewildered stares branded into his skin.

He couldn't stand being stared at like a retarded, lame animal that limped its way around. Except he wasn't a maimed beast...he was the slave who "was humiliated and beaten before he begged for his life", which was far less dignifying.

It wasn't like being dragged to prison, which meant the stares were blocked by the shield of solitude which was his plastic-surgery mask.

Now, his one-eyed, miserable face was there for the world to see, along with the scars of his wounds and humiliation covering his body.

He wasn't chained, like the others, since he had been chosen at random to fill in for the dead hound, so he didn't make as much noise. It didn't matter...the SharpClaw probably thought that at this point, after being beaten and broken by Drakon, Wolf had neither the strength or will to escape.

_And they were right. _He thought glumly.

_They won't bother muzzling a dog that's had his teeth pulled out... _

Suddenly, he winced at the sudden sting that seared from his shoulder. He rubbed it, seething through his teeth.

_Must be a wound healing up..._

But when rubbed the spot, pressing his fingers down into the folds of his fur, but there was no mark on his shoulder, or bandage for that matter.

He gripped the spot, feeling uneasy...

_Something isn't right..._

_That's one of the spots where I didn't get a lash...but it still hurts..._

_But if there was no wound there, why do I feel it at all?_

His confused line of thought was suddenly disrupted when his tall ears picked up the trailing echo of a familiar lazy drawl from behind.

"...Ugh, spare me the details. My sympathy doesn't stir for the unwanted spawn of a useless woman. What did you do with the girl?"

_Drakon!_

Wolf's eyes darted around quickly, his breath heavy, clutching his bandaged arm in a startled, fearful manner.

He was sure that previous incidents would repeat themselves if he ran into him again. Shuddering at the memory of seeing chunks of his own fur in pools of blood whilst he lay on the ground, he looked around urgently and found a tent near a pile of chopped wood. Diving towards the tent and pressing his back against its fabric wall, his face darkened in the shade while he panted frantically.

He knew he was fleeing in fear like a coward...but the pain from past experience had made him value Drakon's ignorance for him. Finally drawing up the courage to look around, he slowly edged towards the tent wall's border and looked around.

Wolf spotted the black Head Scourge, strolling lazily while a posse of Elites walked around him. One in particular was gesturing with his hands constantly, heavy in conversation with the uninterested Drakon.

"She was doing her younger brother's work in his stead, because he was 'too small and weak', or some shit...anyway, I decided to punish her in a manner most fitting...the usual flogging, ten lashes-"

"Understandable, understandable..." Drakon waved his hand dismissively. "So is this going somewhere?"

The SharpClaw's face was covered, but his eyes wandered nervously. "She, well, was still a child, and...the lashes might've been too much...they seemed to be enough to..." He looked down, his voice reduced to an uncomfortable mumble. "...kill her."

Drakon stopped in his tracks, expression no longer laid-back. As his eyes flashed angrily and he exhaled out his nostrils with deteriorating patience, the other SharpClaw backed away cautiously.

"Have I not..._made it clear..." _He said in a dangerously low voice. "That we need all of our slaves alive and well to finish their work on this temple, or was it me imagining myself doing it?"

"Well, uh..." The SharpClaw gulped nervously. "My hand probably trembled while I was doing it-"

CLINK!

There was an unmistakable clinking sound as Drakon drew a very familiar-looking group of black chain-linked lashes with barbed pieces of metal at the end. Wolf's hand flew to his wounded back on instinct, paling at the sight of them. He could almost feel their tips graze his fur...

"Then maybe I should flay this skin off your hand so that it never trembles again!" Drakon spat. "With all the slaves you've killed by accident, you're lucky I haven't reported you to the great General Talon. There isn't one among us who has seen his Lordship angry...but he will definitely show it if pushed far enough. He would probably add your decaying corpse as a permanent addition to his temple..." He smiled evilly. "Or…would you rather have him set his brother on you?"

The other SharpClaw's eyes widened, while the original one looked terrified out his mind.

"Oh, shit...not him, not the Commander of the Guard..."

One of the other SharpClaw gripped his whip nervously. "I've never seen him. Is he as bad as the stories say? Does he really blanket his bed with skins of all he slaughters?"

Drakon turned to them, perfectly serious. "Whatever you've heard about him, he's ten times worse. I know..." His eyes wandered distantly, as if recalling something unpleasant.

One of the less intelligent SharpClaw in the back spoke out. "Hey, isn't he the one you insulted, so he stripped you of your rank and made you Scourge of this place?"

SHING!

Like a bolt of lightning, Drakon turned on him and drew the Claw from his belt, his reptilian fangs bared. Wolf's fear melted at the familiar gleam of his Claw, and his blood boiled furiously at the sight of it in Drakon's filthy, unworthy hands.

"YOU INSOLENT BITCH-SPAWN! If you were smart you'd _never_ bring that up _ever again, _or I'll pry open your fly-infested mouth and pull out your-"

Then he stopped in mid-sentence, his eyes fixed on something ahead. His slitted reptilian eyes stared on, at what looked like something...

...where Wolf was standing. And that's when he realized his eyes were directly facing him.

Wolf's heat stopped. He didn't move.

Both Drakon's and his eyes were locked, and he stared back, to afraid to kick his nerves into forcing his legs to start to run. No cautious thought made it to his mind, as he watched a slow smile grow on Drakon's lips.

"Well, now...what do we have here?"

He started walking in his direction.

Wolf's mind snapped out of it.

_Oh SHIT!_

He tried to step back and sprint away, but-

_Fwwp!_

CLUMP!

Wolf's feet tread back on his pickaxe and ripped the balance from under him, causing him fall back on the ground uncomfortably

Fwssh...fwssh...

Drakon's clawed feet made scraping sounds against the sand, sounding so close that Wolf's heart pounded loud enough to clog his ears.

Purple eyes huge and startled, Wolf's chest rose up and down, his eyes locked on the clinking metal Adder Tongues that swayed in Drakon's hand as he walked closer.

Wolf shut his eyes. His wounds tingled in horrible anticipation for the first lashing.

His fur scrunched up into spiked masses.

_God, no...NOT AGAIN!_

Fwssh, fwshh...

Slowly, the noise of Drakon's footsteps and the Adder Tongues clinking grew distant, until he couldn't hear them.

Wolf opened his eyes.

Drakon and the SharpClaw were gone.

_What the hell?_

He looked around until he whirled around and spotted them.

Apparently, Drakon had been looking _past _Wolf, and had walked right by him while he lay secluded in the shade of the tent wall. Whatever he had seen had apparently distracted him and his followers enough to walk right by and not notice Wolf, much to his relief.

But when he saw what had sparked Drakon's attention and sudden change of mood, all relief dried up.

Past all the slaves, tents and atmosphere of busy work was a lonely spot, the area scorched in the wake of the merciless sun. No slave dared to walk, or even look in the general direction of the site, or glance at the object in the middle of it. The most attention they gave was a pained look of anguish whenever a frail groan echoed from that direction.

Rising from out of the sand like an ominous rock formation was a stacked set of wood planks, peeling and rotting from not being washed. It was bolted down into a hastily-made stockade, with a bar of wood slammed down on the top of two rising planks. Locked in the stockade was a thin, battered, miserable-looking, scarecrow-like creature that Wolf realized with horrified shock was an actual human being. It was a ragged young jaguar, with his head hanging forward without the support of his weak neck, so that his eyes faced the ground. Days of brutal torture and constant beating had reduced the fur on his ankles, arms, torso and back to a grisly array of raw cuts and scars. Some of them were fresh and oozing with blood that trickled down his heaving back. Some untreated wounds had rotted past the boundary of infection, so that the flesh around them had become black. His spots had faded and lost their color from the bleaching sun, and sickening piles of tattered, bloodstained fur littered his feet. The pain that crippled his body caused his limp hands to shake in the holes they hung from in the stockade wood, and the chains that bound his ankles to the ground clinked as his knees shook.

Wolf couldn't remove his shocked gaze from him. Filled with outrage and anguish, he couldn't believe that at some point in time, this miserable creature had been a man once. His eyes fell on the cuts on his knees, which were so deep and raw that yellowish bone was already surfacing through the blood. The sight of it made Wolf's blood tingle.

Drakon walked over to the stockades, flourishing his whip casually.

"If it isn't my friend from before...the one who almost broke Norbere's skull. I can only imagine how many of my men have walked by this stockade today..." He glanced at the fresh wounds at his knees. "Hmm...and how recently, too. It would seem my orders have been carried out perfectly. But alas...I've been so occupied with overlooking the construction of the temple, I've excluded myself as the only one who's neglected our guest the hospitality he deserves..." He unfurled his whip, eyes glinting. "We'll fix that right away, then."

The Jaguar didn't stir. His shoulders continued to shiver from the pain that seared through his wounds.

The Head Scourge's smile faded. He stopped in front of the stockade, before grabbing a fistful of the Jaguar's head-fur and hoisting him to face him.

The jaguar's eyes widened, his bruised face stained with blood that gauged from a gash on his forehead. His eyes were red from pained tears and the agony that deprived him of collapsing into sleep in his chains. His expression was startled at first, afraid that another Elite had come to beat him. But when he saw that it was Drakon, his face twisted into an enraged, teeth-bared glowering expression.

"Oh, my mistake," Drakon cooed. "I didn't know you were unconscious. I certainly hope your dreams were pleasant. Did you happen to see the decayed face of your boy while you were resting?"

"AAAAAARGGGHHH!"

The Jaguar roared as he shook madly in the restricted boundaries of his stockade, chains rattling and claws out. He thrashed and wriggled furiously, his blazing eyes locked on Drakon.

"YOU MURDERING FILTH! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE, LET ALONE TALK ABOUT MY SON!"

Wolf's eyes widened. His insides clenched in cold realization.

_That's that slave girl's husband..._

_The one she asked me to save..._

"Your son was disposed of rightfully, to avoid the long road of suffering _o_he had ahead...me killing him was an act of mercy," Drakon said. "But you unwisely decided to take out the harsh nature of reality on one of my men. If anything, your anger should be reserved for your stupid wife for breeding an offspring in place of labor."

Wolf was sure that if the Jaguar wasn't restrained, he would've torn Drakon's smug face off without a moment's hesitation. He didn't blame him...just by watching, Wolf was angry enough to have to restrain himself from doing it first.

Rage-filled tears poured from the quivering Jaguar's eyes. He tugged harder at his confining wooden boundaries.

There was an ominous clinking sound as Drakon rose his whip. The Jaguar's angry eyes grew huge and terrified, following the jagged barbs as they rose above him like a guillotine.

"But if I was in your place, I'd envy your son," Drakon said with a cruel smile. "His suffering was dealt with in a single blow...but you will writhe in pain and shriek for death to claim your miserable half-dead carcass long before it reaches you."

He swung the whip down.

_Shw-_RRRRRRRTAAAKKKK!

The Jaguar's catlike pupils widened as blood was ripped clean out of his already-searing wounds, his fur and flesh splitting in the wake of the demonic barbs. A scream of agony tore itself from his battered throat, his voice drowning in the depths of a pain-stricken sob.

_"GAAAAAARGHHH!"_

His shaking knees gave out limply, his body forced to hang in a state of strife and suffering from the build of the stockade. Red flecks dotted his tear-engulfed cheeks from the spray of blood that had dominated his back. His head remained slouched over while he panted and sobbed through cracked wheezes of deprived breath.

More slaves had started to turn around unable to ignore the cruel spectacle, let alone the thunderous cracking and heartbreaking screams.

Drakon's grin widened, determined to make the Jaguar's suffering more brutal and humiliating with more eyes watching.

The Jaguar rose his head, face drenched with sweat and tears, with a desperate gaze that begged for the pain to end.

But Drakon whirled his whip back up, and lashed out mercilessly.

_Shwa-_PAAAAAK!

KER-_TAAAAAK!_

_Sltrrrch!_

Wolf turned away on instinct as blood and fur rained from the butchered body of the husband, the lashes tearing at his chest and rib cage until raw red oozed through each gash. The Jaguar's screams were drowned out by pitiful coughs and sob-stricken gags, as blood dribbled from his mouth. Reddened saliva hung from his ajar mouth, as his back rose and lowered with every frail, dying wheeze.

Sympathy dove like steel rain into Wolf's emotions until he couldn't stand any more. Every voice in his head was screaming to run out and fend for this poor creature.

_NO! _He told himself painfully. _Don't do it..._

_The last thing I need is a repetition of past events..._

He clenched his bandaged fists, torn by his desire to help the husband and the sickening fear of what might happen if he did.

_The only thing I'll be good for is making that pile of fur and blood bigger by adding my own..._

_I'll just be defeated and humiliated...again..._

_And this time...I probably WILL get broken..._

KER-_SNAAAAAKKKK!_

The heart-wrenching screams of the Jaguar beckoned for his help, only making the burden of making a choice all the more agonizing. Wolf bit his lip frantically. He may not have been the one bathing in the agony of his own cuts, but the intensity of the burden on his shoulders was about as painful.

_How can I just stand here and do nothing?_

He looked at the other slaves watching, their gazes filled with anguish but their legs firm with cautious restraint.

_No..._

_I can't depend on them for help..._

_And why should I? That's the kind of thinking that made me fail in the first place..._

_If I hesitate too long before I act, the same thing will happen...another innocent life will be snatched away because of me waiting too long..._

He shut his eyes, grimacing regretfully at the memory of that infant's death.

_What should I do...WHAT should I do...?_

Wolf thought for a moment remembering what he had said to Leon...about him stepping in without Inner Power being the provocation for the death of bystanders...

_That's right..._

_I'm too weak to help him...I'm too weak to help anybody..._

_Defending him will only get him killed faster..._

_But at this rate, he'll die anyway, regardless if I help him or not..._

KER-TAAAAACH!

"GAAAAGH!" The Jaguar gasped, new patches of peeling flesh and dripping blood scalping his body.

Wolf looked around helplessly, feeling trapped and suffocated by pressure.

_Shit..._

_In the time I sit here and think about this, the more he suffers..._

TAAKKK!

Suddenly, Drakon stopped. He tugged at his whip, which had some of its barbs caught on a large clump of ripped off skin that had built up on the boundaries of the Jaguar's scars, and had gotten stuck. He jerked at it lightly, pulling on it so that the skin peeled slowly.

The Jaguar winced and screamed through his clenched teeth, his eyes watering at the slow but immense pain of having his skin peeled off. The other slaves watched in sickened horror, some of them turning pale at the extent of such intense physical suffering.

Finally, Drakon curled his lip into an impatient sneer, and grabbed the whip's handle with both hands before ripping it free.

_SLTRRRRCH!_

An entire layer of skin surrounding the massive cut was torn off in an instant, making a sickening sound of ripping flesh that caused everyone's blood to turn over in their veins. The fur on the Jaguar's body spiked and tingled, pain-driven tears springing from his widened eyes as he let out a horrible scream that echoed across the Slave Yard.

_**"!"**_

He collapsed in the grip of the stockade, his face drained of color and shivering in a state of blood-soaked suffering. His breaths were patched with sobs and weak breaths, his eyes tightened shut with unstoppable tears slipping through them. Blood from different wounds traveled down his body like scarlet rivers, and his fringed tail seemed to jerk around in pained spasms like a split-open limb. His ears were lowered in a permanent droop, and his hands trembled weakly in the tightened hold of the stockade.

Wolf didn't know what force of hell or earth was helping this Jaguar hold on to the deteriorating fragments of his life. People constantly heralded him throughout his days in the Lylat Wars for the strength of his endurance, and even _he _didn't know how this man was still alive, or sane for that matter.

In a pitiful face filled with pain and humility, the Jaguar gingerly raised his head, wincing at the wounds that gripped his rigid body. The light in his eyes flickered with fading strength, imploring with their faltering gaze...only lashes away from blurring into the blank expression of a broken slave. Lips trembling to form weak words, with tears that streamed down his gash-split cheeks, the young husband uttered something in a sobbing voice of depleted willpower.

Even though his eyes stared emptily in no specific direction, and his plea was directed to anyone, Wolf couldn't help...for some strange reason...that his voice was reaching out to _him._

"...P-Pl...pl-please..._please _help me...anyone...please help...me..."

THUNK.

And that was the cryptic moment when Wolf dropped his pickaxe, and stared with widened eyes of startled, sorrowful realization.

It was in that split second that he almost saw _himself_ covered in scars and being whipped in the stockade. The Jaguar was being broken...exactly the way _he_ had been.

Wolf stared at the him, suddenly feeling every ounce of emotional physical strife he was going through. He could feel his tearful, frantic desperation that search for the help that would never come. He could feel the horrible weight of ominous doubt in his stomach, the distraught and regrets that overcame him in the fear of his approaching death. And most of all, he could feel the young man's weakening grip on the free will that he was hopelessly clinging onto, while having it shattered by the unwavering cruelty of Drakon.

The entire scene playing out before his eyes mirrored the same series of tortures he had suffered...and this Jaguar was a direct reflection of himself: Helpless, defeated, desperate...and without the help of one merciful or caring person in the world.

He was alone and afraid...just like he had been.

Wolf backed up against the tent, his insides sinking to his feet with overwhelming guilt.

He could relate to this person's situation perfectly...he knew what it was like to be terrified of death, and to beg for the saving of his deteriorating life...

...and yet when he had the chance to save someone from suffering the same fate...

...all he could still think about was his own cowardly self.

How could walk away from this? How could he make himself deaf to the pleas of someone suffering the same way he did?

_If I walk away now...I'll be nothing but a coward and a hypocrite..._

_I'll stoop so low, I'll be everything I've ever criticized and spat on throughout my whole life..._

He clenched his fist, the bandages around his hands tightening.

The choice for him to act had arrived. In an instant, right here, right now...

...he could redeem himself for all of his past failures.

It was one step away...

...and it was one step back that he took.

He turned and walked away.

_No...I can't..._

_It doesn't matter now...I've already stooped too low..._

_I've already decayed into the powerless, weak, resolve-lacking, blind fool that I swore I'd never become..._

_There's no lower level to stoop down to..._

_I have nothing..._

_Not real strength...not real skill...not Inner Power...not an identity to live with..._

_...not even the will to risk my life to save another..._

He shut his eyes regretfully. His footsteps dragged miserably in the sand.

The day he had feared for the longest day had come...the cruel world he had woken up to from his five-year dormancy in prison, the one he doubted...had become real.

It was empty...without hope. There was no hope here on this planet, or anywhere else in the Lylat System. No matter how much freedom was longed for, it would never be achieved. There wasn't a soul...good, evil, or in between...who would take a stand to do the right thing. This Slave Yard, with its slaves who turned a blind eye to the suffering of one of their own, was proof enough of that...

And Wolf was just another piece of proof.

Proof that courage and defiance was gone from the world.

Drakon raised his whip, flashing his snakelike smile at the dead silence that followed the Jaguar's feeble plea for help.

"You're only wasting your time...no one will come to your aid."

The Jaguar's eyes widened at the approaching Adder Tongues, his bloodstained, matted-furred face shrinking fearfully back into its hole in the stockade.

Wolf, walking in the opposite direction, braced his ears for the guilt-provoking echo of the whip crack.

But the sounds that followed came from another direction.

There was a sudden rush of a footsteps sprinting across the sand, followed by a cry.

"STOP!"

Wolf stopped dead in his tracks. He looked up in startled confusion.

His ears perked at the sound of the voice, which sounded high-pitched and frantic...but also determined.

It took him an instant to realize that he _knew _that voice.

_What...?_

He whirled his head around, and his eyes fell on a figure of someone barring the way between Drakon and the panting Jaguar in the stockade.

It was a young woman, a white Spaniel, in her early twenties...or at least by Wolf's guess. She had a round, petite face with smooth-furred cheeks that looked like they blushed on a constant basis. Her ears were so large and bushy that they draped her shoulders like long, brushed hair so that t and she adorned a red, velvet bow that kept the fur on the front of her head up so that they wouldn't hang over like bangs. She had a fairly slender build, and remarkably round hips, but she still seemed to be skinny for her own weight, an unbalanced combination which probably would contribute to her knocking things over or bumping into people awkwardly. Her clothes consisted of a faded shirt that was buttoned all the way up, which seemed like a modest attempt at hiding her fine figure, but clearly didn't work. The sleeves and other areas of her shirt were wrinkled from being rolled up for work, but even with the atmosphere of dust and grime, she still managed to admirably maintain a fairly clean stature. And despite all her flaws, she was still quite attractive, in a very innocent and youthful sort of way. Her facial structure was untarnished and unspoiled, as if deprived of the option to convey spiteful or cold expressions. Her bright blue eyes were large and caring, looking like the kind that grew huge and adorable when surprised. She had the kind of natural, unknowing prettiness, that didn't need the distortion of make-up or the glare of cosmetic treatment to enhance it...just the warmth of her smile, and the lit-up happiness of her blue gaze.

In the dull air of death, misery, suffering and filth, she really was a relieving sight to weary and hopeless eyes.

Wolf definitely had never seen her before. And yet...there was something familiar about her...

However, her warmth was barely present in her determined eyes now. She stood there with her arms spread to protect the Jaguar, whose half-conscious head hung on her shoulder. Her feet were planted firmly in the spot, standing as a human obstacle that wouldn't move, her eyes set on not letting anything pass. However, no matter how determined she looked, there was no way someone like her, with her fairly small stature and red bow, and didn't appear the least bit intimidating next to a massive, black-clad SharpClaw like Drakon. And despite her unwavering rigidness to hold her ground, her fear was as visible as the sun, with the fur on her arms shaking slightly, and her bright eyes revealing her terrified timidness.

But she still stood there, in spite of all her fears and hesitation...she unyieldingly remained at the Jaguar's defense.

Wolf looked at her confusedly, looking around to make sure the other slaves watching were as oblivious to what was going on as he was.

_What's she doing?_

_Who is that, even...?_

Drakon looked down at her, eyebrows furrowed with impatient irritation.

"What's this?" His lip curled up to expose his fangs. "You, healer woman...out of my way. I have an agenda with this slave here, and I'm not in the mood for interference." His glare hardened. "So get back to your tent, and wait to heal the wounds of this one so I can beat him a second time...or else the next set of scars you'll have to heal will be _your own."_

But the young Spaniel stood her ground firmly. "No! You can do whatever you want to me...but you won't deal another lash on this one behind me. I've stood by long enough to see the brutality he's endured, and I won't stand idly like the rest of these slaves while he takes anymore."

The other gawking slaves, mostly men, looked at each other confusedly.

"What the hell...? Is she crazy?"

"Who _is _she, even?"

"I think that's Fay, the Slave Yard's healer girl. But she barely comes out of that tent of hers...since she's always busy treating the latest victim..."

"So she's a _healer? _What the hell is _she _going to do?"

Wolf's ears perked at the sound of her name. He recognized it immediately...Leon had mentioned it earlier...

He looked at her with newfound realization. _She _had been the one who had nursed him back to health.

"You? Resist _me_?" Drakon looked at her for about five seconds before he laughed menacingly. "That would be hilarious if it wasn't so pathetically impossible. Now, step aside, while my whip is still lowered...it would be a shame if my only healer were to die on me without fulfilling her usefulness."

The Spaniel, Fay straightened herself up. "No."

Drakon's humored smile faded. "I'm losing my patience, girl. Did you not hear me? The only reason you aren't lying in a bloody heap is because you're the only one who can-"

"I said NO!" Fay shouted, unusual but still-small sparks of anger igniting her blue eyes. "I've had enough! For months, I've stood by and watched you deprive these poor people of mercy, and deprive the more miserable ones of a merciful death." She clenched her shaking fists. "I won't do it anymore...I won't heal the battered bodies of victims you've beaten just so you can beat them again and again until they have no skin to heal! I _won't!" _She spread her arms in front of the hazy Jaguar. "And if you want to inflict anymore damage on this helpless man, you'll have to beat me instead!"

Wolf stared at her angrily.

_That stupid Spaniel...what's she doing?_

_She's trying to be a hero...like Fox and people like him always do..._

_And she's going to get herself killed! _

Everyone watching knew by now that Drakon hated defiance, and already expected to swat Fay aside in a fit of rage. But he just looked at her sideways, more inquisitive than angry.

"You just continue to confuse me, girl...amaze me, definitely, with such stupid and ignorant courage, but still confuse me. Why are you doing this? Why defend someone like him, a stranger you barely know?" He pointed at the Jaguar, whose head was still hung over. "Surely you know you won't profit from it in anyway. There's no benefit or motivation in it for you...and yet you still do it. Why?"

Wolf looked back at the girl, the same question tugging at his mind. His eyelids lowered skeptically, already preparing his ears for the same obnoxious, heroic bullshit about it being her duty, or her code of morals, or something like that.

Fay took a deep breath and straightened herself up. "Because no one else _will." _Her eyes wandered sternly to the group of watching slaves. "I'm pretty sure that I'm the only slave in this entire place that will do anything to help...all they will do is sit back and stare like there's nothing for them to do...even though it's a shame that out of all the strong, able-bodied men here...a _woman _has to stand up for another in need."

The other slaves avoided making eye contact with Fay's piercing gaze, shuffling their feet in the sand and looking at the ground guiltily.

Wolf raised his eyebrows in surprise. Out of all the people that resisted Drakon...himself included...it this small, innocent-looking girl who looked like she hadn't picked up a blaster in her life, that actually got them to feel guilty.

He still thought she was being rash and stupid...but he was still a bit impressed.

"So, I figured," Fay continued, turning back to Drakon. "That if no one else will put their selfish needs aside to do the right thing, and at least stick up for someone in pain, then I might as well. Besides...this poor man here has crippled limbs, barely any air to breathe, and nothing but scars for a back." She drew her palm and gestured toward herself. "I have all four limbs functioning, breathing perfectly, and without a single wound. What more reason do I need? He's dying of pain, and I'm healthy enough to stand my ground and take a beating, and that entitles me to the duty of defending him. Who else will defend him if I don't? When all else fails and no one steps up to take a stand, the weak look to the strong for defense and help..." She shot a glare at the crowd of onlookers. "...not the cowardly. And that's why I'll do everything in my power to prevent this poor man to suffer any further. If no one else will risk their own lives for a cause outside themselves, so be it...I'll fight in their stead!"

The words seeped into Wolf's mind as he heard them. Instantly, his heavy burden of discouragement and doubt started to get lighter on his weary heart. It was like this girl was talking to him directly...and putting all his doubt to rest. Maybe the person she was talking about...the strong that the weak depended on...was him.

He looked at her with less skeptical eyes...

Suddenly, her words didn't seem foolish or heroic anymore...they sounded like her integral beliefs. They reminded him of the speeches he would drill into the 302nd Legion, to ignite their courage when all hope seemed loss, and he had to put on a brave face for them. This girl was like that...she was trying her best not to show any fear or hesitation...as if she was trying to set an example.

Drakon nodded his head, as if acknowledging everything Fay was saying. He flourished his whip around lazily, spinning the handle between his fingers like a gunslinger, so that the barbs rotated like slithering snakes. Then suddenly, his slitted eyes turned to Fay, and his hand bolted for his waist-sash.

SHING!

He drew the Claw and swung it down on Fay's head. The young Spaniel let out a small yelp and shut her eyes on instinct, cringing and shivering. Then she opened one eye and looked up fearfully at the blade that hovered over her head, realizing Drakon had stopped himself.

Drakon held the blade over her head, wearing a sneer on his face. Then, he let out a loud laugh that boomed down dominantly over Fay's small figure.

"HA! And where's the basis for such bold confidence, I wonder?" He stepped back and removed the Claw from where its gleaming edge grazed the white tufts of fur on Fay's head. "Look at you...look at the way you cower with just a sudden movement or a draw of my blade...you call this strength? At least the other fools who rose up against me had strength to back up their arrogance, strength that I had to shatter...but what do you have? Nothing. You're small...weak, insignifcant...without even the _need _for me to break you."

He edged closer and placed the blunt edge of the Claw under Fay's neck, who held her breath as she trembled feverishly. As sweat beaded down her neck, she shut her eyes, feeling the dull, cold blade's hum as it slid under her neck like a serpent. Drakon hissed jeeringly through his fangs.

"The thinnest of winds is enough to break your puny bones...the weak blood in your veins would escape at the cut the smallest of cuts...you haven't seen a day of slave's work, and yet you're as frail as they are. You have no strength...you have no defense...not a hope, not a single aid in the world. You don't even have the determination in your eyes that the others did. What makes you so sure that you'll succeed where they fell? What hope do you have? What convinces you that your fate will be different from theirs?" His eyes flashed wickedly. "A few lashes, and you'll be crawling away on your stomach like a maggot, just like the rest of them...only your decaying little body will give out and die even sooner..."

Fay opened her eyes, swallowing in a meager attempt to diminish her fear. She looked up, her tremble ceasing, casting her gaze defiantly into the twin pools of Drakon's murderous stare.

"...You're right. I am weak...and I know that..." She clenched her fists as tightly as she could. "I've never been one to inflict pain on others...let alone endure any myself. I shall probably die before I can handle anymore...but it won't matter if I am dying." She backed up so that her spine was aligned with the stockade. "You think I care about the pain? Go ahead and beat me. Drain the blood from my veins, crack the bones in my limbs...peel the flesh off my back. You can beat me until I'm a living corpse...with no blood left in my body, and not a breath to spare for my battered lungs. But not you, those whips, or even your General Talon can carve a dent in my free will..." She straightened herself up determinedly. "I can be beaten to the point where I have to crawl with no legs or arms...but I won't allow myself to succumb and end the agony by giving into death...I won't protect my body from strain...not as long as I can move and crawl up and take the scars in the place of this man suffering here!"

The crowd of slaves watched in stunned silence, all of them amazed by the way she countered her fears with her own determination. She _knew _she had no chance, and was probably going to die...and yet, with all her disadvantages, she wouldn't leave the Jaguar's side.

"I don't care if the other slaves around me don't remember having a free will themselves!" Fay said defiantly. "I don't care if I have to die to make them remember myself! But one thing's for certain...you will continue to hammer at me with that whip, and you will NEVER scratch the surface of my free will...because it's the one thing that you can never touch or control...no matter how hard you try to coat your cowardliness with that sad excuse for a brutal, savage exterior! You'll have to kill me first...and I welcome you to try it, Drakon!"

She shoved the Claw away from her neck and resumed her arm-barring stance in front of the Jaguar, who looked up at Fay with foggy eyes filled with frail gratitude.

Wolf kept his eyes on Fay, completely stunned by everything she had said.

She was weaker than he was...smaller...inferior in species...and probably had no Inner Power to speak of.

But that's what made it so amazing.

She spoke with the same perseverence he had...perfectly aware she stood less of a chance than he did. The echo of fearlessness in her voice, the thick layer of concrete determination…

...remaining defiant, even without a hope.

It was like being blind...and then blinking to a blazing light...adapting his eyes to something he remembered, but hadn't seen in a long time.

It was odd...but illuminating...

Inspiring, even...

_This girl..._

_She's for real, isn't she..._

_She's like the people who died for a noble cause in the Lylat Wars..._

_...no...she's different..._

_There's not a glimmer of hesitation or fear in her eyes...it's almost like she's accepting the outcome, whatever it may be..._

If the atmosphere of surprised amazement would allow him, he almost would have managed a half-smile.

_I haven't seen that kind of courage in a long time..._

_I didn't think it existed anymore...and if it did, it would have died out a long time ago..._

_And she isn't being fearsome or menacing about it...or headstrong or bold..._

_She's just refusing to give in..._

_That's a soldier's spirit..._

Drakon's smile disappeared. Suddenly, all the humor and doubt in his eyes started to diminish, and they began to dart towards the slaves that murmured and nodded amongst themselves, stirred by Fay's words. The effect had already started to spread, and even the most distant of broken slaves stopped in their haggard groveling, and looked up with vague expressions of hopefulness.

Curling his lip in an irritated manner, Drakon could already see that the slaves he had broken with his own hands...were already mentally uniting.

Suddenly, the situation had become serious. He didn't have time to bask in the slow, agonizing pain while ripping this new annoying little pest's wings off. She had to be crushed...squashed..._now._

He cleared his throat, trying to temper his bubbling rage down, so he could end this quickly.

"You know...just between the two of us..." He leaned forward towards Fay, arching his back in a predatory way like a spider. "...I'm starting to get a little sick of this repetitive bullshit. Cutting down impudent little defilers like you had its amusement factor the first set of times...but now, I feel that breaking your kind isn't enough."

Fay stepped farther back anxiously, her fearful eyes watching his Claw lower, and his Whip raise.

"But if a painful death instead of painful torture is the only remedy for dealing with you," His fangs gleamed through a murderous smile. "Then, so be it..."

WHRRSH-KRAAAKKK!

Drakon hooked his arm into a horizontal strike and whipped around Fay's feet, the jagged barbs slicing at her ankles, causing her to scream and lose balance.

_"AAAGGHHH!"_

CLUMP!

She collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily; her eyes watering as she gingerly clasped her gushing ankles.

The attack happened so fast that Wolf barely caught it in a blink, and his eyes widened at the sight of the young Spaniel shivering on the ground, subject to Drakon's whip.

He clenched his fists, every nerve and sense stabbing into his brain and urging him to run out and help her.

_NO!_

_Not her...not her next..._

His breath had become heavy, the echo of her screams still stinging his tormented ears...

His mind was already imagining the horrible sight of the girl's mangled body, lying still...like the Arctic Foxes...and the baby...

It was her turn, now...

"You won't have the luxury of crawling from here, broken in mind and body..." Drakon said, as he circled her like a vulture. He tossed his whip to his other hand and flipped the Claw into his right.

Wolf's eyes widened.

"If I can't destroy your defiance like I did with the canine and all the others, then I'll just destroy you altogether...but not _too _quickly...your death deserves to be granted as slow and agonizing as possible..."

Fay blinked blurrily, dazed by the pain from her ankles. But she only had time to see her terrified blue eyes reflect back in the wicked gleam of the Claw, as it swung over her head and plunged down behind her.

_Sltrrch!_

She let out an agonized scream, coated with a weak sob, as the Claw's point stabbed into her back, splattering her cloudy-white coat with bleeding scarlet stains. Drakon sneered as he pulled on the blade's handle, causing the point to drive and drag itself down her flesh like a pen etching paper. Blood seeped like a geyser from the wound, and Fay continued to scream and claw at the ground, her cheeks turning pink with strain and her eyes tightening tearfully.

The blood in Wolf's face drained completely, his heart beating at an intense rate. His Claw, his own proud weapon, was being used to torture this girl...its blade being stained and tarnished with the blood of the innocent. It was being defiled by the hands of a sadistic murderer...right in front of his eyes.

He couldn't stand there. He kept on bolting forward and then stepping back in the shadowed sanctuary of the tent-side, ripped apart by the pressuring choice he had to make...

But he was barely thinking about his own safety and losses now...how could he, while her screams haunted him from where he stood?

Teeth clenched and hands clasping his forehead, he was overwhelmed by both the stress of witnessing what was going on, as well as the stress of deciding...

_WHAT ARE YOU DOING? _He screamed at himself.

_STOP PINING IN THE CORNER AND __**GO! **__HELP HER!_

_PUT YOUR OWN SELFISH NEEDS ASIDE AND GO!_

His eyes tightened shut, clutching his forehead so hard his claws were starting to come out.

"AAARGHHHH!"

He looked up with heart-wrenching fear and guilt as her screams grew louder, pounding into his brain and heart like an icy mallet.

_STOP HESITATING...!_

_STOP DECIDING...!_

_JUST DO SOMETHING...!_

_THIS ISN'T LIKE THE TORTURE OR ANYTHING ELSE...!_

_SHE'S __**DYING!**__ SHE CAN'T WAIT FOREVER FOR YOU TO DO SOMETHING!_

_YOU'RE DOOMING HER BY MAKING A MOVE!_

Then, he stopped.

He lowered his hands, his eyes becoming huge.

As time seemed to slow around him, he saw the glint of his Claw, protruding from the body of the screaming Spaniel. In its gleaming reflection, he saw a face.

A distraught face...a startled face...sunken, and hollow. His eyes were full of fear, their purple glint lost behind a layer of terrified confusion.

It was the first time since he had entered the desert that Wolf had gotten a look at himself, and now that he had seen it...he could barely move. It looked smaller than it actually was...scared, like a child's...full of fear and doubt, like he was going to cry any minute.

This was the face of Wolf O'Donnell...the face that was once free of fear and hesitation...that was made distinct by the intense gleam of determination and fearlessness of his purple eyes...now hidden behind the dim shroud of helpless misery.

The face of the man who had been crippled by his own defeat...who had begged for mercy...and had fallen so low, that he actually feared death.

He couldn't believe it...

The whole planet, the slaves, Leon, even the whole Lylat System couldn't recognize him as the Leader of Star Wolf...

And now, he couldn't recognize himself anymore.

How low had he fallen...?

What had he become...?

As he stared at his own reflection, realizing that the timid, doubtful face that was looking back at him was his own, he looked back at Fay, who was paler than usual from the extreme loss of blood.

Her words echoed in his mind...

_"When all else fails and no one steps up to take a stand, the weak look to the strong to lead!"_

He looked at his bandaged hand, and then at Fay.

Which was he?

SCRRNCH.

There was the sound of sand scraping, as Fay dragged herself up from the ground. She coughed hoarsely, raising a trembling hand to the grasp the back of her bleeding shoulder. She raised her head from the red, damp pool on the sandy ground, the fur on her forehead caked with red sand. Every move was a with shiver, and every breath was choked with a sob.

Then, like a swerving guillotine, Drakon's clawed foot came down on her back.

_"AAAAAAGGGHHHHH!"_

The massive SharpClaw's foot came down, slamming down on her back and crushing her rigid spine. Fay's eyes tightened, tears springing from the cracks between her scrunched eyelids, as a distorted and high-pitched scream tore itself from her throat. There were sick, stretching and cracking noises as her spine started to give in under Drakon's weight. As her bones got weaker and weaker, Fay's face paled even whiter, becoming dazed with the pain till she couldn't see...her screams the only thing keeping her senses awake.

"Your corpse will make a fine example for the rest of the slaves to learn from. It's been a while since I've hung a woman up for display on the Yard walls..."

Lifting his foot from her back, while she collapsed with an exhale of strained relief, he reached down and snatched her by one of her ears and the fur on the top of her head. Fay coughed and let out a canine whimper, breathing heavily as the pain pinched at the top of her head. When she was fully hoisted-up, the sun's glare blinded her, causing her to squint with the eyes that she strained to keep open. The silhouette of Drakon's head was the only thing she could make out in front of the sun, but his gleaming smile and blazing eyes were enough to confirm who he was.

"But first...I'll make sure you can never look at me with such defiant eyes...so I'll be taking those first..."

He rose the other hand that held his whip, the Adder Tongues clinking against each other as they unfurled in the air.

Fay's startled blue eyes grew huge with terror, catching the cruel gleam of the hooked and jagged barbs, before shutting them fearfully.

Her heart raced at bullets-speed...the very sound of it pounding seemed to deafen her ears, her bloodstream running ice-cold...but her senses fearfully-tuned enough to listen and hear the ominous, chilling, whooshing sound of the whips being swung down-

_**WHRRRRRSSSHHHHHHHHH-**_

_**-CLNKCLNKCLNKCLNKCLNK!**_

Fay's heart stopped. Her blood froze.

She braced herself for the horrible scratching, searing feeling of her eyelids being torn open...

...a feeling that didn't come.

She opened her eyes, darting them around confusedly.

Then, she felt a relieving but abrupt slacking around her ears and head-fur as the pinching stopped, and the grip loosened, causing the sandy ground to fly towards her falling body.

CLUMP.

The ground hit her like a fast-approaching wall of hard and scalding sand. Her fur spiked uncomfortably, but she was too confused to care about the ache that the fall left behind.

_What...happened...? _She thought, blinking wide-eyed.

_I can still see..._

She looked up with furrowed eyebrows, only to find a column of dust. Her eyes wandered down to a shifted mound of sand that had been kicked next to her...and a rapid set of footprints following them, before aligning in a skidding mark in the sand...

Someone had run up to where she sat...and then stopped.

Then, the dust cleared...

...and a massive shadow buried the sand in a dark complexion of shade.

Fay froze, watching her own shadow drown in the bowels of the bigger one trampling over it. Her eyes became even bigger.

Slowly, she turned and looked around, the dust clearing away completely...

Standing over her, blackened into silhouettes under the observing glare of the sunlight, were not one, but _two _figures. Drakon had his hand clenched on the handle of his whip, but his grip shook as if trying to wrench it free from something that was grabbing the lashes. His expression was angry, but his eyes had become huge with surprise, the pupils thinned into startled slits.

The other figure was the one who cast the shadow. He was extremely tall, towering up almost to Drakon's height, and might have been muscular had it not been for the extreme conditions he had suffered. His back and torso was layered with bandages, some hanging off after falling apart from the sudden movement of the body, others billowing in the wind like miniature capes. Medical cloth was wrapped around his hands like fingerless gloves. His pointed ears and thick fur on his cheeks defined his canine lineage, but his tail was to bushy and his build was too big for any common dog. From where Fay sat, he was as large and menacing as any of the SharpClaw, and just by looking at him, she cowered in his massive shadow. He stood from the side, so she could only see the left side of his face, the eye covered with a torn piece of faded cloth.

He was missing an eye...

But her eyes only got bigger as they traced up his body, down his face and across to his arm...which was shaking with intense strain, with a clenched fist...

...as the lashes of Drakon's whip remained coiled all the way around his arm, until the barbed ends were clenched in the figure's bleeding fist.

Fay's jaw dropped.

This man...whoever he was...had raced over and blocked the whip's path, and let it coil around his arm...clenching it, as if to stop Drakon. But how was he holding onto those barbs...without even wincing?

She didn't know if that shocked her more...or the fact that he had sprinted over to save her...

But she still couldn't make his face out in the blinding sun, even with cupping a hand around her squinting eyes...

Who was he...?

Drakon was in equal shock. His lip quivered furiously, and his reptilian eyes were ready to bulge out of their sockets. He wrenched at the whip with all of his superior strength, but the other person wouldn't release the lashes.

Then, a cloud passed over the sun.

The light dimmed, so that half of the canine's face was draped in shadow, while the sunlight illuminated the other half.

Drakon's lip suddenly rose, exposing all of his jagged, Rex-like teeth. His eyes glowed like two, rage-filled coals with newfound fury. The corner of his mouth twitched, and suddenly, everyone in the area cringed fearfully at the sight of his infuriated face.

His eyes were fixed on the face of his opponent.

"Grey fur...purple eyes...a canine breed...and an eye missing..." His eyes blazed with enraged realization. _"YOU!"_

Loud gasps and hushed breaths echoed from all sides of the sandy grounds, from slave and SharpClaw alike.

Wolf lifted his head, his entire face coming into the light.

His face was a mask of pure anger. His brows were joined in a bent formation that hooded his eyes, causing his already-gleaming eyes to look even more terrifying. Lines of stone-hearted fury sunk into his cheeks and brow, and his teeth were bared so that the sunlight wove its aura across their smooth, jagged surface. A low growl rumbled from the depths of his throat, without the painful burden of thirst or deprived breath anymore. It wasn't very loud, but the volume of its tambour made it sound like a ship engine, and seemed to ring in the stunned ears of everyone watching from afar, as well as Drakon's. His fuming expression was enough to make everyone strain from the decision of who to be afraid of out of the two opponents, but his eyes dominated everything else. He already looked like a gaunt ghost with the combination of his sunken face and enraged expression, but the shadow from his hooded brows made his single, purple eye gleam like a demon or specter.

He was so ominous and foreboding, in fact, that Fay was wondering whether she should feel more afraid than before, rather than relieved. Maybe someone else had come to kill her...

But one look at the way he held the Adder Tongues in his unyielding grip was enough to show what his motives were.

"It can't be..." Drakon muttered in a voice that was angry, confused and slightly-afraid all at once. "You should dead as you walk...a broken slave, like the others! I flayed the skin off your defenseless, bleeding carcass, until you begged for me to kill you! But you're not groveling...your back isn't bent, even if it is scarred...your gaze isn't witless and sightless like a mentally-deprived soul...so how? How are you not broken?"

Wolf didn't respond. He just kept glaring at him, with the deep growl still fixed in his throat.

Drakon's fury melted and his eyes darted around frantically. He wasn't about to let some slave of his to strike fear into him. He readjusted his face, and replaced the scowl with an attempt for a confident sneer.

"Heh...well...I don't know how the hell you're still sane enough to stand properly...or survive at all...but can consider me impressed. No slave has ever withstood the torture of the Adder Tongues with a sane mind...let alone come back for seconds." He tightened his grip around the handle of his whip, attempting to wrench it free. "But this doesn't change anything...I can deal with three cockroaches instead of two. You're just another pest to swat aside..." His sneer became a laugh, as he fell for his own fake confidence, actually believing it now. "HA-_ha! _Yes! That's right...I'll just have to break you for real, this time...and this time, I won't leave skin for you to heal up. You'll be a walking wound, skulking in a pool of your own blood, along with this bitch here! You won't even-"

_"HUAH!"_

CLAAASHHHNKKK!

Wolf snarled as he swung his free hand up, and brought it down on the coiled chains around his arm. As the side of his hand came down in a a massive chop, the blow shattered the jagged, black metal links that made up the coiling lashes. Drakon staggered back as he jerked his grip on a severed handle, before his eyes widened with sudden shock.

Time seemed to slow down in the heat, and Drakon's perplexed stare remained on the barbed chain-links that lingered in the air in front of his astonished face, before falling like metallic rain. His eyes were widened completely, free of any confidence or even anger now. His mouth opened slowly, but surprise gripped his senses to the point where he couldn't form words. His gaze, gigantic with disbelief, along with the tremor of fear that rattled its way up his spine, caused him to remain rigid and nonmoving with shock.

His small pupils seemed to speak for him: _"What...?"_

Wolf drew back his arm and released the Adder Tongue barbs from his bleeding hand, which had crumpled like tin in his intense grip. As they clinked against each other before showering their shattered fragments all over the sand below, his hand curled up into a tightened, rushing fist...drawing back like an arrow in a bow for the strike...

Drakon's hand, which held the Claw, rose hopelessly to deflect the punch, even though it would never be fast enough. The last thing his mind could process before the blazing rush of speed that would set normal time back into focus, was the fist engulfing his vision and blotting out the sun, and Wolf's shadowy, haunting face with a glowering stare, which said through clenched teeth in a concrete, bone-chilling voice:

"This. Ends. _Now."_

_**SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!**_

No one's eyes could function fast enough to see what happened next, and the only recollection they would have in the split second it was over was the sound. The sound was huge and thunderous, like a repulsing bolt of lightning flinging itself into the atmosphere. It swallowed up every other noise, from Wolf's roar, to the slave's gasps, and the simultaneous shout of the other SharpClaw yelling _"Drakon!" _It was so loud, and so deafening that everyone seemed dazed with buzzing eardrums just by being within a few feet of it. Fay barely managed to raise her hands to cover her ears, but even the sound of blood pumping in her head was shaken by the enormous boom from the noise.

Fay, being close enough, felt the fur on her cheeks blow back, an intense wind rippling past her body from the pulsing shockwave. She had barely caught a glimpse of the circular repulse that had shattered the air so hard that it sent a trail of smoke after Drakon's hurling body. The sand beneath both the SharpClaw and the canine's feet blasted apart in an impossible ripple, making a wave hurtle from their spot like a crater was being dug into the ground.

No one, not even Fay, who had been so close to both Wolf and Drakon, saw his fist meet Drakon's face with the strained vision of their naked eye.

Fay shut her eyes as a wave of sand hurled in her face. She coughed and spluttered, brushing the sand that caked her fur off of her face, and opening her eyes gingerly. Surrounded by a tower of dust from the impact of the collision, she couldn't see an inch in front of her, and could only make out the blurry surface of the ground.

Rubbing the aching spots on her head where Drakon's claws had raked her fur, she realized her bow was gone.

Thinking that it had blown off from the shockwave, she rummaged blindly around in the sand looking for it. Her eyes wandered frantically until she spotted its red hue standing out in the sand. She reached for it...but as the dust cloud around her cleared, she saw something else behind it.

As her eyes traveled up it curiously, she saw that it was the silhouette of a foot. To her relief, it wasn't a raptor-like, clawed SharpClaw foot, but a grey-furred, padded foot instead. She looked up and saw the massive form of a tall, grey canine, with tattered fur and bandages.

Up close, he looked even more ominous and threatening, with that ragged eye-patch draped over his face. He was on one knee, his tail fluttering in the repulse-driven wind, and was clutching his hand, which was bruised from the fercity of the punch. Unless Fay was hallucinating, there was a wisp of smoke wafting off of the fist.

Whoever the stranger was, he looked just as confused as Fay, because his eyebrows were furrowed, despite his intense panting. Then, his ears twitched, as if detecting noise, and he whirled around, claws out and teeth bared. Fay, still terrified of this newcomer just as much as she was of Drakon, recoiled with a stifled gasp.

But as he turned, the shadow fell of the other side of his face, and she saw his full face.

The canine's face was a blood-churning sight in its angry state, with a dark-featured face and a stone-like structure to his expression. Even if his face was leveled evenly with Fay's, he still would have appeared towering and foreboding. His face was sunken in and gaunt, buried in a shell of misery and hatred. His bare torso was massive and muscular, even if it was deprived of nourishment. The scars and bandaged wounds, along with the matted fur and unshaven cheek-fur, gave him a murderous and brutal look. He looked like he could snap Fay's neck without a second's hesitation, or rake her huge eyes out with those horrible claws.

But all of Fay's fears seemed to dull into perplexed curiosity at the sight of his other eye...the purple one, that gleamed in the aura of the sun's heat. It had the most intense gaze she had ever seen...with a fierce determination that seemed to pierce past her like she was nothing. The stare lacked all human hesitations like fear or caution...and it had a strange effect, like it was thawing out the strength of any opponent and slowly burning through their defenses. It didn't even seem incomplete on its own, with the other eye missing...like it was the stronger, sole counterpart. The radiance in his stare was fueled with a light more intense than the sun that glowed behind him...and would probably glow without its aura, in utter darkness. It was the one comforting and stand-alone factor in his dark, brooding appearence, and it gave off an aura that made his stare seem unwavering, regal...even righteous.

She held her breath and clamped her hands together meekly, unable to decide whether to be afraid...or entranced. But regardless of either emotion, she couldn't look away.

Finally, after looking at her and realizing she wasn't an enemy, he retracted his claws spoke. The concrete tone was gone from his voice now, so he sounded less intimidating.

"You...are you the one who treated my friend and I? Are you the one who healed me?"

Fay blinked for a moment, not knowing what he was talking about. But as she looked closer...and pictured him with his eyes closed and covered with blood...she _did _recognize him from before...on the medical bed, days ago...

It took all the screaming and prodding of her senses to force courage out of her, until she nodded with still-afraid eyes.

Wolf's intense glare softened for a brief moment.

"Then I hope this makes us even."

He turned and looked around.

The crowds of people watching uncovered their ears and looked up, wide-eyed and awestruck. Less brave individuals took a step back, afraid of Wolf...while others were amazed enough to edge closer. By their looks of bewilderment and shock, it was clear that they weren't staring at him with sympathy or doubt anymore...

_"Look! _Look at his feet!"

Wolf's eyebrows knitted quizzically, before he looked down and saw that he was standing at the edge of a round, smoking dent in the ground, like a crater, planted inches from his feet where the shockwave had erupted. The sand behind him remain leveled and flat as it had before, apparently unaffected by the blast.

The SharpClaw Elites would have gaped if their mouths weren't covered with black cloth. But their eyes did their expressions enough justice.

"Was that...from the punch?"

"Shit...that was no normal blow..."

_"Normal blow? _That's no normal canine..."

"Look at his tattered fur and scars, and his ribs are showing...he looks so watered-down and gaunt...he doesn't even look alive!"

"Maybe he isn't alive...he looked like a corpse when Drakon beat him..."

"What are you talking about? Speak sense, man! The dead can't walk!"

"Maybe...but the eyes of the living don't glow like that either..."

The SharpClaw shuffled their feet, gripping their whips nervously. Even the most crippled of slaves could sense the fear in their hushed voices and eyes...like they had seen a ghost or a demon.

Everyone else looked at Wolf with newfound fear. That's _exactly _what he looked like...

CLUNK.

Suddenly, all eyes, Wolf's included...turned to the sound of movement from beneath a fallen heap of wood, rope and shredded cloth, all cluttered in a pile of dust-covered debis that stood few feet away. It was in that instant that everyone watching realized that it was the remnants of a tent.

_RRRTCCHHH!_

A black, scaly hand with clawed fingers tore out of the pile of cloth, hoisting its arm up to help the owner's body up to his feet. The cloth and rope fluttered off the figure to reveal a battered-looking Drakon, panting and staggering out of the remnants of the tent he had crashed into from the impact of the blow. The SharpClaw Scourge was an absolute mess, a weakened building on the verge of collapse. His leather and chain-mail tunic was battered and torn, with wood splinters jabbed into the shoulders and ribs. His kneepads hung off their straps like ornaments, and his hand still clutched the severed handle of his whip. The side of his face was imprinted with a huge bruise from where Wolf had punched him, the outlines of a fist etched into his punctured skin, so deep that blood didn't seem to flow on that side of his face. Black blood leaked through his clenched teeth, which were missing a few cracked fangs, and the punch had severely affected his face so much that the end of his snout was slightly slanted to the side.

Drakon stood there, rasping and exhaling, his massive shoulders hung over in exhaustion. His other hand clutched the side of his face, while his widened, twitching eyes stared at Wolf with enraged, fear-struck, bulging disbelief.

Sweat ran down the back his neck...and his mouth hung open, quaking feverishly. All watchers, slave and SharpClaw alike, were witnessing something they'd never thought they'd ever see...Drakon, _afraid. _

And now, he didn't care if his fear was visible or not...he was too lost in it to be concious of anything. His heart was pounding fearfully, and his breath had become choppy and rasped. His eyes didn't even blink...they just remained open, locked on Wolf.

_No...this can't be real...this can't be POSSIBLE! _He thought frantically.

_No slave...no human...no _warm-blood _could ever possess strength like this..._

_He's not even a SharpClaw...it's not in his genetic structure...or his species..._

_He'd have to obtain the strength of three canines just like him..._

_He's...he's not human, this devil..._

_There's no way he's a common canine..._

His shaking hand crept to the bruise on his face.

_Wait..._

_This mark...it hurts too much to be a normal hit..._

_It pierces the skin...makes the blood stop..._

_...like it was a burn..._

His heart stopped. His eyes got even wider.

_WHAT?_

He clasped his face so hard, that he let his claws dug in to his cheek absentmidedly.

_No...it can't burn..._

_That's not possible...there's no way a human fist could burn...like it was on-_

He stopped rubbing his cheek. A sudden, bone-chilling thought occurred to him.

The Head Scourge stared at Wolf with newfound terror. He wasn't facing a common slave...

This was it. The day had finally come.

The person with strength General Talon had always been obsessed with...the one he said could challenge the entire SharpClaw as a dominant species...the one that had a power that no SharpClaw had ever seen with his own eyes...the one no SharpClaw believed would ever exist...

...now stood before him...in the flesh and bone, more terrifying than ever.

The severed whip handle slipped out of limp fingers and landed in the sand with a thud.

_It can't be him..._

_This scrawny little canine...it can't be HIM..._

And for the first time in his life, Drakon looked at one of the wretched, deprived little insects with fear of losing his own life...a feeling that was considered a treacherous and impossible feeling amongst the SharpClaw breed by second nature.

His eyes darted around hurriedly. He couldn't fight this slave alone...and Talon would want him alive. But there were a lot of vulnerable soldiers to use...and he would get his chance...

Swiping the blood from his cheek with a snarl, Drakon barked orders to his nearby guardsmen.

"You all...abandon your positions on the slaves! Kill the girl and the wretch in the stockades..." He pointed a claw in Wolf's direction. "But keep that one alive. He has value...for General Talon."

CLANG!

Before the SharpClaw Elites could draw their daggers or flail their whips, Wolf kicked at the ground and sent a small tremor near his Claw, which stood with its blade buried in the sand from where it had fallen from Drakon's grasp. The blade shot from the ground and flew in the air for a brief second, the steel humming and the sunlight glinting off its edge, before its point landed in Wolf's hand.

Wolf flipped the Claw over and caught it by the handle. He drew it back and arched his stance into a crouched defensive lowering.

He growled menacingly. "If just one of you SharpClaw scumbags take a step within ten feet of these two...I'll carve your fucking face open with so many scars that even your friends in hell won't be able to recognize you..." He gripped his Claw, the leather handle tightening under his fist. "...just who sent you there."

He spoke with such cold-blooded malice that Fay and the Jaguar cowered behind him, wondering if he was still on their side.

The SharpClaw surrounding the site, gripped their whips and knives cautiously, looking back at Drakon with hesistant fear.

The Head Scourge sneered uncomfortably around his bruise. "Tch...listen to him, men. He thinks he so intimidating now that he has a blade in his hand. He probably can't even wield it properly with those scars..."

"Don't test me any further, Drakon," Wolf spat. "Or I'll plant a second bruise in your face so both sides match! You think you're the only one here who knows pain and suffering? You think you're the only one capable of making a man squirm and scream his throat out?" His eyes darkened murderously. "I've done worse things, SharpClaw...I've done things on the battlefield that would make the lowest of murderers cringe with shame...and I can do them again."

Drakon's smile faded. "Your stance and your conditions may have changed, slave...but you certainly haven't. Look at you...making extravegent speeches you're too weak to back up with real actions...again. The result of this battle won't change...you'll still crawl on the ground and beg like a dog..." His eyes gleamed wickedly. "...and you'll still be broken."

Wolf bared his teeth furiously, bringing his arm up to point his Claw in Drakon's direction, but winced. He looked at his shoulder, only to find his bandages tightening painfully at any significant movement...holding him down.

He clasped the bandages and let out a disgruntled and agitated breath. Then, he gripped his Claw. He felt the handle's long, stiff backbone align itself with his palm, molded in place like it had never left. The familiar feeling sent a tingle up his arm.

"I've been called and accused of many things...a murderer, a traitor, a collaborator, unforgivable, unredeemable...everything. Nothing I don't deserve of course...I've done almost every sin a man can commit with his bare hands and corruptable soul...and I don't expect to be redeemed anyway..."

_R-rr-rrippp!_

In a bolting movement that made Fay, the Jaguar, and everyone watching jump, Wolf grabbed a fistful of his bandages and tore them off, exposing the healing, stitched-up scars that patterened his body like tatoos.

His face rose, the sun illuminating his purple eyes.

"But I'll have my flesh and bone sear in the depths of hell on the day that I'll ever stand and be called a broken man. I'm a free man, with _free blood_, in _free veins!_ And only on the day that this galaxy's sun dies...when all light fades, and all wind stops...on the day Star Fox does half the shit he's given credit for...on that day will I submit to another's will! I'll never bow to anyone...no Cornerian, to no Venomian, God nor Devil...nor least of all to foul, skulking, cowardly scum like you! Now, wipe that stupid sneer off your face while you still have one and _face me! _Or does your SharpClaw cowardice prevent you from looking me in the eye?"

Drakon's sneer melted away, and the blazing hatred that every slave remembered with a shudder as the premise of his murderous rampage appeared in his eyes. He snatched a machete-like blade from one of the Elites and gripped it with both hands.

SHING!

_Whrr-_TAAAKKK!

Every slave stepped back fearfully as every SharpClaw drew their weapons...unsheathing daggers, drawing schimitars, cracking whips and jeering snidely...and gathered around Drakon in a massive, scaly, reptilian group with gnashing teeth and glowering eyes.

"Before I paint these sands red with your weak, warm-blooded innards..." Drakon said through clenched teeth. "...tell me one thing, slave. Who are you?"

At these words, every slave leaned forward. The timid looked up with anticipated anxiety, the blank-faced turned slightly, the tough-but-indifferent glanced over with interest, the Jaguar looked up weakly...

...and Fay turned her head, her blue eyes teeming with curiosity and wonder.

Wolf looked down for a second, with an unsure tightening in his stomach. The critical moment had arrived...

What was he going to tell them? There was no way they'd believe the truth...and if they did, the reputation would be a horrible burden to add to the numerous ones he already had...

He couldn't lie about it again. He couldn't lie to the SharpClaw, the slaves, or anyone else about who he was...and he didn't want to lie to himself anymore, either...

But what could he say? He couldn't reveal an identity he no longer had...

So, with a deep breath, he gave a decisve look up.

"I don't have a name...not anymore, anyway. Besides, it doesn't matter who I am. When my bones reduce to ash and are buried by the sands, my name won't hold any value to the history of all who tread upon these sands. All who know about who I am will only need to remember me as the one who tore out the throats of Drakon and every SharpClaw bastard within his reach...that's all history will record." He drew his foot back in his famous, but now-forgotten fighting stance. "But whether of not I emerge from the carnage alive or dead hasn't been written yet...I'll let the reach of my blade be the judge of that!"

_End of Chapter_

And where misery flings down the curtains, triumph draws them back...a familiar theme in this series.

Just a question to you readers, though...

Was Fay's description alright? More will be revealed about her role, but did I get it right?

Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter, and don't forget to REVIEW! (as always)


	14. Chapter 14

Ok, let me make something clear, since some of you got the wrong idea: WOLF DOESN'T HAVE HIS INNER POWER BACK.

I know, the events in the last chapter were very convincing, but regardless, he doesn't have it back. Everything will be explained soon.

_Chapter 14: The Dead Man that Killed_

_Slave Yard East, 5 ALW (HMD Period)_

The morning sun cast its scalding heat into the thick air, although the temperature wasn't what made the air heavy.

It was the tension of the scene unfolding below that made the air seem heavier with anticipation, as all eyes remained locked on the opponents that faced each other from afar.

Their shadows stretched far across the sandy, cracked ground, one side engulfed with numerous shadows standing side by side, cackling and sneering...while the other side was covered with only one, solitary shadow.

Wolf stood rooted on his spot, digging his bare heels into the baking sand to reinforce his stance. He held his Claw in the SharpClaw's direction, the sunlight's glint running down the blade's point...as if daring them to attack first.

There was a clinking sound behind Wolf, as the still-chained Jaguar cringed fearfully at the sight of the group of SharpClaw across the field.

Fay's eyes traveled around quickly, as if trying to find some advantage for cover or escape. She wanted to stay behind and fight as well, but deep down she knew that she would only be a burden on anyone that stood their ground.

Drakon's reptilian smile widened. "So, the whelp wants to die...Tch. Perfect." He swung his head over to the other SharpClaw. "Elites! Grant him his request...and make it slow. I want his screams to be loud enough so that every soul in the desert can hear his suffering."

The SharpClaw flourished their weapons and prepared to charge, drawing their raptor-like feet back and clawing at the sand.

Wolf arched his back and drew back his Claw, growling threateningly.

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM! **

Suddenly, all of them stumbled back as the ground shook under their feet. There was a blasting wave of dust from the western side, and they all turned to see the towering column of black smoke rise from the other side of camp, illuminated by small, floating embers of a rising fire. The dust cloud ravaged the spot and swept over SharpClaw and slave alike with towering waves of sand.

Drakon flung a hand over his eyes to protect them from the needle-like grains of sand that rained down on them all, while his armor-plates and chain mail were rattled by a pulsing shockwave of a dying explosive blast.

"WHAT?" He cursed through clenched teeth. "An _explosion?"_

Then, he looked up, and saw a small, black object in the sky.

Squinting confusedly, he looked harder and saw that it was trailed by something bright an orange.

Then, his eyes widened. It was on _fire._

He whirled around and roared to his Elites.

"RUN, YOU IDIOTS! _NOW!"_

The SharpClaw, too dumbfounded with shock to react quickly enough, just stared at the object as it came down.

Wolf took one look at whatever was flying down and felt his heartbeat quicken.

_Oh, SHIT!_

He sheathed his Claw and dove to the side into a hasty but efficient ground-roll. Right as he rolled aside, he felt the sweeping wind of a large mass falling behind him.

_**KKKKRRRRRSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**_

A massive, flaming chunk of stone debris came down in flaming bits, smashing down into the ground and sending waves of sand and dust in all directions. Sparks and flame washed over the surfaces of the charred rock, raining down on the sandy ground with blackened ash. Flaming rock bits rolled and bounced around the fallen debris, crushing any fleeing SharpClaw in their wake. The ground rumbled as all the stone wreckage collapsed on the ground, causing a massive dust cloud to erupt upon its impact with the sand.

Wolf halted in his sprint, his feet skidding in the sand, before he ducked behind a massive charred stone. As he sat behind it and caught his breath, coughing from the thick dust that coated the air, he ducked the tiny remains of the raining debris.

As the coiling smoke and glowing embers rose from the calmed collision, the dust cloud thickened as it wafted across the flaming heaps of battered rock, concealing all shapes and silhouettes in its mist.

All was quiet, except for the crumbling sound of burning rock falling apart, and the occasional coughing and groaning of SharpClaw that were either dazed from the explosion or looking around in confusion. The few that were crushed under the flaming rock didn't make any noise at all, so they weren't accounted for.

Wolf waited until his breathing became easier, and the atmosphere of panic and rushing drifted away.

_Damn...what the hell WAS that?_

He looked behind him and got a better look at the rock. He tapped the scorch-marks on the stone, analyzing the surfaces of where the burns had charred it the most. Judging by the intensity of the explosion, it was clear that it was the work of some high-grade explosive...but the material looked dry, and fragmented...like it had been made out some kind of wet clay or gel-like material.

His ears perked at a crumbling sound, and he ducked back behind the rock cluster, Claw at the ready.

He heard a familiar voice cough and curse angrily, without a laid-back or cunning drawl to his voice now. The voice barked a command that rang throughout the dust cloud.

"All Elites! Regroup to me, now!"

Wolf slowly looked around the rock to see Drakon, covered in dust and ash, with a face twisted with enraged frustration. The Head Scourge looked down at the rock, running his fingers across its surface.

His eyes widened. "These carvings...these were on the Northern Wall of the Temple!" He clawed the stone surface and crushed it with his massive fist. "This is part of the temple! _It's being destroyed!"_

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed.

_Destroyed? By who...?_

"How did this happen...?" Drakon muttered to himself, seething through his teeth. "How could anyone have snuck explosives into _my _slave yard? The fool who caused this better pray that I never find him...because when I do, I'll-!"

"Vice-Commander Drakon!"

Suddenly, a frantic voice broke through the charred atmosphere of the wrecked wall-remains, as a SharpClaw limped his way over from the direction of the smoking Temple. He staggered forward, his armor hanging in shattered remains and black blood oozing from a gash on his face, causing the trail of blood in the sand behind him to look like an ink trail. He collapsed at Drakon's feet, coughing hoarsely.

Drakon looked down at him. "You...you're with Gsildon's company on the Temple wall! What the hell happened over there?"

The SharpClaw looked up groggily. "Sir...the western wall's been completely decimated! Our forces have been overwhelmed by freed slaves carrying digging tools...and they've outnumbered us! One of them set off an explosion to the top-most pillar of the temple, and now the whole thing's coming down as we speak! It's an uprising, sir!"

"What?" Drakon grabbed him by the collar of his chain-mail. "How did they even get out of their chains? Who's leading them?"

"I-I didn't see anyone lead the charge...but there was a feline who gave the signal for the jail-break..."

"A feline?" Drakon's eyes darted alertly. "Who? Was it the Lynx? Did _she _sneak her way back in?"

"N-No, sir...it was a kid. Some ginger Tom, scrawny one too..."

Wolf's ears perked up at the words "ginger" and "scrawny". He managed a small smile.

_Riley..._

_That crazy kid...he did it after all..._

Drakon dropped him, rubbing his forehead with frustrated cursing. "An uprising...now, of all time...General Talon will butcher all of us like livestock if even one slave escapes..."

The SharpClaw stood weakly. "But, sir! That isn't all! The group that started the uprisng breached the northern gate and unlocked the barracks! They've started freeing slaves and escaping!"

"WHAT?" Drakon turned with blazing eyes, grabbing the terrified SharpClaw by his throat. _"You brainless, pus-filled idiot! Why didn't you tell me sooner? _Why did you even waste time coming over here and telling me, instead of lighting the damn beacon on the northern gate and signal for help? _Half the fucking Slave Yard must have escaped by now!"_

The bleeding SharpClaw rasped weakly as Drakon's thick, pincer-like fingers crushed his neck and stopped the circulation of air from reaching his gagging, blue face. Finally, when the scaly flesh on his neck started to tighten, Drakon snarled and threw him down.

_"Enough! _Get up, you swine, and listen. Go back to the western wall and light the beacon! The signal should reach the Imperial Guards back at the city and draw out reinforcements! Now stop wasting time, and do it! _GO!"_

The bleeding SharpClaw nodded fearfully and staggered away, while the others standing around Drakon snatched their weapons from the ground.

"Sir! Should we head there as well, to aid the others?"

The Head Scourge's eyes darted around hurriedly. "No! Not all of you...we still have other problems to attend to. You four!" He pointed at group standing near the flaming wall. "Take six or seven men and come with me to reinforce the defense of the garrison protecting the wall. You three back there, go back to the mud pit and gather as many Elites as you can to take back the barracks! Make sure not a single slave escapes, and don't kill any that manage to break out! We need them alive...their punishment will serve as an example for other resistant slaves. Now, go! _Hurry!"_

As the SharpClaw headed in each direction in armed groups, the remaining SharpClaw scattered around the wreckage stood where they were.

"What about us, sir? What's our task to carry out?"

Drakon walked over to where the flaming wall-fragment stood, and snatched a whip from one of the crushed SharpClaw corpses. He drew the whip back, weighing its handle in his hand before swinging it down.

_Whrrr-_TAAAAAKKKKK!

The bristled, rawhide end of the lash struck the ground with a ringing crack, splitting the grains of sand and planting a small, concave crater on the cracked, dusty surface. Wisps of dust rose from the struck spot, and Drakon turned, with a murderous gleam in his blazing eyes.

"You stay behind and search through this debris. Turn every scrap of rock over if you have to, but search until you find that canine son of a bitch. He's hiding out here...I can sense it. Engage him, and when you do, strip his corpse bare of skin and bring me his wretched hide, to ensure his death. That defiant bastard's gray fur has insulted my eyes for the last time, and I'll have it hang on the Slave Yard walls for the whole desert to see, to witness the price of testing my wrath." He clasped the bruised side of his livid face. "Talon may care more about how many of the other slaves escape, but I'll make it my personal business to make sure _that _one doesn't." His snarl curled the corner of his lip upwards, exposing his jagged fangs. "Understand? That canine doesn't leave this slave yard alive. Find him, kill him, and bring me his skin. And pray for your miserable souls that you don't fail me...or you can suffice for him by handing over _your _skin. _Am I clear?"_

The SharpClaw gripped their weapons fearfully and shouted simultaneously. "Y-Yes, sir!"

"Good. And if you happen to find that healer girl and the Jaguar with him, kill them too. Now, the rest of you, come with me!"

And with that, Drakon coiled his whip and bolted in the direction of the smoking temple, with a group of armed SharpClaw following closely behind.

The SharpClaw dispatched to look for Wolf spread out in all directions, pikes and daggers drawn and whips flourished.

Wolf leaned back behind his stone cover, flipping a middle claw in the direction that Drakon ran off to.

_You want me dead, then you come and fight me yourself...you skulking, ass-faced piece of shit..._

He drew his Claw from his belt and held it slightly over the side of the rock behind him. He scanned the reflective surface of the steel blade for any SharpClaw approaching, while he hammered his brain for a quick battle-strategy.

_I'll have to fight my way out...nothing new..._

_Except I'm not fighting Cornerians or Desert Raiders this time...my opponents are SharpClaw..._

_A group of them, too..._

He looked down at his bandaged arm. He knew he was physically inferior to them...there wasn't anything he could change about that. But there had to be some kind of tactical advantage he could gain over them...some weakness. He told himself the same thing he rehearsed in his mind before a difficult battle: Every opponent, regardless of their species, had an Achilles heel. Of course, that had always applied to every race of Lylatian he'd ever fought. But he hadn't crossed blades with a SharpClaw before...he didn't know where their vulnerable spots or pressure points were. All he knew was that they were bigger and stronger than him...and not as stupid as they looked.

He sighed uncomfortably, feeling hot and frustrated.

_I know the focus of this kind of battle should be the strength of wits and combat skill..._

_But some Inner Power wouldn't hurt..._

Then, he looked down at the fist he hurled at Drakon...which still felt numb from that incident.

He had managed to hide his surprise from Fay and everyone that had been watching, but that didn't mean it was absent.

That _hadn't _been a normal blow back there. Normal blows didn't cause atmospheric repulse like that.

His arm tingled hopefully with the frail possibility.

Could his Inner Power be back?

_No, wait...there wasn't any fire in that attack...and it didn't feel the same...the vibe and rush of my Fire Wolf wasn't there._

_And I didn't intensify that punch intentionally either..._

_I don't even know how it happened..._

_Is it some kind of a sign...that my Power is back?_

Tingling hope churned its way up Wolf's stomach, and he couldn't contain his excitement even with his extreme doubt. He had to try, at least.

_Hold on a minute, Wolf...don't be too hasty..._ He told himself firmly. _Keep it together..._

_There's no guarantee it will work...hell, there's no guarantee that it has anything to do with my Inner Power..._

_But, still...it wouldn't hurt to try to use it..._

He looked around, curling his hands into fists before digging his feet into the ground, preparing for the stance...

Then, he stopped himself.

_No, WAIT!_

_I can't risk it...not here, of all places..._

_The same thing might happen again...it won't work, and that weird paralysis thing might happen to me where I can't move my body..._

_If that happens here, I'm completely fucked._

_No..._

_I can't do it..._

_But maybe, I don't have to produce a massive flame...so I don't strain my Inner Power, in whatever condition it is..._

_And I definitely can't do anything like Wolf Flash, either..._

_I'll try out something small...like a spark, or a small flame..._

That seemed practical. Not a complete effort, but a small, risky one.

His eyes darted around quickly, the pressure of real-world events waking him from thought.

_I don't have much time...just one small test, and then I'm moving on._

With another pleading thought, Wolf cupped his hands together and held his breath. Then, he let out a small exhale. He tried to stay calm, and keep his expectations reasonable. He planted his feet firmly, and tried to withstand all distractions until he could feel his blood rush, and his spine rise. Then, with a determined breath, he muttered under his breath.

_"Fire Wolf."_

He looked down at the palm of his hand.

Nothing.

Not a spark. Not a flame. Nothing.

Cold disappointment washed over Wolf's insides like freezing water, except it shook his entire body with a melancholy shiver, not just the outside.

He stomped his foot with frustration, angry at his Inner Power for teasing him like that. What kind of inconsistency was this? If his Inner Power hadn't come back, than why did that shockwave from his fist happen? It didn't make any damn sense. _None _of it did.

_Whatever..._

_The Inner Power can go fuck itself...I don't need it..._

_Besides, it would defeat the purpose of me fighting these people at all..._

_I'm going to fight this scum with my own skill and my own wits...like Leon said..._

_If they're going to be brutal, then I have to be brutal back..._

He gripped his Claw, and prepared to vault over the rock pile.

Then, he stopped himself, eyes darting around quickly.

_No..._

_That's a stupid approach to take...that's what made me lose in the first place..._

_The end result will be the same..._

_I won't win the battle that way..._

_...the only way to gain an advantage is to surprise them...to catch them off guard by fighting with tactical superiority..._

_But how...? I don't know my enemy this time..._

Then, remembered advice Leon had given him back at the Academy, a time and age that seemed like eons ago in Wolf's head...

_"To leap the precipice, one has to avoid the common, impulsive mistakes that every other fool made to cause him to fall in. To avoid them, he must stand back, examine the crevice, analyze it...and cross it with his own strategy as the bridge."_

Wolf looked up, with realization glowing brighter than the glaring hue of the sun.

That's _what I have to do..._

_If I don't know my enemy..._

His eyes narrowed cunningly.

_...I have to get to know them..._

_Analyze them..._

_...like a predator hunting prey..._

_A few minutes later..._

The SharpClaw began scouring the area for any signs of life...kicking over rocks, cautiously nudging flaming piles of debris, and recoiling with disgust at whatever smashed SharpClaw corpses they found in the wreckage.

The leader of the dispatched group, a yellow Elite, barked to the group as they searched.

"Keep looking! He can't have gone far..."

But as they moved past pile after pile of rock with uneasy haste, in the heat and annoying ash of the dying fires, they didn't notice a small, white hand snatch a dagger from the corpse of one of the SharpClaw.

Fay grabbed the dagger's handle and dove back behind her rock cover, breathing heavily and praying that she hadn't been seen. After some rushed exhaling, and darting her head back a few more times to make sure the coast was clear, she took a deep breath. She tightened her bow to keep her hair from falling in her eyes, which was irritating in this unbearable heat, crouched down and sprinted towards some flaming debris.

Her small, light feet moved speedily across the sand, quietly enough not to attract too much attention. She ran a nervous hand past her cheek and brushed her bangs aside, terrified that her clumsy legs would trip over a brick or shaft of wood she didn't see and blow her cover.

No...she couldn't screw up this time. This wasn't knocking over pots and pans in the kitchen, or dropping a crate of fuel canisters in the Shuttle Dock. If she blundered here, people could die because of it. _She _could die because of it.

But with a rush of relief, she found the block of stone she had hid under after the collision a few moments ago, and turned behind it to find what she was looking for.

The Jaguar was still locked in the tight hold of the rusted-locked stockade. By sheer luck, the flaming debris that had shattered off the fallen wall had landed a few feet past him, just missing his slunk-over, scarred back. The collision hadn't inflicted any serious damage, other than clumps of rock and splinters of wood that hung on his fur from the explosive impact.

Fay ran over and jabbed the dagger's blade into the cracks of the locked hinges of the stockade wood slab.

The Jaguar looked up weakly, but managed to glance at her with dazed confusion. "What are you...doing...?"

"Shh! Please, be quiet!" She whispered hurriedly, before pulling down on the handle shakily, wrenching at the rusty hinges with the dagger. "I need you to hold still..."

It took lots of grunting and sweat, but after digging the handle against the palm of her hands with so much strain that the leather imprinted against her skin, she pried the weak metal hinges open.

_Krr-_KLANK!

The lock fell off and Fay let the knife slide from her palm to the ground, clutching her hands as she rubbed the imprinted marks gingerly.

The Jaguar fell to the ground weakly, since the stockade was the only thing keeping his limp body up. His bony wrists slid from the unhitched holes in the stockade, before being caught by Fay.

She hoisted him up, throwing one of his spotted arms around her shoulder and dragging him along with her.

"Please...get away from here..." The Jaguar murmured in a dangerously frail voice. "Leave me..."

"Save your strength," Fay muttered, looking around quickly. "Let's go find your wife. She's got to be back at the barracks, somewhere..."

The young Spaniel girl hobbled quickly, panting under the surprisingly burdensome weight of the wounded Jaguar. The dust from the collision was already clearing, and SharpClaw were bound to notice her soon, if she didn't hurry.

Then, she spotted the dark, billowing tower of smoke from the direction of the burning Temple, and tried to sprint as fast as her small feet could carry her.

"HEY! There's one over there!"

Fay's heart leapt to her throat as she looked back to see a SharpClaw, a couple of yards away, pointing his whip and her direction.

_No! _She screamed in her head. _Not now...not now!_

"It's the healer girl!" The lead Yellow Elite shouted. "GO AFTER HER! _Don't let her escape!"_

Fay didn't hesitate to catch her startled breath. Heart racing and blood pounding deafeningly in her ears, she took off in the other direction, her feet stomping in the sand and causing sand to fly up around her legs. Every now and then, the Jaguar on her back's feet would drag against the ground behind her, slowing her down. She huffed desperately, wishing for a third hand to swipe the relentless bangs out of her face, before heaving his body higher up her back before running faster.

The ominous sound of clanking armor plates, clinking chain mail, and the unmistakable pounding of reptilian was quickly approaching behind Fay.

Fay's bright, terrified eyes looked everywhere for a hope or cover, the horizon and smoking Temple in the distance bobbing up and down in her vision as she ran toward it.

_WHRRR-_TAAAAKKKK!

The coiled leather of a whip snapped around Fay's ankle like a striking python, before jerking back. With a slip of balance, the sickening rush of falling, and a canine yelp, she fell face-first into the ground, which slammed against her body roughly.

The groaning Jaguar's body collapsed on her back, causing her to suffocate under his weight. She wriggled around, coughing and brushing sand out of her face, before turning to see the towering, black silhouette of a SharpClaw looming over her.

Her eyes widened. Her shaky hands rummaged through her belt for the dagger she had picked up, as if foolishly resolving to actually putting up a fight that wouldn't last.

The SharpClaw sneered and drew his long-knife, which gleamed as it slunk out of its rawhide scabbard, before swinging it down.

_Pit-Pat-Pit-Pat-Pit-Pat!_

Suddenly, the SharpClaw turned slowly at the sound of padded feet running from behind. On instinct, he whirled around, swinging his knife.

_Swa-_SHING!

Wolf ducked and curled into a roll as the knife swung over, the dull surface of the blade just grazing the fur on the tips of his ears as he went down. Rolling past him and bolting up into a crouched position, he drew his Claw.

Even while crouched, he was still huge compared to Fay. He may not have been as muscular or bulky as he was a few weeks ago, but he still towered over her. However, nothing could change how weak he looked. Whatever threatening or foreboding look he gave off from afar wasn't at all present up close. His face was sunken and hollow from extreme blood loss, and his ribs peeked through his fur from malnourishment. He looked skinny, frail, and scarred.

And now that he was this closed, he didn't look the least bit intimidating to the SharpClaw.

The SharpClaw's surprised eyes faltered, and a savage grin appeared on his lips. "HA!" He charged forward, bringing his blade down.

CLANG!

Wolf barely had time to block the blow, raising his Claw in front of his face as the knife came down on him. The blade rattled against the steel edge of his Claw, sparks reverberating off of their grinding collision. The SharpClaw poured his massive, bulky weight on the back of his grip, forcing Wolf back.

Wolf dug his feet in the ground, grunting as he struggled under the superior muscle of his opponent. He shot his hand out frantically and placed his palm behind the back of his blade, holding the intense strength of the SharpClaw back with both hands, his feet sinking in the sand as he was pushed lower.

As his grip shook and his wrists started to ache from holding the blade-lock, sweat started to pour down Wolf's neck as his fur spiked with strain.

The SharpClaw laughed spitefully. "Tch! What kind of bullshit is this? _This _is the slave that seemed so menacing and intimidating five minutes ago? _This _is the canine who blew that bruise in Drakon's face? I couldn't believe that crap even if I wanted to!"

He pressed his weight harder against his blade, causing Wolf clench his teeth and wince as the back of the Claw dug into his hand.

"Well...I don't care how fearsome he looked from far away...up close, he looks like a mangy, tattered little scarecrow. He doesn't look like he has a merciless bone in his body!"

As he struggled under the cumbersome weight of the SharpClaw, Wolf's eyes darted around in frustration. Surrounding the sandy spot where they stood, massive broken heaps of rocky debris towered over them, too high to climb and too wide to run around. They were as good as walls, herding them into a tight space like an alley.

Secluding and tight...

Without a moment's hesitation, Wolf hooked his Claw around the SharpClaw's blade and swung him to the side, flinching as the push against his strength caused his bandaged shoulder to pop slightly. Snatching the keys that dangled from his belt as he was swung aside, Wolf staggered back from the SharpClaw and grabbed Fay's arm.

He dragged her far enough from the SharpClaw's range of swinging, and tossed the keys to her. She caught them in surprise as he stood with his back in front of her.

"You, Fay!Get to the barracks and try to see how many slaves you can free with those, and get yourself out of here! I'll hold them off as long as I can! MOVE!"

Fay nodded hurriedly and hoisted the Jaguar up on her back, before running off, the clinking sound of the keys she held fading as she disappeared over the horizon.

Wolf watched until her small black silhouette disappeared out of sight, before he heard a clanking sound behind him. He whirled his head around to see more SharpClaw gather behind the first one, armed with scimitars and spears, edging dangerously close.

The SharpClaw circled from a safe distance, cautiously holding their weapons as they watched Wolf's expression, prepared for any attack he would throw at them. Being Elites, they were well-rehearsed with the combat tactics of the warm-bloods that they had crossed blades with on several occasions. This was the critical moment in which he would make the first strike...a running charge, a whirling swing, an evasive ground-roll...something to ignite the battle, and make his first mark on the enemy.

But he didn't look like he was concentrating on the battle at all...his eyes kept darting around frantically, as if scanning the area for any means of escape. Combined with the ragged and pitiful appearance he had already, his tense and nervous expression made him look like a trapped animal.

The first SharpClaw took a few steps forward, jabbing his knife out like a cattle prod, as if to goad the first attack out of Wolf first.

_Pfft!_

He arched his back cautiously, his knife shooting up on reflex at the sudden blur of movement, before he lowered it with surprise.

Wolf made the first move...but it wasn't a strike. He kicked his feet against the ground, sand flying from the stomping motion of his heel, as he bolted for the first clearing through the crowd of gathering SharpClaw, and ran away. He didn't even stop to look at the SharpClaw when he passed them...he just took off, scurrying away as fast as he could.

The SharpClaw stood aside each other for a moment, watching him run. They all smiled brutishly, stifling laughs and jeers of baffled amusement.

They all knew that Wolf would do _something _to counter the obvious outnumbering factor between them...but this? This was just sad...

The first SharpClaw let out a spiteful laugh.

"Tch...'Hold them off', my ass. Look at him run, like the scum-ridden coward he is! He _knows _he doesn't stand a chance against us!"

"Don't underestimate him too much." Everyone turned to see the Lead Yellow Elite standing behind them. "Don't let yourselves forget that it was _he _who planted that mark in Drakon's face, not to mention outwitted him the first time. I haven't seen that kind of fear in his eyes before...and it must be for a reason, no matter how weak he looks. But he's not heading in the direction of the gates...so we can cut him off quickly. Just don't waste time toying with him...end him quickly."

The SharpClaw scoffed under their breath before charging after Wolf, scraping the ground with their raptor-like feet as they carried them across the sands at a surprisngly-fast rate.

The Yellow Lead snapped his fingers, gesturing to the remaining SharpClaw standing near him. "Those of you with spears...head to the front, and try to pin him down if he gets too far!"

The SharpClaw slung their spears off their backs and sprinted ahead with the others.

Wolf's ears perked as he heard the distorted echo of the Lead SharpClaw's voice from behind, his senses tingling at the word "spears."

He sucked in some breath and kicked some energy into his legs, forcing them to go faster. His bare feet left clawed tracks in the baking sand, each stomp in the ground sending a puff of dust around them as he ran. The hot air stared to become thin and non-breathable as he went faster and got more tired, the muffled sound of his heavy panting clogging his ears.

Large masses of crumbled rock passed him as he went by, but these were too far from the original site...indicating spots where new chunks of exploded debris had fallen. Most of them didn't block or surround the path he was running, but that didn't guarantee the absence of those sizes of debris in the area. The stone wall masses were still present...that was a good enough indicator.

_This isn't far enough..._He thought to himself. _I have to get farther!_

He kept his ears alert for the sound of the SharpClaw's feet behind him, tensing for when the pit-pattering noises grew louder or fainter.

Suddenly, his heart leapt as he heard the noise not only come from right behind him, but from the left and right sides as well.

_Shit!_

_They aren't running in single-file anymore...they're smarter than that..._

_They've broken up into groups...hunting in packs..._

Then, he heard a voice ring from a dangerously close distance from behind.

"He's in range! Haikon!"

"I've got 'im!" A voice answered, and he heard a whooshing sound.

Wolf froze.

After having his ears split from the cracking sound of the Adder Tongues, he had the whooshing sound that echoed before a whip's signature crack etched in his mind. And this wasn't the same sound...

It made more of a whistling sound...like a shaft of wood...

_Shaft of-?_

Then, his eyes widened. He had just enough time to fling himself down into a hasty duck, dodging the long, approaching shadow that whirled behind him.

He was quick to respond...but not quick enough.

There was an intense force in the air that cut through the atmosphere like a fierce wind, as the flying spear whistled over Wolf's shoulder, grazing the pointed fur on his cheek. The flint tip tore into the bandaged surface of his shoulder, tearing off a piece of blood-stained cloth and ripping a gash into one of his recovering scars.

_"GARGH!"_

Wolf yelled as the force of the spear's traveling speed hurled him forward, his feet skidding uncontrollably over the sandy ground by the toes. He staggered over his jumbled feet and lost balance, falling over with an uncomfortable thud.

_Clump!_

The hot grains of sand washed over his body like tiny, scalding pieces of glass, as he coughed and cursed under his breath. He shook the sand off him and brushed it off his tail. Nothing could ever make him used to this stupid, uncomfortable sand...even the blistering, rocky cliffs of Venom weren't as bad as this.

Then, his hands, planted in the ground to hoist himself up, felt the vibration of incoming foot-stomping. Soon, the air was filled with clamoring voices. He turned with a startled jolt to see that the SharpClaw were only a few feet away, running steadily towards him.

"He's down! _Get him!"_

Wolf quickly rummaged through the sand and grabbed his Claw, rushing to his feet to counter the closest SharpClaw that was closing in on him.

The SharpClaw drew his scimitar and swung it down on Wolf.

_"Huah!"_

TRT-_IIING!_

Wolf brought his Claw up, the scimitar's curved edge knifing into the blade. The crushing weight of the SharpClaw rattled the bones in Wolf's wrist as he tried to drive him back.

The SharpClaw grinned as he drew his blade back and started to swing it rapidly. Wolf's eyes widened as the scimitar's shape became a gleaming blur in his sun-stricken eyes.

_Swa-_TANG!

_Cling!_

Shhrrr-_AAANG!_

The savage blows rained down on Wolf as he desperately tried to bring his Claw up to block them, each blow shattering and shaking the handle in his trembling hands. The sweeping length and massive muscle behind each swing caused Wolf's hands to become numb trying to block them. Stifled panting escaped his mouth as his guard started to weaken, his feet stumbling back as each strike mashed against his blade and forced him to stagger back.

His canine muscles that had shrunk at an unhealthy rate over the past few days, were barely keeping up with the powerful blows of the SharpClaw's swings.

The SharpClaw's grin widened at the sight of his opponent struggling, and dove in closer to snatch the advantage. He stabbed his scimitar in, causing Wolf swipe his Claw up vertically and let the blow scrape horizontally against the battered edge of his blade.

Then, the SharpClaw twisted his wrist and knocked the Claw aside.

Wolf grunted through clenched teeth, his eyes widening as the scimitar jabbed inches past his face and slicing down at his already gashed shoulder.

_Slltrch!_

"ARGH!"

Wolf staggered back and clasped his shoulder, blood seeping from out of the stinging, reopened wound and through the cracks of his fingers. As he seethed on his knees, the SharpClaw standing over him laughed boomingly.

"HA! What's the matter, canine? Too slow to keep up?"

He drew his clawed foot up and aimed a kick at Wolf's back.

_Slam!_

The massive foot smashed into Wolf's rigid spine, throwing him off balance and into the ground. The familiar throbbing feeling from the bulging bruise made him remember the tremendous kicks Drakon dealt to him. The painful nostalgia of a reptilian kick only lasted for a brief second, before being interrupted by the abrupt slam of the ground colliding with his battered stomach.

CLUMP!

Spitting sand and blood from his mouth, Wolf groaned as the jeering voice of the SharpClaw rang over his head.

"Pah...I don't understand you, slave. One minute, you're standing in triumph with the mark of your fist in Drakon's face...and now, you're groveling on the ground like a mutt who can't even take a hit!"

Wolf's ears twitched at the sound of steel rushing through the air, descending into a plunge. Exhaling quickly, he dropped to his back and rolled over, the SharpClaw's scimitar plunging its point into the spot where he had briefly huddled. Sand and rock sprayed from the intensity of the stab, causing dust to dive down Wolf's throat and make him cough.

The SharpClaw cursed and wrenched his sword out of the ground, whirling his head around to see where Wolf had rolled behind him.

Wolf narrowed his eyes, watching the speed in which it took the Elite to turn his neck...before-

_KRRK!_

Wolf aimed his foot at the SharpClaw's exposed ankle, clawing it and causing him to stumble with a roar of rage. Snatching up his Claw, he heaved himself up and rushed past him, taking off into another run.

The SharpClaw, clutching his bleeding ankle, raised his blade and bellowed after him.

"BASTARD! Come back here, _and fight like a man!"_

But Wolf didn't stay behind long enough to grant him a smart retort. He just kept running, wincing but determined to ignore the open wound on his shoulder, and not letting himself lose speed for a moment.

The other SharpClaw sprinted past the one on the ground, and the Yellow Leader stopped.

"You, on the ground! Did you wound him?"

The SharpClaw hoisted himself up on his scimitar with a grunt. "Barely. Not enough to slow him down."

The Yellow Elite glanced back at the small black dot running in the distance, pursued relentlessly by groups of SharpClaw.

"Where the hell does he think he's going? There's nothing out there but tents and discarded equipment...and it's in the complete opposite of the gate. What's he going to do? Jump over the stronghold wall?"

"He didn't put up much of a fight, either," The other SharpClaw said, sheathing his scimitar. "I fought for a decent amount of time to get used to the speed of his arm...and he barely blocked any of my attacks. I wasn't even trying too hard, and he could barely keep up with me swinging at him. His reflexes were sluggish and too awkward to even defend himself. He's a weakling!"

"A very inconsistent slave, this one," The Yellow Elite remarked tartly. "Maybe he's only capable of performing miracles and looking strong once. It appears I overestimated his strength...but never mind. Keep going!"

As the both of them kept running to catch up with the pursuing SharpClaw, all of them shared the same confused thoughts.

Where was this slave going, if he had no means of escape? Why wasn't he standing his ground and fighting back? Why did he prove to be on par with Drakon, but not with a group of subordinates like them?

This coward of a slave was bewildering them more and more...even if he was destined to die...

_A few tiresome yards ahead..._

Wolf skidded to a halt next to a small pile of charred, stone wall-fragments, and caught his breath. Sweat poured down his neck and back like a lukewarm, irritating shower of damp discomfort. The heat had made the air he sucked into his panting mouth heavy and unbearable, and the sun was already shedding its scalding haze down on him.

He looked up groggily, seeing the blurry shapes of approaching SharpClaw coming up fast.

Rubbing his eyes and swiping sweat off his matted-furred brow, he dashed past the wall of debris. Drawing his Claw and gripping it tightly, he slammed the butt of the handle against the weakened structure.

KRACK.

The ashy and chipped bricks sunk in on themselves from the sudden rupture on the bottom, and the low wall came down behind Wolf in a heap of dust and rock, blocking off the path of the SharpClaw to buy him some time to get ahead.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he turned to resume his run.

But as he let his weary legs gradually pick up speed at their own comfort, he gazed up at the area that lay ahead.

The landscape that spread out before him in the confines of the fortress walls, their dark, rising shape visible on the horizon, was completely empty. It was the one part of the Slave Yard that served no purpose in gathering ore for the temple or serving as grounds for tents or other shelter. There were no heaps of debris here, none that blocked off any areas that could be used for evasive sprinting or retreating...no walls of wreckage to confine the movement of any who tread there.

Nothing but flat, low land, with little more than heaps of desert sand and withering cracks in the dead ground. The only sound to be caught by the eardrums of any individual was the ghostly whisper of a frail zephyr blowing across the lifeless ground.

Wolf let out a breath of relief. He had made it.

_Shh-_THNK!

Suddenly, the tranquility of utter silence was shattered by the whistling sound of a spear shaft plummeting into the ground, just inches from Wolf's foot.

Fur spiking up in a startled manner, he whirled around to see dozens of SharpClaw in the distance, pouring like rats out of a smashed-open hole in the wall he had closed off. Wolf drew his Claw back and took a few scrambling steps backwards, eyes locking on each of the SharpClaw as they emerged through the dust-draped hole.

_Shh-_THNK!

Wolf's heart leapt at the sound of another spear plunging into the ground near his feet. He turned to see two _more _groups of SharpClaw approach from the south, grinning and snarling as they flourished their pikes and whips.

His eyes darted from one group of SharpClaw, to the next, to the batch behind him, as they started to spread out and drew nearer. They weren't cluttered into groups anymore, and were starting to march forward side-by-side.

Wolf kept on stepping back, his head turning from group to group as he watched the figures of SharpClaw drown out any visible openings or escape routes from his vision. The echoing tremor of numerous raptor-clawed feet simultaneously edging nearer began to shake the ground, as the Elites started to form a massive circle around Wolf. They dragged the pole-butts of their pikes in the sand, running their claws against their swords, and cracking their whips to create a sense of intimidation for their prey.

Wolf stood a small, lone black silhouette as the SharpClaw surrounded him from afar, the massive ring of soldiers around him becoming smaller and closer together as they drew nearer.

His Claw gleamed brightly with a false hope of defense in his hand, and he bit back an uncomfortable wince at the stinging cut on his shoulder. His eyes traveled around slowly, a cold feeling of uneasiness creeping up his insides as he watched all hopes for escape get trampled under the gathering feet of SharpClaw.

Finally, after they were a few feet away, close enough to charge forward and slash him to pieces, a voice echoed from behind the surrounding wall of SharpClaw.

"You've led us on a fine chase, slave. But now, you have nowhere to scurry to, and no walls of stone to scurry behind."

Wolf turned to see the Yellow Elite, the one he had seen Drakon order to lead the dispatched unit of SharpClaw, approach through a wall of soldiers that stepped aside and cleared his path.

The Leader gripped the pike he carried and dropped it to his shoulder, eyeing Wolf with bored eyes. "I still don't see what Drakon sees in you as a threat. You aren't dangerous at all. Sure, you might have displayed some fighting ability with that punch earlier, but other than that, you don't seem good for anything other than running and hiding like a sniveling coward. But I guess that's the fearful side-effect of being broken by the Adder Tongues..."

A ripple of laughter echoed from all sides of the SharpClaw crowd.

Wolf bared his teeth and clenched his Claw tightly, but forced himself to remain rooted on the spot and control his anger. It wasn't time yet...

"Whatever, then," The Elite continued. "I've got my orders to kill you and take your skin. But I can still make it quick and painless if you just throw down your weapon and surrender."

The sand crunched under Wolf's feet as he dug them into the ground, reinforcing his position. His expression was blank and free of any emotion...fearful, tense, or angry...just blank. No words came from his mouth, and no clear answer shone in his eyes.

_Swa-_SHING!

SKRRRRRRR...

Then, Wolf unsheathed his claws and dragged them against the surface of his blade, raking its gleaming surface till sparks poured off of them, before pointing it in the Leader's direction.

Not a word was exchanged between the SharpClaw, but they could all tell what the gesture meant...a threatening challenge, daring the Yellow Elite to come forward.

The Elite sneered, almost in an eager manner than a lazy one. "Fine, then. I restrained both myself and my men from toying with you out of fear that you might escape in the process...but seeing as you're surrounded, I don't see why I can't deny you the pain and humiliation of single combat."

Pfft!

_Shing!_

He planted the shaft of his pike into the sand, and drew the machete that hung in a Rabbit-fur scabbard on his waist. He began to march forward.

"Drakon ordered me to make your agonized screams loud and long...and so I will obey. But since you're outmatched in rank, species, skill, and stature of health..." He smiled cruelly at the wound on Wolf's shoulder. "...I'll let you have the first attack. Then you can be cut to pieces, at least knowing you _tried _to defend yourself."

Another ripple of spiteful laughter echoed from across the crowd of SharpClaw, a little louder this time.

He whirled his machete in the air near his head, listening for the hum of the blade's swing to get into the vibe of battle. "Well, go on then. Make your move...you'll need it."

The sun boiled the rasped air that hung over the sandy field, causing the air above the SharpClaw in the distance to ripple in Wolf's vision. Sand crunched under his feet as he reinforced his position, and every SharpClaw watching turned to him, as if waiting in anticipation for him to attack.

But no sound of feet scraping the ground came. No battle-yell or roar shattered the silence. No attack came.

...and Wolf didn't move. He remained where he was.

The Leader spat in the sand and raised his machete. "Fine. You had your chance."

_Pfft!_

He kicked his reptilian feet against the sand (sending a flurry of dust and grains into the unfortunate SharpClaw bystanders' faces) and charged at Wolf, hurling his machete.

CLANG!

The long blade slammed against Wolf's Claw, causing his arms to jerk at the sudden impact. The Elite snarled as he shoved against the blade with his superior weight, and made Wolf stumble back slightly. He grunted slightly as he blocked the incoming slashes with slow reflex, and the SharpClaw pounded on his blade even harder.

Wolf haunched his shoulders and breathed heavily, making it look like he was struggling to keep up with the Elite's attacks...just like he had done with the other one before...

_Shrr-iiiing!_

TANG!

He shook after each attack, lowering his guard slightly. The Elite stabbed at each opening, before Wolf flung up his hand and blocked the strike with his Claw, widening his eyes fearfully each time.

The SharpClaw watching laughed as they watched the pathetic battle ensue, unaware of what Wolf was really doing...or where his gaze was...

Every now and then, when he would lower his guard, his eyes would lock on to the Leader's wrist and watch how fast he could stab...and which weak points in Wolf's lowered defense he would go after...

But everyone, the Yellow Elite himself included, was so caught up in jeering at him that they didn't notice at all.

"HA! What is this speed you're going at...this rigid stance? It's almost like I'm fighting a child wielding a weapon that's too big for his hands!" The Leader laughed, swinging his machete down with brutal force.

Wolf, seeing the glinting blur of the machete swing down into a dangerous chop, raised his Claw up just in time.

_Shrra-_KLAAAANG!

The two blades smashed against each other, the steel rattling as they were locked in a colliding encounter, sparks rolling off the edge like spontaneous, fiery rain.

Wolf panted heavily as he shakily maintained a steady grip on his Claw, preventing the machete from pressing any harder against it and graze its curved edge against his cheek.

The Elite sneered over him as he held his machete with one hand. "Pfft...wow. This kind of disappointment wasn't what I was expecting at all. I mean, I _knew _you were slow, my men kept me well-informed of that...but I didn't think your fighting skills were this unrefined and sluggish. Your speed and technique is pathetic!" The ringing of simultaneous laughter echoed from all sides of their fight, but it wasn't loud enough to drown out the taunting voice of the Elite. "You can't land a single hit on me. You're not even fast enough to block a few measly, ill-timed attacks!"

Wolf clenched his teeth as he struggled under the rattling weight of the SharpClaw. His fingers were already starting to give out-

_Shaaaang!_

The SharpClaw swung his machete back, forcing Wolf to stagger back and have his Claw-gripping hand be swerved aside...leaving him open.

The Elite sneered as he dove forward, drawing his arm back for the final swipe. "Tch...Drakon was right about you. You _are _as weak as they come..."

Wolf kept his face fixed in that startled, defenseless state of shock that the SharpClaw were probably used to by now, his fur spiking up in terror-

...before his expression changed entirely. His widened eyes slimmed back into their moody, unimpressed, dangerous state. His eyebrows knitted together and his face resumed his intense, merciless and brooding scowl.

_Alright...enough's enough...it's time to drop the act..._

Then, all time seemed to slow down, in a viscous and blurry fashion.

Right as the machete swung over near Wolf's neck, he bent his knee and arched his back into a blurringly-fast duck. As the blade hummed while it hacked through the air right above Wolf's head, the SharpClaw's sneer melted slowly into a staunched look of huge-eyed disbelief. His lips didn't move fast enough to utter words or even a breath of shock, but his reptilian eyes, now reduced to thinned, startled slits, seemed to speak on their own: _WHAT-?_

The duck was timed so perfectly and fluidly, that Wolf seemed to move less like a man and more like running water or a swift gale. He drew his foot back to keep his stance stable, his heel kicking up a billowing gust of sand from the ground.

As watching SharpClaw slowly opened their mouths into a gape of shock, their eyes blinking blurrily to keep up with Wolf's blazing movement, they squinted at the flashing gleam of the sun reflecting off his Claw.

All of them were speechless and caught in the confusing aftermath of the rush of events, but they were all thinking the same thing:

_How the hell did he get so fast?_

When the SharpClaw's blade had swung too far to the side in a heaving miss, Wolf ascended from his dive with rapid speed, tossing his Claw from his left hand to his right.

His _left _hand to his _right..._

The Elite's eyes widened. _He's been holding his blade in his left hand the whole time?_

In truth, the entirety of the last ten minutes of Wolf running and stopping now and then to counter a few SharpClaw attacks with poor skill, had been nothing more than an analysis run.

With the encounters he had with the SharpClaw, he had analyzed every attack pattern they had. But he knew from the start that he couldn't study the SharpClaw in a stand-alone battle...it would take too long, and heighten the risk of him being cut down. The only way he could analyze them without putting himself at risk was to engage them from afar...in the form of a pursuit.

As he had been running, he developed a strategy: use his speed to dominate his strength.

He knew for a fact that these SharpClaw were a powerful species...equipped with a larger skeleton, muscles and an overall-superior metabolism. But they were slow...clunky, and had to lumber everywhere under the burden of armor. They weren't fast enough to keep up with a faster set of reflexes or agility...and that was their true Achilles heel.

But he couldn't use that tactical advantage in the cluttered, closed up, tightened atmosphere of the wrecked wall. There was too much debris and heaps of rock, not enough room to move about. Taking on the SharpClaw in a place like that would be like confronting a group of Wrestling champions in an alley-way...they'd crush his bones before he could do one somersault.

No...He needed a place that was wide-open, and broad...a place where he could sprint and leap in any directions without being confined...a place where the SharpClaw couldn't keep up with him, and would have to trail his movements in their heavy armor...

...a place like the one which they were standing on now.

Wolf hadn't led them on a chase to escape anywhere...he was drawing them out to a different location.

But beyond using his speed, the proper environment, and a strategical analysis to help him, Wolf needed one more element to turn the battle to his favor...

The element of surprise.

If he had been using his actual speed and skill the entire time, the SharpClaw, being the cunning and adaptable fighters that they were, would get too used to his fighting style and overwhelm him quickly. So he had to build their confidence that he was slow and sluggish. Appear desperate, take an easily-avoidable hit with a spear, and barely block their attacks...

...and they bought it perfectly.

That's when the Yellow Elite himself realized the trap Wolf had drawn him into. He had been faking his speed the entire time...and holding his weapon in his left hand, too. He had pretended to be slower and more sluggish to conceal his actual speed and reflexes, and made the cunning Elites get used to a completely fake set of reflexes and blocks. He had even wielded his Claw in his left hand, the hand he neglected for his dominant one, to make the inferior fighting style seem more convincing...

The SharpClaw couldn't believe it.

_Shit...the bastard set me up! He set us ALL up!_

But it was too late.

Because the second Wolf reached full-height from his duck, and the Claw landed in his right hand, his speed and attitude completely changed.

Hur-_hwing!_

Without a shout or yell of rage, Wolf bolted at his opponent with catlike speed, slashing his blade at him with timed and carefully-aimed cuts. The SharpClaw, eyes still huge and slowly igniting in the aftermath of his own shock, dashed back just in time before the razor-sharp point could etch a close gash into his snout.

**SHING! **_**Hwing! **_**CLANG! SHING! **_**Hwing! **_**CLANG! SHING! **_**Hwing! **_**CLANG!**

The Yellow Elite brought his machete up, just barely catching each blow with a block. But from his perspective, the slashes, too many and to quick to gaze upon individually, that Wolf dealt went so blurringly fast and at such a blazing rate, that his hand looked like a collection of gleaming, hurtling slashes that rained down on his quaking machete like a storm of steel.

Each blow was more quickly and blurring than the last, cutting the air before it could hum against the blade with a rushing ring. The SharpClaw, breathing heavily and grunting with effort, staggered back with his clawed feet scraping the sand...as he struggled under the immense force of the blows.

And between each blurring strike, he caught of the terrifying face behind it. Wolf's snarl drew his mouth into a cold-blooded baring of his teeth, a massive shadow draping...illuminating his nightmarish expression every other second by the flashing, colliding sparks that rained off the edges of their blades.

The SharpClaw's hands shook, and it had nothing to do with the rattling of the Claw hammering against it. And he didn't understand why...

He was an Elite...a SharpClaw, who could dye his scales crimson with the blood of the hundreds of warm-bloods he had killed...a slaughterer, a warrior of a relentless species...

So why...why was he terrified of one solitary, ragged, outmatched, outnumbered slave of an inferior species...that was broken by the Adder Tongues and with more bandages than fur?

Shrr-TIIIING!

Wolf knocked the blade aside with such extreme force and speed, that sparks poured of some brutally-carved chips in the edge of the SharpClaw machete. The SharpClaw arched forward and swung down with his machete, attempting to aim a wounding slice into his opponent's shoulder.

_Pfft!_

Reacting with slick reflex, Wolf side-stepped nimbly, his eyes traveling to the SharpClaw's feet...and watching how they struggled under the sudden movement of their owner's heavy and armored torso. Whirling out of the attack's reach and swinging his Claw up, he recited the results of his long analysis in his head...

_First...these SharpClaw possess a superior physical build...so I can't hope to crack their bones with a simple head-butt or wrist-grab..._

CLANG!

The SharpClaw swung his blade horizontally, twisting his wrist in an attempt to catch Wolf off-guard with fast recovery-time. Wolf's eyes widened for a second before he caught the strike with a hasty block.

_Second...they twist their wrist while swinging to change their attack direction on an instant, and tend to aim their attacks at the neck, face, shoulders, ribs and back when facing enemies..._

_"Huagh!"_

He growled as he grabbed his Claw with both hands and shoved against the machete with his own blade, causing the SharpClaw to draw back his sword-arm.

Wolf snarled and dove under the SharpClaw's backwards-swerving arm, cranking his neck, and twisting his feet and spine simultaneously as he swung his body into a blurring, evasive spin behind the Elite's back.

The SharpClaw whirled his head around with a roar of rage, but was too late.

_Third...they suffer from a rigid neck-structure...which means that they can't turn their heads fast enough to keep their eyes on faster attacks or movements..._

Taking advantage of the Elite's sluggish turn, Wolf drew his foot from the scraping sand and aimed a swerving kick at the SharpClaw's heels.

The Yellow Elite let out a grunt as he staggered back, his balance giving into the sudden strike at his legs.

As he fell slowly, Wolf bolted forward, claws out.

_And finally..._

_...even though their thick hides protect most of their body from deep or otherwise fatal cuts...there appears to be less fortified sections of weaker skin on their feet, shoulders, stomachs, necks..._

His hand shot out and grabbed the SharpClaw by the face, whose eyes widened between the cracks of Wolf's fingers.

_...and face._

SLAM!

Wolf planted the SharpClaw's face in the cracked, dusty ground, causing the sand around the ground-collision to ripple from the impact, the grains splitting around his face. The machete toppled from his grip and plunged itself into the mound of sand, and his legs kicked around uselessly.

_Slrrtch!_

The SharpClaw latched his clawed hands around Wolf's arm, digging his claws into his fur and ripping at the bandages once-bound bandages. Wolf winced as the deep claw-marks raked his skin, his grip on the SharpClaw shaking, before he drew his Claw back...the sunlight glinting off its spark-blackened edge...and plunged down.

SLRRRTTCHHH!

The SharpClaw's reptilian eyes became huge and slitted...before they stopped moving entirely. The clawed hands around Wolf's arms slackened limply, their talons still embedded in his fur and shredded bandages.

None of the watching SharpClaw spoke. Most of them were still finishing blinking, and trying to process the rapid onslaught of events that just occurred. The rest just stared with huge, bulging eyes...the shock sinking into them.

Wolf swiped the limp arm aside, flinching slightly as blood trickled down his arm. Curling his fingers around the plunged Claw to yank it out, his ears perked at a sudden echoing noise.

"He...He killed the Lieutenant!"

_"We can't let him escape! _KILL HIM!"

Wolf whirled around to see the circling group of SharpClaw charge forward, the armor on the Yellow Leader's corpse rattling and sand rumbling from the pounding of numerous sprinting feet.

He quickly snatched his Claw from the corpse, but not quickly enough to get to his feet to engage the first SharpClaw that towered over him.

_SHING!_

The SharpClaw bought the shaft of his spear down on Wolf's unprotected neck, right as he brought his Claw up behind his neck. The two weapons smashed against each other in a shower of sparks, Wolf's fingers quaking as he struggled under the burdensome weight of the SharpClaw.

As his shoulders started to feel numb from strain, he looked up with a shaky grunt to see a line of SharpClaw charge at him from the front, to take advantage of him while he was still on his knees.

Despite his struggling effort, Wolf let out a strained sneer.

_Tch...no honorable warriors among these scum..._

_Fine...if it's a fight they want..._

_...then I'll give them a slaughter..._

SHRRR-_IIING!_

He jerked forward on the handle of his blade, causing the spear-shaft of the agonizingly-heavy SharpClaw to slide off without warning and cause his unsupported weight to pull him down into a fall. Wolf dashed backwards, his back slamming into the unguarded portion of the Elite's stomach and swung his Claw behind him.

_Slrrtch!_

Black blood sprayed from the gash in the SharpClaw's belly, causing him to fall to his knees.

The group of SharpClaw charging towards him, now closer than before when he was on his knees, drew their knives and whips when they were an arms-length from his back.

Wolf swept his Claw back to his side and ran forward, kicking his feet off the ground and planting his foot on the shoulder of the wounded SharpClaw in front of him.

SLAM!

The SharpClaw stopped snarling and growling, their quarrelsome faces melting into jaw-dropped expressions of disbelief, as Wolf kicked his foot off of the wounded Elite's shoulder with enough impact to launch him backwards into the air. Spinning his body and twisting his spine with swift agility while in mid-air, Wolf's shape became a shadowy silhouette against the sun-stricken sky, soaring above the SharpClaw's heads.

The SharpClaw in the back of the group widened his eyes as the black shape of Wolf's body rushed closer, until his vision was blinded by the wicked gleam of Wolf's arm swinging down on him.

_SLRRT-_TTTCH!

SLAM!

Wolf landed on the ground, hand planted on the sandy surface with his back bent, his feet smashing into the ground and sending sand up around him like a spray of water, his fur rippling blurrily like waves. There was a sickening thud behind him as the SharpClaw's body slumped over into the ground, his head collapsing off of the cleaved sinew of his severed neck and landing in the damp, blackened sand.

There was a clamoring of steel and whip-cracking from the crowd of SharpClaw in the distance, who roared angrily to conceal the terror in their voices and shook their weapons to visually camoflage their shaking hands.

Wolf, still kneeling in his landing position, turned his head with a growl to face them from the side, so only the left side of his face was visible...the side with the ominous, tattered eye-patch and the lines on his face from an intense scowl.

_Shwa-_SHING!

Suddenly, the ring of a blade caused Wolf to whirl his head around just in time to see the gleaming machete of a SharpClaw, who had managed to sneak up behind him by making less noise in the sand with his huge, clawed feet.

Reacting with hasty, barely-timed reflex, Wolf threw up his Claw behind him, stopping the blade's plunge from piercing the back of his head. But the swerving blade-point dove past his face in the rigid block, grazing Wolf's cheek with its serrated edge.

_"Gngh!"_

Grunting through clenched teeth from the splitting sting on his cheek, Wolf twisted his nimble wrist around the SharpClaw's thicker one, slicing at his fingers.

_Slrttch!_

"GARGH!"

The machete dropped from the SharpClaw's hand from a clatter as he clutched his slitted fingers, black blood seeping through the cracks of his quivering fist. He swung his clawed foot out and aimed a swerving kick at Wolf's legs.

Wolf kicked his feet off the ground and swung himself backwards into a somersault, his opponent's kick sweeping the empty space where his feet used to be. As his body descended and the ground rushed towards him, Wolf threw out his hand.

_PFFT!_

Wolf sucked his breath in as landed on the palm of his hand. Then, with acrobatic versatility, he spread his feet out into a split and swung them, spinning on his ground-planted hand.

_KRRTCH-PRRNT-_WHAM!

Wolf's kicks slammed against the SharpClaw's face while he spun his body on his stably-planted arm rapidly, causing his feet to whirl in mid-air like helicopter blades. The pulsing kicks rammed into the SharpClaw's snout, causing blood to spray from his battered nostrils and bludgeoned jaw.

The SharpClaw staggered back, dazedly clutching his face with his bleeding hands. Wolf landed on his feet and aimed a blazing punch to his already-bent snout.

_"Haaagh!"_

WHU-_PRRRTCH!_

His immense punch collided with the SharpClaw's face, causing a few chipped fangs to fly from his bleeding mouth. He gagged and opened his mouth slightly-

Wolf didn't waste any time...he knew a weak spot when he saw one. He grabbed his Claw with both hands and plunged it into the SharpClaw's mouth with blurring speed.

PLRRTCH!

The Claw tore through the SharpClaw's mouth and ripped out from the back of his head, causing Wolf's hands to enter the inside of his fanged mouth to drive it in. The SharpClaw's eyes bulged as he gagged and spluttered, before falling limp, hanging on Wolf's claw by his impaled mouth.

_Shing!_

Wolf drew his Claw out like an unsheathed blade, and the bludgeoned and impaled corpse collapsed into the dampened sand.

The SharpClaw standing from afar, looked at the bleeding corpse of their comrade and back to the panting slave that stood over it, thinking the same thing: Who _was _this guy, and what hellish pit did he crawl out of?

_PRRSH!_

Swinging his Claw back to spray the black blood off its stainless-steel surface, Wolf kicked his feet into the sandy ground. In an instant, his feet rapidly sprinted across the ground, sand pelting the air where he sped by, as he lowered his back and gnashed his fangs into a teeth-bared snarl, charging headfirst into the group of SharpClaw.

The SharpClaw drew their weapons and charged forward, the ones with whips running to the front.

Wolf drew his Claw near his face, his malice-filled eyes glowering over the gleaming borderline of his Claw's edge, ready for the first strike.

_SHWOO-_PAKKK!

The thick chord of a whip lashed out at Wolf's face, riveting and swooping just an inch in front of his face before he ducked into a quick roll. Arching back up from the quick maneuver, his hand shout out and grabbed at the whip's knotted end.

_Shwrrsh-whrrsh!_

The whip coiled around Wolf's arm as he clutched it tightly and yanked back on it, snatching the SharpClaw holding the other end forward...

...only to be greeted by the blinding, shadowy shape of Wolf's fist drowning out his vision when he was pulled close enough.

SLAM!

The SharpClaw's snout made a crunching sound as he staggered back, dropping his end of the whip dazedly. Wolf flung the whip aside and dashed forward for the kill, but the SharpClaw, taking advantage of his close range, threw his hand to a _katara _dagger sheathed on his chest-belt.

Sltrrtch!

Drawing the leaf-bladed dagger rapidly and slicing upward with it, the SharpClaw landed a stinging slash on Wolf's unprotected arm. Wolf seethed through his teeth but didn't sacrifice his stance to clutch his arm...Instead, he spun his Claw in hand and smashed the butt against the SharpClaw's already-broken snout, causing blood to gush from one of his slitted nostrils.

Wolf grabbed his shoulder, sinking his claws into it, kicked his feet off the ground and vaulted himself up into a somersault over him, before landing behind him on his feet like a cat.

He shot his hand out and delivered a swift chop to the SharpClaw's shoulder, numbing him dazed. Wolf then pounced forward and lashed his arm around his bigger opponent's neck, forcing him to a painful, expert grapple. Pressing his Claw against his neck, he darted his eyes at the other SharpClaw standing nearby, daring any one of them to attack next.

_SHRR-_IIING!

Wolf timed his next set of movements so blazingly quickly, so that none of the slow or bulky SharpClaw could keep up with his speed. He first aimed a kick to the back of the struggling SharpClaw's knee, stunning him slightly. He then grabbed the handle of his Claw, still hooked around the Elite's neck, and swung it so that it unlatched itself from his neck...slitting his throat in the process.

_"Krr-_aaachh _-blll-!"_

The SharpClaw let out a final, sickening gag before his limp body swung into the nearest SharpClaw, his split-open neck exploding with black blood on impact. The blood sprayed on the other horrified SharpClaw's face, causing him to push the body off and scream in disgust.

Wolf didn't waste the opportunity. He dove forward and ducked into another quick ground-roll, slipping quickly and nimbly between the corpse's outstretched legs while it was still falling to the ground.

As the body hit the ground behind him with a thud, Wolf emerged from his rolling position in front of the blood-splattered SharpClaw's feet, and flung his Claw up at his face.

_Hwing!_

The blade spun in the air past the SharpClaw's snout and over his head, causing him to flinch and swing his blade on natural reflex and instinct. But by swinging his weapon to the side, he had left his body unguarded and completely open for attacks for a brief second.

Wolf leapt up, and time seemed to churn through a slow viscosity in the heat of battle, the Claw hurling back down from its spot in mid-air. He shot his hands out, but didn't curl them into a fist or unsheathe his claws, or make any counter-offensive maneuver...

Instead, he arched his back, ducking the swinging scimitar as it cleaved over his head, and broadened his hands into stiff, jabs.

_Thwat! Krrt-krrt-krrt..._KRWATT!

Moving his hands at such a blurring rate that observing SharpClaw from afar could barely catch the strikes without blinking in time, Wolf stabbed the rapidly-forceful ends of his tightened fingers into the area above his opponent's shins, elbow joints, and shoulders...

...his pressure points.

Wolf moved his jabs so quickly that they struck the pressure points like a hailstorm of bullets. The SharpClaw's muscles twitched rigidly and his knees buckled, searing stiffness gripping the nerves of his body like molten nails. He hunched his back over, gagging slightly, before Wolf whirled around him and swung his hand down with blazing force onto his collar-bone.

"GAGH!"

The SharpClaw gasped in pain, his eyes bulging as his immobilized body dropped him to his knees. Wolf drew up to full height and held out his hand.

_Cling!_

The Claw landed in Wolf's hand from its mid-air fall, and he gripped it with both hands before drawing it back for the final slash.

_"HAAAH!"_

SLRRRTCH!

Wolf swung his Claw against the SharpClaw's stomach before his paralyzed body could hit the ground, making him collapse in a bloody heap.

The watching SharpClaw opened their eyes from their dazed blinking, their gazes becoming huge as they traveled from the bleeding corpse to the shadowy figure standing over it. All they had, or _could _witness with their naked eyes was the glimpse of Wolf throwing his Claw up in the air, doing something blurrily with his hands for a brief second, and catch it in time to cut his enemy down. Their jaws dropped in confounded astonishment. Nobody believed what had just happened, while some were still processing just _what _happened. It had all happened too fast..._Wolf _made it happen all too fast.

Snatching his Claw from the slashed body, Wolf heaved himself up, starting to feel the exhaustion of battle. The sun's furious rays flung themselves relentlessly at his newly-opened wounds, while his patched ones started to ache from so much movement. But he swiped the sweat off his brow, determined to ignore such small obstacles, like pain, or exhaustion...or risk of death.

None of those things stood in his way before...only his own discouragement had.

Cracking his neck and drawing his foot back, he drew his Claw up into a panting fighting stance, ready for the next wave.

But before the SharpClaw could shake off their shock and confront him, all of them stopped at the blare of a sudden noise.

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**

Wolf's ears perked up, recognizing that sound after hearing it once.

_Damn...those slaves aren't going easy on those explosives..._

The SharpClaw looked up at the sky, scanning it cautiously for any flying debris. Previous experience, along with seeing their own comrades crushed, was enough to make them cautious of any flaming debris.

Then, a shadow passed over the ground under Wolf's feet, as something soared over his head, its dark imprint growing in size on the ground as it fell closer. His eyes grew huge with alarm as he dove to the side frantically, not hesitating to stand in dazed fear at whatever chunk of stone that would come crashing down.

_PFFFFFFT!_

Something large and flaming came down...but it was nowhere near the size of the wall that had crashed down on them last time. This small chunk of rock was charred and flaming, but around the size of a small speeder. It landed on the ground with a burst, fragments of blackened rock coiling off of it and sending a small wave of sand flying. As the SharpClaw stepped forward, watching the flames diminish as the smoke settled, they let out a sigh of relief.

Until they caught a glimpse of something pink and frothy caught on the corner of the stone, bubbling next to the flames...which made an odd, crackling noise...

And right before the crackling stopped, Wolf, who stared on from a safe, huddled distance, couldn't help but recognize that noise from his exploits on the factory planet, Macbeth.

It was the sound of air distorting...rising from hot nitroglycerin...

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!**

A tower of whirling flame erupted from the spot, shaking the ground under the staggering SharpClaws' feet and throwing mountains of sand in every direction. The lack of large debris limited the damage caused by objects hurtling in multiple directions, but the pulsing flame and immense shockwave was enough to cause the SharpClaw to flee rapidly to avoid the blast.

As the embers drifted to the ground and the walls of flames sprung loose by the expl, explosion's wake, a huge dust cloud engulfed the wide area, so thick and muddled that the SharpClaw could just barely make out the shape of the Elite next them.

Numerous coughs and groans echoed throughout the sandy area, as they all rose to their feet and gripped their weapons cautiously. There were a few injuries here and there, but no deaths...not yet. One or two of them squinted through the thick dust-cloud, their reptilian eyes scanning the smoky depths of the explosion-aftermath.

And there was no sign of Wolf...not the slightest shadow...or even the vaguest set of prints where he had walked.

But that didn't mean he was gone.

Some of the SharpClaw backed up, their clawed feet treading lightly.

"W-Where...is he?"

An Elite in the back bellowed over the rushing, distorted noise of dust swirling around in the depths of the foggy veil.

"All Elites, form up! Stick together, so that we can still see each other!"

A SharpClaw next to him gripped his pike nervously. "What the hell do we do now? We won't find him in this cloud...Do you think he fled?"

The first SharpClaw, the one who had taken initiative to give orders, looked around in the dusty mist, poking his scimitar out. "He's here...somewhere. He doesn't seem to be the type to flee or retreat...so when he strikes, we'll just have to engage him."

One in the front tore off his mouth-sash, yelling back at him. "Oh, bullshit! Don't talk like this is some cakewalk, like this is just another slave or bounty hunter we've got to pursue! You saw the kind of things he's capable of, along with the rest of us! He's probably taking advantage of this fog's thickness...we're not waiting for him, _he's_ waiting for _us! _This slave's different from the others. He's dangerous..."

Another one shifted his feet uncomfortably. "Yeah, man...did you see what he did to Anaris? He gutted his face open..." His spear shook in his hands. "...like a stuck pig! A common warm-blood isn't capable of that kind of brutality," He added, his eyes darting through the dust. "He doesn't hesitate to show mercy or sympathy like the rest of the warm-bloods! He's different...he fights like us: without remorse or lenience..."

A SharpClaw in the back loaded his crossbow with a steel arrow. "Tch...I don't know what all you people are worrying about. You saw how he was earlier...he's covered from head to toe with bandages, and he's taking in more wounds. We can take him..."

The Elite next to him scowled. "You can wear that smug look when it's _your _body at his feet!" He looked around, wide-eyed. "I was watching his movements the whole time...or at least, trying...and the wounds aren't slowing him down. He's been moving at the same rate the entire time...he doesn't even stop to flinch or acknowledge the pain when he takes a hit! It's like he can't feel the pain..."

"Don't be ridiculous, of course can feel pain!" The one behind him retorted. He looked back nervously. "I mean, he's still human, isn't he?"

"He might be...or he might not..." Someone muttered. "I've never seen a canine move like that before...it's not natural..."

"So, what, is he a demon?"

"Can't be...a demon kills one man and takes his soul back with him. Unlike a man who kills many, a demon only kills one, and stops at some point." The SharpClaw talking gripped his sword. "But this guy...he's slaughtered most of our men already...and he's going to slaughter more."

The group of SharpClaw huddled closer, not necessarily for tactical advantage as much as uneasiness. They stared out nervously into the enveloping dust, which had suddenly made the air dense and cold. The slightest noise would send their frantic senses off...the clink of a sword, the creak of a spear-shaft, the rattling of someone shivering in their armor...

The SharpClaw that stood in the front notched an arrow into his shaking crossbow, pointing it into the ominous fog that draped the air in front of him.

"I don't like this...sitting in this dust, waiting for him to make a move. It's not like forcing one of the usual upstarts back into his shackles or barracks. He can move in and out of here whenever he wants...so quickly, we probably wouldn't hear it..."

"Yeah, I saw the way he moves..." Another one added in a low, fearful voice. "He's too damn fast...it's like the wind was struggling to keep up with him. He just cut through the others in the second it took me to blink...and then rushed past their bodies like a shadow..." He shuddered. "There was a moment or two back there where he moved so quickly and lightly...I didn't even hear his feet move across the ground...like he didn't even have any..."

The one next to him lowered his shaking sword. "N-No feet? What the hell is he? A _ghost?" _

A SharpClaw standing with his back to the mist turned at the word "ghost".

"Maybe...remember when I said that slave wouldn't be able to survive the Adder Tongues?" He gulped. "I'm beginning to think he didn't..."

"Oh, please...the dead don't walk, or bleed for that matter..."

"But the living don't kill like that, either," One said with large terror-stricken eyes. "Or have eyes like that...Did you see his eyes?"

"Damn it..." One of them muttered. "I should never have accepted this position at the Slave Yard...I should've stayed at the Palace as a Guardsman. I didn't sign up to fight someone like this...not someone who's a murderous freak who moves like a ghost, and stares at the corpses he makes with insane intent as he carves it up. He's just like Talon and his brother...someone who lives to bathe in carnage."

A SharpClaw far back shook his head. "No...he's not crazy. I've seen my share of deranged killers, and he isn't one of them...he's been calm the entire time...and I think that's way worse. He _knows _what he's doing. He's remained level-headed to give him the superior edge in the heat of battle. He's obviously fought battles like this before..."

"But as what? If he wasn't an assassin or bounty hunter before he was a slave here on Titania, who the hell was he?"

"Yeah, what kind of battles was he in to make him good enough to kill SharpClaw?"

CLANG!

The SharpClaw at the center banged his pike on the ground. "SHUT UP! All of you! Stop cowering like a bunch of weak-willed asswipes and stand your ground. You all think this slave's even worth being afraid of? If anything, he's afraid of us! He's hiding in the bowels of the mist because he knows we have the advantage in numbers. Why do you think he hasn't shown himself yet?"

_WHOOOSHHHH-_THAAAANG!

In that insant, there was a blur of sudden movement that the SharpClaw heard rush past their ears as it thundered across. A murky shadow passed over all of them, moving so quickly that none of them had time to spot in in the air fast enough to react. There was a flash of steel, a crack of wood, and the muffled sound of a pair of feet smashing into the sandy ground and sprinting away.

No one in the group had eyes fast enough to witness what just happened, but the result was enough to end all confusion. The distorted sound of multiple voices ringing at once shook the air as all gasped at the sight of the center SharpClaw, the one who had silenced them only a second ago, collapsed on the ground with the shaft of his pike shattered to severed splinters...

...and the blade plunged into his forehead.

The other SharpClaw looked up rapidly, eyes darting around to catch a glimpse of Wolf...but he was gone.

_Pfft-pfft-pfft!_

From out in the muddled depths of the surrounding dust cloud, there was the light but unmistakable sound of padded feet dashing through the sand.

"THERE HE IS!"

_"Get him!"_

Twang! _Clurnk!_

Arrows and spears flew into the foggy depths before disappearing from sight, the projectiles melting into nothingness upon hitting the surface of the dusty bowels.

_Pfft-pfft-pfft!_

The running sound echoed from outside the mist, but vibrated from behind them. The SharpClaw whirled around confusedly, whirling their blades and pikes blindly into the fog. Others whirled their heads in opposite directions, hearing the sound of footsteps from all around them in the mist.

Then, a shadow appeared in the fog-enveloped distance.

"THERE!"

A SharpClaw dashed forward, slicing through the mist with his machete. But by the time his blade cleaved its way through the smoke, the dark imprint of the shadow was gone.

_Sltrrch!_

"GAAARGH!"

The SharpClaw whirled around to the back of the group, to see an Elite clutching his shoulder, sliced open and gushing black blood into the sand. He collapsed to his knees, dropping his crossbow.

The machete-wielding one's eyes widened with disbelief. _What?_

_How could-? He was right HERE! _

_How did he-?_

WHRRRSHLIRTCH!

The other SharpClaw backed away with horrified stares, as the machete slipped from his hands and fell to the ground...along with his swiftly-cleaved head. One of them pointed a clawed finger in the mist ahead.

_"He must be there! _SHOOT HIM!"

Twang-TWANG! _Twang!_

Arrows whistled into the gathering wall of cloudy dust behind the decapitated SharpClaw's body. But they just disappeared, the sound of rapid footsteps echoing around them...before they echoed louder behind them.

The SharpClaw whirled around, arrows drawn and pikes lowered, eyes darting back and forth while they listened desperately for the sound. Heavy breathing from one another deafening their ears as they kept them alert. Their eyes, shaking fearfully, looked around in huge gazes...their sight becoming adjusted to the bleak nothingness of the fog...and waiting for the slightest outline of a shadow.

Then, one appeared...just a few feet away...

"OVER THERE!"

The SharpClaw spun around, stabbing their long-reaching pikes forward into the depths of the mist.

_Shwa-HING!_

All turned at the sound echoing to the side, as a SharpClaw gasped and fell to his knees, fingers curled gingerly around an oozing gash etched into his face.

SHING!

_"Agh!"_

Another SharpClaw, this one on the completely other side of the group, cried out as drop to one knee which had been split with a massive cut that bled a raw black.

_Pfft-pfft-pfft!_

The sound of rapid footsteps circled around the area, and the SharpClaw whirled their heads around. Now, their breathing had become heavy and chopped into wisps of stifled gasps. Sweat dripped down their necks and rolled off the edge of their sword-handles. They stepped back shakily, bumping into one another or stumbling over the fresh body of a slain comrade.

All of them were terrified...not of Wolf, or what he was doing...mostly because they couldn't see either one. They had no idea where he was striking from...if he was in front of them, or behind them...whether he was next to them, or right on top of them. He was not in a consistent spot, and yet he was consistent about how he moved about. He seemed to be around them...but also amongst them.

He struck them from everywhere in the mist...and yet was nowhere to be found.

"Shit...we can hear him, but we can't see him...so if he can't see or hear us either...how the hell is he finding us in this fog without being found first?"

WHOOSH!

A dark shape whirled over them, casting a shadow that traveled past their feet on the ground. They all looked up and saw a black shape, with pointed ears and tail, flip over in mid-air above them...swinging something so fast and blurry to see, it looked like a gleaming part of his hand.

"HE'S _THERE! _GET HIM!"

Hurtling showers of steel arrows shot through the air around the black shape as he whirled over their heads. Most arrows disappeared completely, while others rained back down on their heads, split into two fragments by the slice of a sharp blade.

The shadow disappeared as it landed somewhere in the barely-visible outskirts of the mist.

_"He's on the ground! _Shoot him down!"

Arrows split the air as they tore their way through the fog, but disappeared just as the shadow did. The footsteps echoed around them before becoming faint...and becoming louder, but appearing on the opposite side of the fog.

"Damn it! I lost him...but I definitely saw him this time!"

"Yeah, I saw him too...that must be mean this dust-cloud's getting thinner, and starting to fade away..."

An orange SharpClaw kept his eyes on the fog, while his hands automatically notched arrows into his shaking crossbow. His ears were clogged by his own nervous panting, arrows slipping out of his sweating hands.

_Pfft-pfft-pfft!_

The sound of footsteps grew louder and fainter around him, but he dismissed it anxiously, certain that no matter how hard he looked like the others, he wouldn't spot Wolf...

The other SharpClaw looked around anxiously, poking their pikes and swords out into the open mist, but not daring to step too far out of the reach of the huddled group...

Swa-SHING!

A SharpClaw groaned as he fell behind the Orange Archer, a bloody wound spreading its gory reach around in his stomach.

The Orange Elite, shoved his last three arrows into the multiple slots of crossbows reloading wheel and hastily pushed the wheel into the crossbow's handle outlet.

"GARGH!"

A SharpClaw on the other side of the group let out a gurgling, deprived scream before collapsing on the SharpClaw behind him, a series of acute slashes battering the area around his ribs.

Cocking his crossbow and letting the inner mechanism automatically notch the arrow, the Orange Elite raised his weapon and looked around fearfully, his heart pounding.

The air around him was infested by a series of whirling gleams, all appearing and disappearing at different spots in the mist. Each gleam struck down a SharpClaw, before a shadowy shape would pass by it with bolting speed. Suddenly, the mist started to thin from all the rushed movement within it, and the figure's shape became more visible. His face and expression were too dark and concealed to see, so the only visible things were his glowering eyes and bared teeth. It was then that the Orange Elite realized with shock that the shape was Wolf, speeding through the crowd of SharpClaw and whirling his Claw.

Now that the dust was starting to clear, he was more visible, and easier to see. The Orange Elite followed his movements with nervous concentration, the arrowhead tip on his crossbow following the pattern of his movements…..

He'd only get one shot at this...

CLANG!

Wolf whirled his Claw at the SharpClaw's halberd, his short blade scraping down the long shaft and slicing at the scaly fingers curled around it. The SharpClaw dropped his weapon with a roar of pain, staggering back and clutching his black-drenched fingers.

_Krrnntch!_

Turning his Claw in hand, Wolf bolted forward and smashed the butt of his handle against the reptile's snout with such force, that a sickening crack echoed from the swollen complex of his snout.

HWING!

Ears perking at the sound of a blade ringing through the air behind him, Wolf leapt to the side before the chipped edge of a SharpClaw axe could hack his ribs open from behind, the Elite holding it yelling through the smoke.

Wolf started to dash back into the barely-visible depths of the thinning mist, preparing for another sprint around the group of SharpClaw that stumbled over each other in the cluttered panic. Once he had stepped far back into the mist, until the SharpClaw were but clamoring silhouettes in the distance, he winced as he tried to ignore the searing gash on his ankle where a pike had grazed it.

He panted heavily through his battered ribs, his breath heavy and dehydrated from the heat...

_I can't keep this up for much longer...I'm almost exhausted..._

_There's not that many of them left...must be less then ten of them by now..._

Ker-TWANG!

Suddenly, a noise erupted clearly through the coiling dust cloud, and Wolf froze as he heard a streaking whistling sound follow it instantly. He turned slowly, just in time to see a blur of silver fly towards him, before disappearing as it passed his line of vision and sunk itself into his shoulder.

At first, there was a piercing pain that stung that shoved itself through the aching wounds under his bandages. It was sudden and shocking, but not too painful. His eyes wandered groggily, off-set without prepared reflex, down towards his shoulder to see a long, silver arrow-shaft protruding from his shoulder.

There was very little pain, just the shock in the aftermath of processing the wound's existance.

But then, the electric arrow's voltage charge ignited...

...and everything went from bad to worse.

Wolf's eyes grew huge as the familiar, blueish-white onsluaght of searing pain wrapped around and under his skin, burning and popping his senses open. The bolts of electricity spiked his fur up and drew his body down into a horrible, heavy feeling, his bones tingling so much that they felt like they were going split. His arm, shoulder, and back went completely numb, his mouth releasing one last yell of pain before his body collapsed.

_"GAAAAAAAAAAARGHHH!"_

The electricity spun from the arrow's point, embedded deeply into his shoulder. He sank into the ground, the smoke from the intense charge as well as from the dust coiling off of him, as he emerged into the blinding sunlight.

_Clump!_

He fell to his weakening knees, his hand shooting out to to the ground to catch himself before he fell face-first into the sand. The electricity numbed down the quivering surface of his supporting arm, as his shoulders rose and fell to his deprived panting.

_Damn it...electric arrows, where the hell did they get these from? _

_And when did they start using them...?_

Then, he remembered...that first day when he arrived at this place, when he was being escorted in chains like everyone else...and that upstart cardinal, who had been put down with the shock of an electric arrow...

Head lowered so that he watched his own sweat droplets fall and disappear into the sand, he cursed under his breath.

_Shit...they DID use these before...and I didn't prepare for it..._

_...and it caught me off guard like a stupid, careless idiot..._

The electricity burned into his arm, but not in an excruciatingly-painful way. Its effect was starting to wear off slightly, but not fast enough before Wolf heard the ringing sound of voices from inside the whirling dust-cloud behind him.

"HEY! Look over there! I saw a light flash from that side...looked like an electric charge!"

"One of the arrows hit him! Take him down while he's still paralyzed!"

Wolf looked down at the arrow plunged deep into his shoulder, with clenched teeth.

_"Stun"? It didn't do that..._

_My arm feels like it's been thrust into a Central Power outlet on the back of a ship's engine..._

_But I can still move...rigidly, but still fully..._

He froze instantly, his eyes lighting up.

_But THEY don't know that..._

He kept his back bent and his spine arched, shivering slightly at the small bursts of pain from the aftermath of the electrical surges. His fur spiked up in numerous places from the static charge, and his hand vibrated in the sand from the tremor of rushing footsteps hammering the ground in the distance.

The last of the SharpClaw burst out of the dust-cloud, pointing their swords and pikes around, while their reptilian eyes searched the area, squinting from exposure to the sun after being stuck in the shade of the mist.

Then, their eyes fell on him.

"THERE HE IS!"

_"Wait!" _

Everyone turned to the Orange SharpClaw with the crossbow, who looked stunned that he even managed to land a hit on Wolf.

"We...we can't be too hasty about confronting him. We've already seen what he's capable of, and he's already outsmarted us once. He's killed enough us to prove he can't be underestimated...it could be a trap..."

For a moment, none of them moved, acknowledging the caution in his words. They remained on the spot, gripping their weapons tensely, as if waiting for Wolf to spring up and somersault towards them, Claw swinging. But after a few furrowed eyebrows, a few looks around, and the sight of him, weakly crouched on the ground with an arrow on his shoulder, their uneasiness started to wear away.

Wolf continued to pant where he was, eyes darting around to catch any suspicion or hesitation in their expressions. Even if he wasn't paralyzed, his movement was limited to a slight degree...and they were starting to notice...

Then, a bulky SharpClaw with a spiked mace stepped forward, eyeing Wolf for a moment. Then, a savage smile started to play on his lips and swung his mace up. Wolf curled his fingers around his Claw with his less-rigid hand to be ready for the first strike, while he poured out as much strength as possible on his weakened, supporting arm.

"He's not hiding anything...he's been wounded, and he knows it! He's in one spot with nowhere to run and no dust to hide behind... There's nothing stopping me from bashing his damn brains out now that he's crawling on the ground like a trampled cockroach!"

_WHOOSH!_

Wolf's hand flew up with a sudden jerk of reflexes as the massive mace swung down and smashed against his Claw. The block lasted for only a second, before his eyes widened in surprise at the sudden onslaught of superior weight that rattled his arm. The mace sent a vibrating repulse that caused the Claw to rip free from his shaking, smaller hands and clatter to the ground.

_"Argh!"_

He grunted as his wrist twisted slightly from the sudden force of strength, feeling like an iron pincer collided with the recovering strength of his bones.

The SharpClaw snarled as snatched at Wolf's head with the hand that wasn't burdened with the mace's weight, his clawed fingers grabbing a fistful of his head-fur faster than he could react.

The sudden pinching and wrenching of the short fur on his head being yanked and ripped at caused Wolf to let out an agonized yelp. His arms swung about uselsessly while he was in the SharpClaw's grip, his eyes watering from the intense jerk of pain. Being hoisted off his feet by the taller SharpClaw, he swung his foot out and aimed a kick at the SharpClaw's stomach.

_KRRRNT!_

His bare foot smashed against the armored chest of the SharpClaw, causing him to stagger back but let out an unaffected grunt, releasing his grip on the fur. Wolf landed on his feet, eyes scanning the ground hurriedly for his Claw.

But right as he spotted its glinting, half-sunken surface peeking from the sand, Wolf felt a massive, thick, scaly object latch around his neck and drag him back. Whatever it was was as big and as thick as a log, hooking its massive hold around Wolf's throat and crushing it with its anchor-like weight, the clawed hand at the end of it gripping the back of his neck into a choking hold.

_"Haaach-_grrt-KAAAK!"

It was like having his throat flattened while being caught between two griniding, bone-crushing gears. The SharpClaw continued to hold him in a tight lock, his huge arm hooked around Wolf's neck and crushing it slowly. A horrible, tightened, restricted air of frantic choking escaped his throat as the skin on his neck started to tighten. His stomach started to well up into a sickening ball, a hot, nauseous feeling crawling up his body and making him sick.

Wolf wanted to scream under the immense pain, as he felt his neck forge itself over the bone marrow underneath, but was unable to pass an air of his own voice from his blocked vocal chords. The hot, putrid breath of the SharpClaw stung the insides of his ears as the SharpClaw sneered into them from behind.

"Yes...that's it. Struggle and choke, like a corpse in a compactor...you aren't so powerful now, are you?"

The SharpClaw watching stopped gawking in fearful caution, and started to smile conifdently, a few of them daring at a jeering laugh or two.

"KKAACH-_Ah-_HAAAAH-_kkrrrt-_kaaak-KAAAK-"

Wolf's voice gurgled ino a harsh, shaking, strangled scream, as the SharpClaw continued to choke him.

He struggled uselessly, his arms hanging limply by his side as all other body functions screamed for help at his battered, suffering lungs. Tears of strangled agony brimmed his huge eyes, that looked in all directions desperately. He couldn't think anymore than he could breathe, but he tried to kick some reflex into his feet and arms to do something.

He jabbed his elbows into the reptile's stomach, kicked at it weakly, and even tried wriggling under his grip...but that just took too much energy out of his already-exhausted body, and wasted air that he was losing fast.

The SharpClaw's arm tightened. Wolf's fur spiked as his mouth hung open, saliva starting to build over his lip as his mind and insides screamed in pain. He hammered his fists weakly against the SharpClaw's arm...gnashed his teeth, but the arm was too low under his chin to reach for a bite...

"Tch...you warm-bloods amaze me with your weakness, you know that? Any moment now, your tiny little neck will snap like a dead twig..."

Then, Wolf's hands flailed around over his head, reaching and clawing at the air above it. The SharpClaw gave an amused sneer.

"Stupid idiot...what _are _you doing...?"

...then, his hands caught his face.

_Shwa-_SHING!

The second he felt the familiar scaly skin under his fingertips, he unsheathed his claws and sunk them into the SharpClaw's face.

"GAAAAARGHHHH!" The SharpClaw let out a throaty yell, but growled as he kept he kept a tight lock around Wolf's throat, determined to break it...

Patchy, hushed breaths escaped from Wolf's mouths as his face was drained of color, drool pouring over his mouth and uncomfortably dribbling down his sun-baked chin. His legs started to go limp, twitiching slightly, as he panted weakly through his punctured lungs and powered the last of his energy to dragging his Claws down the Elite's cheek.

_STTTTLLLRRRRT!_

"!"

Chunks of torn, scaly flesh ripped off of his face and dangled on the ends of Wolf's claws, black blood gushing from the huge, wavy claw-marks that were gashed deep in the SharpClaw's face. He let out a spine-tingling scream that almost tore the inside of Wolf's ears out, and slackened his grip on his face to throw a hand up to his bloody face.

_"Huuuughhh!"_

Wolf gasped as he sucked in the air that his tightened lungs had denied him, the cool rush of it soothing the choked, clumped-up areas down his throat. He collapsed to the ground, coughing and spluttering in a loud, painfully-hoarse voice. He reached up and rubbed his throat gingerly, wincing as he ran his fingers over the horrible, thick, searing bruises of the SharpClaw's bicep-mark that striped his neck, the scales imprinted into his flesh.

The SharpClaw dropped his mace on the ground with a sand-spraying thud, groaning as he clutched his face, flailing his other hand around blindly.

Wolf whirled around and caught his hand, clenching it furiously. He bared his teeth into a yell as he jerked it back by the wrist, moving behind the SharpClaw, and yanking it back so that it twisted at an unnatural angle.

_**KRAAAK!**_

The SharpClaw, blinded by the pain that gripped his face with extreme intensity, howled Wolf twisted his arm all the way back so that a sickening crack echoed from within his stretched skin, his arm curled backwards in a crooked, broken twist that hung limply. Wolf released the bent arm with a grunt of effort, his hands sweating from having to pull the massive-boned arm all the way back with his smaller, inferior strength...which had been the equivalent of bending an iron crank.

The SharpClaw's good hand snatched at at his sash blindly, drawing his dagger and thrashing madly with it.

"YOU MISERABLE, MANGY LITTLE _FUCK! _I'LL KILL YOU!"

Wolf ducked under the first swipe easily and curled his hand into a fist, aiming for the most obvious and vulnerable spot on the SharpClaw.

SLAM!

_Stllrrtch!_

Wolf snarled menacingly as he hurled his fist at the open wounds on his face, his knuckles mashing against the fleshy under-surface of the wound. The SharpClaw roared as he stumbled back in an agonized daze, but Wolf brought both fists up, and aimed intense, enraged punches at the open gashes.

SLAM!

WRRTCH!

KRRRNTH!

The pulsing blows mashed deeper and deeper into the wounds, Wolf punching them so hard that his fist traveled deeper inside the gashes and drenched his knuckles with the black blood that sprayed from them. The SharpClaw groaned as he was forced to his knees, spitting and coughing blood, but Wolf didn't show any leniency...the bruises on his neck and the scars wouldn't let him. These SharpClaw wouldn't show mercy or fairness in a fight...he wasn't about to do the same.

"GRAAAGH!"

The SharpClaw yelled as he flung his hands outwards, his fingers blindly curling around Wolf's neck, and tightening once they had felt it. Wolf seethed as the bruise on his seared with pain, as the same scales that had etched it scraped against its swollen surface, denying him of breath again.

Wolf didn't wait for the same set of events to occur a second time. He thrust his fingers in the mouth of the SharpClaw, prying it open as the reptilian fangs sank into his palms. He clenched his teeth, struggling against both the pain of his hands and throat. Finally, he gripped the top and bottom portion of the SharpClaw's mouth fully, the fangs sinking deeper into his hands, as he pryed it open with his full strength.

_"HUUAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!"_

**SNAKKK!**

The SharpClaw let out a gurgling, distorted scream, as Wolf tore the jaw down with such fierce force that the flesh in the side of his face completely ripped off, the bone holding the side of his jaw together snapping completely. With his mouth literally hanging sideways like an broken door-hinge, the Elite's eyes bulged out of his socket, all speech and noise that wailed from his mouth retching and inaudible. Blood gushed from the side of his mouth, pouring down on his tunic and chain-mail, giving both a repulsive stain.

Finally, the Elite's eyes rolled back and he collapsed unconciously in the sand, passing out from the immense exposure to pain. His limp fingers slid off of Wolf's throat before he hit the ground. His snapped jaw was pushed diagonally above his snout, and the black, damp patch of sand that surrounded his body grew bigger around him.

Wolf's ear twitched slightly as he let his shoulders rise and fall, panting heavily. His breath was ragged and hoarse from the struggle to breathe, and the fur on his forehead hung in matted, unkept, untamed spider legs. The heat had become hotter and more unbearable from the toll of exhaustion on his body, and the thickness of the air seemed to expand its way through his recovering lungs. His hands were almost completely black from the blood that stained them from the ferocious punches, making them look dipped in ink. They were clenched, with a thin trail of his own red blood seeping through his blackened fingers from the deep teeth-marks that were sewn into his palms.

His eyes traveled groggily towards the SharpClaw that were watching.

The Elites in the distance were dead silent, with the exception of a few stifled gasps and drawn breaths. Their eyes were massive with terror, their mouths hanging open but only emitting a few horror-stricken, choppy noises that might have been speech. There was no color in their faces, and their weapons rattled noisily in their shaking hands. All of them looked like they wanted to run, but there weren't enough urgent thoughts to push their fear-stricken legs to move.

Their eyes followed the unconscious body on the ground, and then back to Wolf.

Most of them couldn't believe what they had just witnessed...the rest just didn't want to. The massive, muscular, superiorly-built SharpClaw, felt like small, meaningless, terrified children in the presence of this newfound horror.

Wolf was a picture of ungodly malice, his face hollow and sunken like it was deprived of life. His hunched shoulders and lowered head cast a long, ominous shadow in the sand...his starved, thin figure giving him a deformed, twisted appearence. His ragged bandages flapped in the wind, hanging off of him like peeling skin. The countless wounds, bruises, cuts and bandages that decorated his body only added to the menacing aura he had about him.

He didn't look alive...or dead.

A few stammered sentences were formed on the SharpClaws' trembling lips.

"Wha-? Did you see _that?"_

"H-He...he ripped his _jaw _off..." One of them said, pointing at him shakily. "...with his _bare hands..."_

"No way..._no fucking way. _A normal canine doesn't have that kind of strength..."

"Forget about strength...who the hell is monstrous enough to do something like that anyway?"

"Barbarous _freak..._what the hell is he...?"

Wolf turned his head and fixed his one, gleaming eye on them. Slowly, he plucked his Claw from its buried spot in the sand, and started to walk towards the SharpClaw.

A rush of fearful gasps passed through the crowd, as the weapons rattled in their hands. None of them had a shred of confidence of facing Wolf now...not after what they had just witnessed. They weren't afraid of him killing them...they dreaded what he would do to them before they collapsed in pain. They might have feared Drakon, or the Adder Tongues, or their master, Talon...but they feared Wolf even more.

His feet made faint trudging noises in the sand, the grains crunching under his feet.

The orange Elite in the middle raised his crossbow shakily. "D-DON'T COME ANY CLOSER! Stay where you are, you got that? Or I'll put another arrow in you! _I mean it!"_

But Wolf just kept going, blood dripping from his drenched fists and making a trail where he walked.

There were numerous clanks of chain-mail and plates as the SharpClaw pointed their weapons out shakily, taking terrified steps back every time Wolf took one towards them.

Sweat ran down the Orange one's brow. "Didn't you hear me? I said, STOP!"

_Krrnch...krrrnch..._

Wolf just kept walking.

The SharpClaw's eyes grew huge. "STOP, DAMN IT! I'LL...I'LL KILL YOU!" There was no intimidating or forceful confidence in his voice. His voice trembled more than his hands did, hushed breaths covering the terrified sobs in his throat.

_Krrnch...krrnch..._

The other SharpClaw cringed with wide eyes, their open mouths quivering and their breathing chopped and heavy.

"IF I HAVE TO SHOOT YOU TO MAKE YOU STOP WALKING, I WILL! _Another arrow, that's all it'll take!"_

_Krrnch._

Wolf's feet came to a halt in the ground, sand billowing past him in the dusty wind. He looked at the nervous SharpClaw in the middle, eyeing his crossbow. Then, he looked down at the silver arrow that was still embedded in his shoulder. Slowly, he raised his hand, and curled his fingers around the shaft.

ZZZZZZZZT!

Electrical charges burst from the wound, sizzling and coiling around Wolf's arm, but he kept his stanc straight and his feet planted firmly in the ground. He clenched his teeth as his flesh on his shoulder and fingers tingled painfully, containing his yell of agony with a low, deep grunt. As the surges spiked his fur and bit into his senses, he winced slightly as he yanked it out.

_Slrrrtch!_

The SharpClaw's mouths dropped even wider with disbelief as Wolf held the blood-tipped arrow in his hand, flinching occaisonally from the dying glow of buzzing electricity on the charged arrowhead.

None of the Elites moved...none of them blinked in the stunned silence that followed. Wolf should have been on the ground, screaming, before slowly becoming rigid and curling into an agonized, unconcious heap. And yet here he stood, defiant to both logic and human capacity...holding the arrow like a freshly-pulled annoyance of a splinter, too easily dealt with.

"I bathed in the agony of enough electricity to kill a human being before I came here, scum," Wolf finally said, in a low, indifferent voice that wasn't even that loud...but seemed to echo in a tambour that surrounded the SharpClaw. "And then, your master used that barbed set of whips to peel the flesh off my back and bones. After enduring that, do you really think the damage of your arrows is worth two shits?"

_Krrk!_

The thin alloy of the arrow snapped like a twig in Wolf's clenched fist, its splintered remnants littering the ground.

The SharpClaw stared at the shattered arrow, and then at the countless wounds on Wolf's body.

He took a few more steps forward.

"WAIT!"

Wolf stopped at the clattering sound of a SharpClaw dropping his pike to the ground and throwing his arms up, shaking frantically.

"Don't kill me, please...I surrender, _I surrender!"_

A SharpClaw next to him scowled furiously. "SHUT UP, you _idiot! _Have you lost it?"

The shaking one ignored him and fell to his knees imploringly. "Please, I don't have anything to do with you, I was just ordered to go after you like everyone else...we didn't beat you or torture you like Drakon did, we're just following orders! I've done nothing to you, please, DON'T KILL ME!"

The other SharpClaw grabbed him by the collar. "I said, _shut up, _you dumbass! Do you want to get yourself killed? The penalty for surrender is _death! _Do you want Drakon to slaughter us, or turn us over to Talon?"

The fearful one swiped his hands away and screamed in furious desperation. "I DON'T CARE! I don't want to die...not like this, _not like this..._whatever Drakon or Talon will do to me will be quick, but if I die at _his _hands, he'll make me wallow and cringe in my own pain first! I never signed up to fight someone like him, _and I'm not dying like this! _I WON'T!" He panted through choked sobs of fear, and the other SharpClaw looked amongst themselves nervously, as if sharing the same thoughts.

"Tch...you stinking hypocrites..."

The SharpClaw turned at the sound of Wolf's voice, eyebrows furrowed quizzically. He stared at them, a welling, disgusted hatred burning in his stomach.

"What's the matter? You can stomach watching a helpless child, a crying woman, a frail old man, or anything weaker than you squirm in its own blood while you beat it to the brink of insanity...but not when it's one of your own? Not when there's something that can stand up to you, and kill you?" Wolf sucked the last of his dehydrated saliva out, and spat on the ground. "That kind of cowardice would shock me, if only I hadn't seen it before..."

He raised his Claw and pointed it in their direction, its gleam causing all of them to step back.

"It's the kind of weak hypocracy I despise with every fiber of my hatred. And personally, I'd like nothing more than to carve your skin off before making you tear each of your bones out, one by one...so you know what it feels like to hear nothing but the sound of your own screams, to be reduced to the victims you torture so casually..."

The SharpClaw's eyes grew massive as their scales became sleek and shiny with sweat, all of them afraid to breathe.

But Wolf slung his Claw on his shoulder. "...But I won't."

The Elites' terrified expressions faltered slightly, looking at him with confusion.

"Now that I've seen how spineless and afraid you are of a fair fight...nothing would come from slicing through hordes after hordes of you. It'd be a waste of my energy, not to mention waste of my Goddamn time. I only pick fights with those worthy enough to die at my feet or let me die at theirs. Besides, that bastard groveling on the ground over there made a valid point...my vendetta's not with the likes of you..." He raised his head, his purple eye flashing with cold-blooded hatred. "...It's with Drakon."

The SharpClaw on the ground gingerly rose to his knees. "So...what will you do with us? Let us live?"

Wolf scowled. "Don't consider it an act of mercy. That's like considering someone to be merciful because he's to lazy to crush a few roaches with his foot. You can do whatever the hell you want, as long as it doesn't affect me. If you're afraid of you're master finding you, then feel free to confront the desert's wrath as an alternative to his, if you want."

He turned and walked towards the towering column of smoke that rose from the dot of a temple in the distance, the orange tower of fire appearing bigger than it was before...an indication of the spreading wake of the explosion.

Wolf's eyes widened alertly, heart racing in sudden realization. He whirled his head around to the SharpClaw.

"Wait! Before you go...that temple over there...it doesn't have much longer before it collapses, doesn't it?"

The SharpClaw turned surprisedly, but were too afraid not to answer.

"Wha-? Oh...I dunno...no, I guess. It wasn't built to endure fire, I don't think..."

Wolf studied their expressions. "And if I were to find anyone that was still there...that had been working there, I mean...where would they be locked up? Where would the cells be?"

Glancing at each other with nervous confusion, the SharpClaw shrugged.

"It depends on who they were. The cells were filled according to species...who are you looking for?"

Wolf looked back anxiously to the fiery remnants of the temple, praying for his fears not to be true.

"I'm looking for a reptile...like you, only smaller...a chameleon. He's tall, thin, blue eyes...kind of unhealthy-looking..." He hesitated for a moment, thinking of the most distinguishable trait. "And wears a grin on his face...the kind that makes you feel uneasy...like he can't be trusted with anything sharp. Do you know where I can find him?"

That was all the things he can think of when describing Leon. Well, _almost _everything...

_I also owe him something...a debt. One bigger than he could imagine..._

_End of Chapter_


	15. Chapter 15

_Chapter 15: A Ghost in the Ashes – Part 1_

_Somewhere in the Crumbling Wreckage formerly known as the SharpClaw Slave Yard, 5 ALW (HMD Period)_

The air on the outskirts of the desert badlands was already unbearably hot. The cracked ground that was tortured relentlessly by the cruel glare of the twin suns had kept the heated atmosphere consistently miserable.

But the air within the blazing, deteriorating remnants of the SharpClaw Temple actually managed to do the impossible...and somehow be so hot, fuming, and distorted, and therefore _worse._

Because in the end, the heat in the desert lacked a prominent factor that made the heat in the Temple worse...

...chaos.

The entire temple was crumbling down, the delicate carvings and alabaster columns being eaten away by the hungry flames that had spawned from the explosive cement, as well as the fuel barrels littered around the architecture's base. And caught in the midst of crumbling debris, writhing flames, explosive waves and ember-illuminated smoke, resisting slaves and SharpClaw Elites battled one another.

Curved and cunning weapons like scimitars and coiling whips clashed against makeshift weapons like shovels and pickaxes. The Uprising slaves continued to hammer their weapons against the Elites that had tormented them for so long, while others among them sprinted past flame and stone to retrieve the helpless prisoners that were still locked in cages or shackled to the walls that were about to be consumed by the wailing destruction.

_CLANG!_

A tattooed Dingo swung his pickaxe against an Elite's machete, driving him back into the fire. The SharpClaw rammed his machete between the pickaxe's wooden handle and metal-bladed head, swinging it to the side and causing the Dingo to let his arm swing to the side, leaving his stomach open.

The Dingo leapt back quickly, seeing the trick the SharpClaw had tried to pull off, and whirled his pickaxe around so that he held it backwards.

SNRRK!

The butt of the pickaxe rammed against the SharpClaw's skull, planting a circular, splintered ring of blood on his forehead. The Elite staggered back slightly, and the Dingo gripped the pickaxe with both hands and swung it at his ribs.

_Sltrrch!_

The SharpClaw howled as the pickaxe's chipped head stabbed through his chest, the black-tipped point emerging from the back.

The Dingo ripped his pickaxe free from the SharpClaw's body and called to the other slaves fighting behind him.

_"This side's been breached! Break open the barracks!"_

A group of slaves ran towards the thin shape of rusted bars on a steel door that was visible through the smoke, the clamoring sound of prisoners screaming and banging on the metal bars. The armed slaves stopped in front of the cage.

The prisoners within the cage, felines, avian, reptiles and canines...covered in ash and soot, and holding on to screaming women and crying children...called out to the armed slaves, flailing their bony hands through the bars of their cages frantically.

_"Someone, _PLEASE! Get us out of here, this place is coming down!"

_"We'll be burned alive! _HELP US!"

A Cockatiel with a gash on his cheek and the shattered remnants of rusty shackles on his wrist looked around hurriedly.

"Calm down...we'll get you out of here." He turned to the slaves behind him, gripping his shovel anxiously. "Who's got the cement?"

"There isn't any left!" An Ocelot with a black eye yelled over the smoke. "We plastered the last of it on the south barracks to free the others!"

"Damn it...who's got the keys, then?"

A voice in the back called out.

"I do! _Here!"_

A Corgi with a stolen pickaxe wriggled his way through the crowd of armed slaves, and tossed his keys to the Dingo.

_FWRRRSHHHH!_

The muddled screaming and gasping inside the tightened cages intensified as a column a few yards away gave in to a burst of hurling ash and inferno, the flames swallowing it as it fell down and sent several flaming chunks of debris raining down and pelting the charred sand behind them.

The Dingo's fingers scrambled through the ring of keys hastily. "This better be the last bunch of prisoners! This place is coming down quick!" His eyes lit up as he found the right one, and stuck it into the lock. He turned the key, the copper handle twisting sharply in his sweating hands, but wouldn't turn inside the lock.

His heart pounded horribly. "The key isn't turning! _It's stuck!"_

Panic swarmed the inside of the cage, prisoners beating against the bars, screaming as they gripped and pulled the bars until their hands bled. Children inside the cage coughed and rubbed their small, humid-pink eyes as the flames started to move closer to the cages.

The Dingo yelled as he turned the key harder, before a Falcon grabbed his wrist and turned it harder, yelling to the others.

_"Help us turn the key! _HURRY!"

Multiple hands...sweaty, bloody, bandaged, scaly, furry, feathered, scarred...piled over one another as they gripped the key.

"TURN!"

There was a simultaneous grunt from all the slaves, as they clenched their teeth while their hands turned the key through the rusted lock. The copper grinded through the battered metal, creaking as it forced the springs on the lock free.

**CLANK!**

The lock came undone and fell to the ground with a clatter, and the massive crowd of prisoners swung the prison door open and flooded out, coughing and gasping as the fire engulfed the inside of the cage. The injured and elderly limped behind before being hoisted up by others around them, and mothers scooped up their dazed children before running with the others.

The armed group of slaves surrounded the crowd of prisoners, and the Dingo shouted through the roaring flame that shook their surroundings like a storm.

_"Escort this bunch to the gate and take them back to the city! _GET YOURSELVES OUT BEFORE THE PLACE COMES DOWN!"

The armed slaves nodded and edged nearer towards the group of prisoners, leading through and swerving around every flaming pile of rock and rigid wall of stone that was about to cave in.

KRRRNT!

All turned at a scraping sound that was too acutely scraped to be the work of some crumbling debris, as a metal heap that had been crushed by the stone was blasted apart from the clawed-foot kick of a SharpClaw. A swarm of Elites made their way past the barricade, drawing their swords and leveling their halberds.

The SharpClaw at the front let his eyes fall on the terrified prisoners up ahead, and his eyes grew huge and alert. He uncoiled his barbed whip and yelled to his men.

"STOP THOSE SLAVES AND CHAIN THEM BACK UP! DRAKON WANTS THEM _ALIVE! _KILL THE ONES THAT ARE ARMED!"

The Dingo raised his pickaxe and shouted back to the slaves escorting the prisoners. "TAKE THEM AND RUN! WE'LL HOLD THESE ONES OFF!"

The prisoners were thrown into a state of chaotic panic as they ran towards the gate, the armed slaves around them sprinting hopelessly to try to herd them into a group. The Dingo, and the slaves that remained behind, stood their ground in determination not to let the Elites pass.

The SharpClaw charged forward, the flickering flames dancing off the reflection of their gleaming weapons and their whips transforming into whirling silhouettes in the flame-illuminated light.

The Dingo gripped his pickaxe anxiously. There was no way they could hold off these Elites with the numbers they had...not when so many of them were bothering with stray and panicking slaves. Too few of them had survived most of the actual fighting...if combat with digging tools even counted as a form of fighting.

Clenching his teeth, doubt gripping his insides as his legs dragged his reluctant feet towards the sprinting mob of SharpClaw that circled their ground with their superior numbers.

The first SharpClaw at the front, flailing his whip to scrape the first warm-blooded hide in his reach, dove after the wall of foolish slaves that guarded the ones that fled...

...but didn't make it two more steps before feeling something fast and small sink into his shoulder.

_Fwwisssh!_

"Gaaagh!"

The SharpClaw stopped for a moment, wincing at whatever had embedded itself into his shoulder...and only had time to look down on it and catch a glimpse of its seemingly-familiar sliver glint.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZT!

Suddenly, all the SharpClaw turned around to have their faces illuminated with a bluish-white light that exploded from the first Elite's shoulder. Electricity spun from the wound and drew its whirling surges all over the SharpClaw's body, his agonized yell was drowned out by the crackling sound of the charge sinking into his skull and spine.

Finally, the SharpClaw fell in a paralyzed heap on the sandy ground, steam coiling off his scales and face.

The other SharpClaw looked down at the body of their leader, eyes huge with shock. They all recognized the electric impact of whatever hit him...but they were still confused.

Then, a voice echoed from above...one young and childish, but drawling and irritated, too...

"Jesus Christ...I can't turn my back on these slaves and former thugs for five minutes, before I turn around to see 'em getting their asses handed to them by SharpClaw!"

Slaves and SharpClaw, both fixed with equal confusion looked up and saw the crumbling remnants of the nearest battlement of the massive wall that surrounded the slave yard. Dozens of unconscious SharpClaw, eyes wide open and covered in black electrical scorch-marks, littered the wall-top, surrounding the feet of a lone figure that stood with his back to the tower of ember-lit smoke. The long, wavy shape of a coat flapped behind him, and he had one hand in his pocket while the other tossed small, clinking objects in its palm.

"Seriously...do even small tasks like defending against Elites have to fall on _my _back too? I already blew up the damn place..."

The Dingo's shocked face melted into a scowl. _He _knew that voice...even if the SharpClaw didn't.

A SharpClaw looked back at their leader's stunned body and back up to the figure.

"He must have stolen some of our Guardsmen's arrows and stunned the Lieutenant with one! _Get him!"_

WHHH-_TRAAANG!_

One of the Elites leveled his halberd and threw it with sweeping efficiency. The figure jumped back from the edge of the rampart's walkway on cautious reflex. The halberd's steel pike-tip plunged into the stone masonry, causing bricks to shatter and dust-trailing stone chunks to rain from around its blade.

The figure whistled and looked back down at the SharpClaw.

"Dumb shits. Why the hell do you bother with projectile weapons like arrows and spears when you can't aim..."

WHOOOSH!

The figure bolted forward, skidding his feet across the shaft's surface of the embedded spear, before drawing them together and taking off into a mid-air somersault. His shadowy shape soared high above the SharpClaws' heads spinning acrobatically with his coat-flaps flourishing around him.

_Fwsshhh!_

The figure swept his hands out and spread the coat aside, stopping his spin in mid-air right in front of the towering flames behind him so that his silhouette was outlined in the light. Then, still upside down in the middle of a mid-air flip, the figure raised his head, the flames illuminating his face.

"...or better yet, when you're not fast enough to catch me!"

The light shone against the young cat's gleaming, mischievous smile, and the SharpClaw recognized him instantly.

_"It's that bastard cat again! _KILL HIM!"

Riley grabbed his knees and curled into a ball, rolling into multiple somersaults as he descended from the air, spears and pikes flying past him. Then, right as he was a few feet above the SharpClaws' heads, he uncurled and flung dozens of small objects down on their heads like rapid, metallic rain.

The objects flew like mosquitoes into the SharpClaws' necks, shoulders and faces, igniting with electricity the moment they sank into their scaly skin. Each Elite cried out in agonized fury as they clutched the spot where they had been wounded, before clutching the ground in a paralyzed heap.

_SLAM!_

Riley landed his feet on a still-standing SharpClaw's shoulder to break his swift fall, crouching before he vaulted himself off like a thin, lanky, dusty-furred missile, curling into a quick ground-roll as the SharpClaw collapsed behind him. The SharpClaw remained in scattered, scorched heaps on the ground, their eyes wide open in a combined look of restricted movement and shock. Most of them had their eyes on Riley...baffled through the shrouds of their own amazement that a cat like Riley had the speed and agility of a monkey.

_Fssshhh!_

Riley drew his feet up and swept his coat back, looking around at the scattered, electrocuted bodies with satisfaction at his handiwork. No one was dead...which was fine by him, being a thief and not an assassin. Killing wasn't his preferred line of work, it was avoiding being killed before he could make a profit off whatever he stole, or whatever scrap of information he had obtained. If he needed a subtle, clean murder, he'd leave that to his friends back at headquarters.

But they weren't here right now...so it was up to him. As usual.

Oddly enough, for just another escape run, the classic "get-caught-and-kill-them-from-behind-the-lines" scheme...this particular escape had been pretty fun for once. No wounds, no kills, no bossy Miyu telling him what to do, lots of good spoils from the Prisoner's belongings to steal...and best of all, other cooperating slaves that actually did what they were told.

_I could have used this kind of luck on so many other escapes and runs...preferably that one when I was taken to the SharpClaw Prison in the Palace back at Catalaya..._

He shuddered just thinking about it. That place may not have been the horrible Denique Fatum he heard constant rumors about, but it was probably in the same league.

The young cat paced about the scattered bodies, his bored eyes wandering past the swords and pikes that were strewn about, fallen from the SharpClaws' grips. 

He tossed the small, silver objects in his hand like clinking coins...which from a closer distance, resembled small, flat, sharpened, triangular blades.

_These SharpClaw should stick to melee weapons and blades...because their arrows suck major balls..._

_The shafts are too heavy, and impact the precision and the direction they travel..._

He caught the small blades in his hand. _But the arrow-heads make pretty exceptional throwing darts._

_"Guuuhhhh..."_

Riley stopped and looked down at the sound of a groaning SharpClaw near his feet. His fingers twitched as he tried to roll his rigid body over on the ground.

"Meh...quit your whining, will you? You're not dying, you're only shocked. You'll recover from it in twenty minutes, or so..." He nudged the SharpClaw over with his foot, placing his hands in the pockets of his newly-stolen coat. "If I wanted to kill you, I would've-"

Then he stopped, his ears perking at the sound of a tinkling noise whenever he prodded the SharpClaw's belt with his foot...and it wasn't the sound of chain mail. Riley looked over and saw a pouch dangling from a loop on his belt.

His green eyes lit up, a smile playing on his teeth. "Well, well...been busy going through Prisoner's Belongings too, have we? No wonder the spoils pile seemed so small..."

He bent down and snatched the pouch from his belt, and the SharpClaw flinched fearfully, as if fearing a strike or hit.

"Hey, now...I said I wouldn't kill you. Why else do you think I've kept you all alive? It's for the sake of fair play." He dumped the contents of the pouch in his hand. His smile faded as he rummaged through a pile of strange and old badges and ribbons, most of them Venomian...which was weird. His fingers traced an even stranger piece of equipment...that looked like a lensless scope. "As a thief, I'm obligated to let you bunch live to run off and tell your General about me..."

His eyebrows raised as he tapped a small but fine-looking sapphire, which had a strange glow about it. It looked like an exotic crystal, from some foreign planet...but not that he'd ever seen before.

_Nice find... _He thought to himself.

He pocketed the contents hastily, and smiled cheekily at the SharpClaw under his foot. "...and the rest of the SharpClaw, about how you laid eyes upon the fastest and nimblest bipedal thing on Titania." He flourished his hands to his paralyzed crowd. "Ex-Covert Ops Specialist CVG 6...Riley Gingerback!"

Then, his smile faded as his ears perked at the sound of quick movement behind him.

HWING!

_"HUAH!"_

Riley's green eyes became huge as he dove forward to duck the swinging axe of a SharpClaw behind him, who apparently had managed to dodge the darts. The dull edge of the axe-blade grazed the tuft of fur on the young cat's head, but the Elite's hand was faster than his axe. He reached out and snatched Riley's sleeve right as he was ducking to the side. Gritting his teeth frantically, Riley tried to wriggle out of the intense grip of the SharpClaw, but didn't manage to get out of his grip without having his sleeve torn off...and the fistful of darts loosening from his grip along with it.

Riley skidded to the side and whirled around hurriedly, and the SharpClaw roared as he flung aside the tattered sleeve. The young cat's eyes scanned the ground desperately for the darts, but traveled back up in alarm to see the axe swing at him.

The SharpClaw hacked and swung his axe as Riley nimbly ducked and sidestepped every strike with efficient but unguarded footing.

"You little shit! You won't be so smug when I bleed you and make you squeal like a butchered sow!"

_**Snrrk-**_**SHING!**

The sudden gleam of steel was so fast and so quiet that it passed in front of both the SharpClaw's and Riley's eyes like a rapidly-flying moth. Neither of them blinked before it duplicated and lined down the SharpClaw's stomach, before a voice drawled from behind him.

"Tch...that's funny. I was about to same thing about you."

_Fsssh!_

Blood sprayed from acute slices around the SharpClaw's ribs, but especially between his slitted nostrils, which split as a huge gash opened up on his snout. The Elite screamed and dropped his axe instantly, collapsing to his knees and clutching his face while muffled howls escaped through the cracks of his hands that clasped the wounds.

SLAM!

A tall, thin, spider-like figure aimed a swift kick at the SharpClaw's back, causing him to fall face-first into the sand, screaming even louder as the charred grains scalded the raw opening of the wounds on his face. Riley turned his eyes from the SharpClaw to the figure standing behind him.

Leon stood there with a skeptical look on his face, twirling his switchblade in his hand like a miniature set of helicopter blades so that it hummed and blurred with a small gleam, like a metal wasp, before sheathing it back into its handle.

Riley sighed in relief. "Thanks...Vincent."

Leon scowled and threw his hand out, grabbing a hold of the fur on the young cat's scruff.

"HEY!" Riley yelled in irritation, as Leon drew him up to his height.

"Stop fooling around and be more careful next time, kid," Leon scolded harshly. "Next time, I won't be there to pick up the pieces of your sliced-up corpse...let alone save you again. Got it?"

Riley winced at the tightened pull on his fur. "Okay, okay...I got it. Now, will you let me go?! Your're about to tear my fur out, for Christ's sake!"

"RILEY!"

Both of them turned to see the Dingo marching towards them, an angry look mashed on his face that was covered with ash and sweat. Leon dropped Riley, who landed on his light feet and brushed his fur reproachfully.

"You were supposed to take care of the SharpClaw on the Western Wall-top, free the women and children inside, and _come straight back!" _The Dingo yelled furiously. "Where the _hell _were you, and _what _have you been doing?! I'm defending the slaves down here with a small fraction of the men we have left, and you're looting every SharpClaw you find like a damn thief?!"

"Hey, if your ass takes a beating 'cause you can't hold your ground against a few half-brained SharpClaw, it's not my problem!" Riley snapped defensively. "I already lit this place up, staged the escape _and _the opened the gate. What, do you need me to hold your weapon and wipe your ass for you too, or is that helping too much?!"

The Dingo's face reddened, now in a real rage. "You detonating the temple has only made things worse! These prisoners were almost killed because of this damn fire and explosion!"

Riley's fur spiked angrily. "Oh, you're going to blame ME for that?! How the hell was I supposed to know that these SharpClaw stocked their fuel barrels below the temple?! I can't control that!" He jabbed a finger in the Dingo's face. "You know what, maybe next time _you _can plan all this, _you _can rig the explosives, and _you _can carve a key out of coal and rubble for every damn slave that was chained back there, and _I _can fight the SharpClaw, since you apparently can't handle that much!"

The Dingo opened his mouth, prepared to spew as many heated retorts as he could, but pursed his mouth shut after finding nothing to say back. He clenched his fists and stared about angrily, before his heated gaze fell on Leon.

"And what about you, Lizard? What's _your _excuse?"

Leon, who had been looking around with his hands in his pockets (apparently not that bothered by the crumbling temple around him), regarded him with mild interest. "Hmm?"

"I've been seeing how extensive you make these kills of yours. I don't know what barbaric line of work you're into off-planet, but don't peform it here at the expense of our time and the other slaves' safety."

Leon's bored look faltered slightly, flipping his sheathed switch-blade between his fingers like a poker-chip. "You got some kind of problem with the way I do things, Cornerian?"

He took a step forward, and Riley took a nervous step back.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do, _Lizard," _The Dingo said icily. "The more I see you cut open these SharpClaw with every kill like a sick freak, I'm beginning to wonder who's side you're on...or for that matter, what separates you from cold-blooded scum like the SharpClaw."

_Shrr-_SNAKKK!

Without changing his stance, expression, or even taking his other hand out of his pocket, Leon drew his hand up and flicked out his switch-blade just inches from the wide-eyed Dingo's face. His electric-blue eyes, brewing on the edge of dangerous but quiet irritation, narrowed slightly.

"You wanna know the difference between me and these asswipes, Cornerian?" Leon said, a dangerous grin exposing his flat, acutely-aligned teeth. "Where one of them merely kills a man, _I_ kill someone by cutting their tongue out, shoving it down their throat till they suffocate, and impale them on the first pike I find...and _still _manage toget some fun out of it. So, be careful about what comes out of that filthy mouth of yours...while it can still function."

The Dingo's eyes grew huge, the droplets of sweat on his brow glinting its reflection off the stainless surface of the knife that hovered over his face.

Riley laughed nervously and gripped Leon's hand, forcing him to lower it. "Haha...okay, now, let's not let things get out of hand...we're all on the same side, remember?"

Leon folded his knife and smile back into place, the warning glint in his eye still lingering over his passive expression. "Yeah...I suppose we are. Isn't that right?"

The Dingo stepped back hastily and nodded.

"MARTIN! RILEY! VINCENT!"

All three of them looked around, as a wounded slave pointed his pickaxe at a cluster of dark silhouettes that approached quickly behind the wall of flame on the other side of the Temple's base...the unmistakable gleam of machetes, axes and pikes shining through the curling inferno.

The Dingo gripped the handle of his weapon, cursing frantically. _"Shit! _EVERYONE, GROUP UP!"

There was a clattering sound as the slaves formed up behind Riley and the other two, brandishing their digging tools frantically. Riley ducked down and swept up his discarded darts quickly, eyes scanning the silhouettes ahead for a clear shot.

Leon drew his switch-blade and arched his back cautiously.

_Crap..._ He thought. _I didn't think the rest of the reinforcements would arrive so quickly..._

Then, a few of the shapes in the distance started to make their way closer past the flames, their weapons still visible, but their silhouettes still darkened and unclear. Their shapes and height were more visible for Leon's reptilian eyes to see...

Then, his eyes widened, darting around suspiciously.

_Wait a minute...those can't be Elites..._

_Their build isn't muscular enough...and their walk is different..._

_SharpClaw walk in taller and wider strides because of their weird, reptor-like feet...but this group's walking normally..._

_That can't be right...not unless they're walking with padded feet and hind legs...like-_

His eyes grew large with realization.

Riley prepared to hurl his darts at the closest shadows at the front, before Leon's hand reached out and clenched his wrist.

"Hey! What're you-"

"STOP!" Leon barked urgently. He looked at the other slaves. "Those aren't SharpClaw! They're not attacking us!"

A crowd of furrowed eyebrows and confused eye-darting greeted Leon's words. The slaves looked at him, before gripping their weapons tightly.

"What are you talking about?"

"How can they _not _be SharpClaw, when they're wielding-?"

Riley looked harder at the flames. "Wait a minute..._he's right! _Look! They can't be SharpClaw...they're not tall enough!"

The slaves looked harder at the wall of flames, until it burnt out for a moment and allowed a crowd of shadows through. The pikes and swords were portruded outwards, so everyone felt uneasy at seeing them emerge from behind the flames first.

But the anticipated sight of black armor-plates, chain-mail, murky-colored scales and clawed feet did not emerge. Instead, dozens of ragged, charred, bruised and bandaged slaves emerged...canines, felines, reptiles, avians, just like them...clad in tattered, faded clothes and walking with dangling but severed chains at their feet. But they didn't wield digging weapons like the ones that stared at them in surprise...they were wielding SharpClaw weapons.

The crowd of slaves with Riley and Leon sighed and laughed in relief, rushing out to meet them. The two of them followed the Dingo as he ran up to a Sand Fox resting a battered SharpClaw javelin on his shoulder.

"Radu!" The Dingo exclaimed in surprised happiness. "How did you-?! I thought your group ran into the Guardsmen Patrol on the southern wall!"

The Sand Fox, Radu, nodded darkly. "We did. Barely made it, too...only half of our group survived it the encounter. But we managed to beat the bastards and free the slaves in the southern barracks. We sent 'em off to the gate, and were ready to head to the Eastern Wall, but we found some SharpClaw tracks that had already paved the sand for us...a patrol had to have gotten there before us."

Riley raised his eyebrows. _"Another _patrol? Did yout fight them off, too?"

Radu smiled ruggedly and leaned on his javelin. "You're not gonna believe this...but almost all of them were dead before we got there!"

"What?" The Dingo looked at him quizzically. "I don't remember sending another group in the direction of the Eastern Wall...which group was it? Who was leading them?"

"There wasn't a group, Martin," Radu replied. "We only found one slave there...he claimed to have killed all sixty-four of them himself."

_Fssshhh..._

The Dingo and Riley both stared at him with confounded silence, while Leon raised his eyebrows skeptically. In any case all three of them were to engaged in the conversation to hear the quiet sound of a SharpClaw, on the ground a few feet behind them, slide on his belly...plucking the electric dart out of his recovered shoulder and slowly reaching for his machete was plunged into the sand a few inches away from his shaking fingertips...

Riley's mouth hung open in disbelief. _"One man? _ONE? Jesus...Who was it?"

"Same guy who led us to the armory, and helped us get inside and acquire these beauties," Radu said, hefting his javelin out of the ground from where its shaft dug into the sand. "Kept asking us if we'd seen Fay...or someone named Vincent Hellavichi."

Both Riley and the Dingo turned to Leon, whose eyes lit up attentively and hands drew from his pockets.

"Who was this guy?" Leon asked alertly, his heart pounding at the possibility. _Could it be...?!_ "What's his name?"

_**SLRRRRRTCH!**_

Suddenly, all of them froze at the sounds of flesh tearing and blood spraying right behind them, followed by a loud, bloodcurdling groan. A sudden rush of movement made a clumping sound behind them, brushing sand at the back of their feet, and they all whirled around.

Leon drew his knife. The Dingo raised his pickaxe. Riley yelped and prepared to fling his darts.

But as they looked around with prepared, anxious stances, they only found a SharpClaw's body at their feet...a machete still gripped in his unmoving hand. His eyes were wide open, but not nearly as wide as the onlookers' when they saw a series of deep, brutal claw-marks etched all over his stomach through his shattered armor, along with a final gash that nearly opened up his neck.

A track of concave marks had created a trail up to his body up to where it had rolled over to their feet, indicating that it had been kicked.

The confused, wide-eyed group allowed their eyes to follow the trail of marked sand from the body up to the area ahead.

Coils of smoke made a dense, eerie curtain of flame-illuminated shadow behind the crackling line of fire ahead. But slowly, as the wavering flames crackled and showered the sand with ash and dust, a silhouette appeared in front of the fire, its shape growing less faint as it drew nearer.

The shimmering glint of the flame shone off the surface of a curved and very familiar-looking blade in the figure's hands. And that's when the flames grew taller and illuminated the figure fully.

Riley and the Dingo gasped in shock, while Leon's eyes remained fixed as he stood rooted in the ground.

The figure's body was completely battered, cut, bruised, and scarred, a messy and spine-tingling array of painful-looking wounds decorating his torso like raw, decaying stripes. The wounds' littered arrangement surrounded a tight, hollow, dented stomach, so stretched and thin that the ribs were just barely visible, their lines growing clearer with every drawn breath. Ragged remnants of bandages flapped like small, tattered banners on the figure's hunched shoulders and arms, the rising embers drifting past them in the wind.

Wolf trudged out of the blaring light of the flames, his shadow stretching over the orange-hued, sandy ground. The other slaves stepped aside as they turned to see him walk forward, afraid that with such gruesome injuries, he'd collapse in a weakened heap by just bumping into one of them.

"Wh-Who...Who in the hell is that?" The Dingo stammered, barely blinking.

"It's Maxwell! He made it! _He actually made it!"_ Riley exclaimed, a big grin stifling the overjoyed laugh in his mouth. He waved his hands, calling out loudly. "HEY, MAX!"

Wolf smiled slightly, finding an odd sense of comfort at seeing the mangy cat's familiar face. But then his eyes turned to Leon...and all warmth melted from his expression completely. His eyes lowered, and he turned away, trying to hide the shame in his eyes...but Riley caught a glimpse of it before he turned away completely.

"Hey...what's wrong with him?" Riley asked, turning to Leon quizzically. "He seems hesitant..."

Leon folded his arms skeptically, turning coldly. "Maybe he's afraid of facing something over here."

Riley's eyebrows furrowed, his question lingering unanswered in his head. He turned back to Wolf, who remained hesitant in the distance. Then, he watched as he took a deep breath, clenched his fist determinedly, and walked towards them.

Riley was the first to greet him. "Maxwell, you made it! I've been hearing so many rumors this whole time, but that girl, Jenna, told me everything...about you, her son, Drakon, the Adder Tongues..." His green eyes grew huge. "I told her that when the time was right you could help her out...ya know, being stronger and all...and I'd do everything I can on my side till you got here. And the next thing I hear, you've punched Drakon's face open and stood your ground against a bunch of SharpClaw, and..and...Jesus Christ, I _still _can't believe it! Everyone said you were dead, and you'd never make it, but I told them you would _and I was right!" _His fur bristled and he jumped up and down like an excited child. Then he stopped, looking at him concernedly. "You look like hell, though. Maybe we should find someone to patch you up..."

Wolf smiled. "It's okay, Riley, I'm fine. It may not look like it...but I am. Thanks for worrying about me though, I really appreciate it...along with everything else you've done for this escape attempt. We all owe you."

Riley beamed furiously, smiling in the Dingo's direction, who turned with a disgruntled scowl.

Then, Wolf turned to Leon, who still stood with his arms folded. His smile faded, and his eyes became earnest and serious.

"Leon-uh, I mean, _Vincent..._You probably hate me right now, and don't even want to see my face. _" _Wolf looked down with a pained expression, clenching his fists. "And I don't blame you one bit. I won't waste your time apologizing a million times over, because it won't do a damn thing. All I can say is that I've been doing what you said I should do, this whole time, and even that's probably not enough to-"

_Fwwp!_

Wolf looked up instantly, as Leon's hand gripped his shoulder firmly.

"Enough of this weak talk!" Leon said in an iron voice. "Now's not the time to be apologetic. The Maxwell I know would never say such sobby, sentimental crap until the time was right! He'd take initiative and confront the situation at hand..." A familiar smile emerged from behind Leon's slanted teeth. "...which is what he's been doing with these SharpClaw so far, which is what I'd expect from him...since it's about damn time!"

Wolf's face shone with a relieved smile. "Leon..."

"You're here, and you're in one piece..." Leon looked at his scarred, bandaged torso. "Even if it is a crappy, beaten, bludgeoned, battered piece, it's still counts...and that's all that matters. We've got bigger things to worry about right now."

Radu leaned off his spear. "The Lizard's right...we can't waste any more time. We might've gotten our hands on some better weapons, but our situation hasn't improved." He turned to the Dingo and Riley. "Riley...there's another reason I came here, other than regrouping. I saw a SharpClaw that Drakon sent make his way to the Northern wall..." His expression darkened. "He's lit the beacon. Reinforcements are coming."

"WHAT?!" Riley shouted, his expression becoming frantic and unkept in an instant. _"The beacon's been-? _WHY DIDN'T YOU-How long has it been lit? When did the response come?!"

"About an hour ago...the beacon in the city is visible from the Northern Wall. The SharpClaw at the Palace are probably on their way here."

Riley's face paled, and he ran his hands through the scruffy fur on his head, pacing frantically. "This is bad...this is _beyond_ bad... this is going to ruin everything! Those reinforcements could be here any minute! If they do they'll overwhelm us...and everything we planned, every slave trying to escape..."

The Sand Fox nodded hurriedly. "I know...that's why I came here as fast as I could. Listen, almost all the slaves have been rescued, so there's no time to waste. You and Fay better finish up before this place comes down, or the SharpClaw show up to help Drakon restrain anyone escaping. So grab her and let's go!"

Riley stopped in his tracks and whirled around suddenly. "WAIT! What do you mean 'grab her and let's go'? Isn't she with you?"

The Sand Fox's eyebrows furrowed. "What...? No...I thought she was with you! Wasn't she here?"

_Fwwpp!_

Riley grabbed his shoulders in shaking panic. "What do you MEAN 'NO'...?! She _had _to be with you...she was on the Eastern Side of the Slave Yard! You PASSED through there!"

"She wasn't there! My men scoured the place for slaves, so if she _was _there, we would've run into her!" Radu shouted defensively.

Riley looked so pale and nauseous that he could pass out any second. "No...no...God _no...why now?! _We have to find her, look in any place we haven't yet...I don't care if reinforcements get here, or if they kill me, but I swear to God..._We can't leave this place until we find her! _Please, I'm begging you!"

Wolf looked around quizzically. "Wait..._you _know Fay?"

Riley turned to him, his eyes darting around as if processing the absurdity of that question. "What do you-?! _Of course, _I know her...she's part of the organization I'm with! She's the whole reason I'm here in the first place! I was sent to go retrieve her after she got captured by the SharpClaw back in Catalaya! She helped devise this whole plan to escape! If _anything _happens to her..." His eyes grew wide again, and he turned hurriedly to the other slaves. "Listen...we have to look for her before this place comes down! She's a top priority, and-"

The Dingo shook his head. "What are you, crazy?! This whole temple's coming down, the SharpClaw reinforcements are arriving, and you want us to jeopardize everything to look for Fay?! We don't have time! We've got slaves to escort to safety, innocent people!"

"Martin's right, Riley," Radu nodded. "It's too dangerous...and we have too many lives at stake. With these conditions, we can't gamble everything we've fought for so hard for the improbable safety of one person!"

_"She's _NOT _one person, _God Dammit!" Riley spat furiously, his fur spiking up. "She helped plan this escape as much as I did...she _saved _your asses, and this is how you're going top repay her?! None of the people escaping right now would have the opportunity they have if it weren't for her! I'll die before I abandon her like you selfish bastards are trying to do!"

The Sand Fox's eyes flashed angrily. "Now, wait a minute, Riley...Don't you-"

"NO! I will!" Riley shouted defiantly. "Besides...if I fail my mission, and go back to Headquarters, my superior, the Leader of my Organization, will find out _you _decided not to look for Fay! Do you want to face the Leader, and defy her yourself, or listen to me?!"

Whatever Riley was referring to or whoever this Leader was, it seemed to make the two slaves more hesitant.

"Even if..." The Dingo said in a sudden stiff, uneasy, and less presumptious voice. "...we _do _decide to look for her, we have no idea where to start looking. We've searched the whole Slave Yard for any slaves that could be left behind. If we didn't find her in any of those places, then there's nowhere else to look!"

"Wait..." Leon's eyes darted back, caught in sudden thought. "Hold on a minute...she could be someplace you _haven't _looked."

The Sand Fox turned to him. "What do you mean?"

"I remember overhearing the SharpClaw talk about taking certain prisoners to someplace they called 'the highest point in the Slave Yard'..."

"'The Highest Point'?" The Dingo echoed skeptically. "That's ridiculous...the walls are the highest reaching elevations in the slave yard. The only thing taller than them is..." Then, he stopped.

_FWSSSSHHHHHHHHH!_

Suddenly, all of them looked up slowly to see the towering flames curl and eat away at the charred columns of the temple, black smoke billowing from the tallest tower of the deteriorating temple construct like an open wound.

The Dingo finished his sentence, but the ominous silence that occured before he even uttered a word seemed to finish his statement for him.

"...the peak of the Temple..." He murmured with wide eyes.

Whatever color that was left in Riley's fixed, rigid face, disappeared in that instant. His eyes were huge and horror-struck, and his hands shook with the horrible possibility that tugged at the back of his mind.

"N-No...no..." He said in a small, pining voice on the brink of a sob. "It _can't _be...We have to...we have to find her before the flames consume the temple!"

The Dingo turned to him. _"What?! _You actually think we can go in there and find her, and come out alive! The temple's coming down as we speak...it's up in flames up at the peak! Searching through that would be a waste of time and our lives! Look, Riley...we all appreciate what Fay did to help, and we can mourn for her, but we can't let our own corpses burn looking for someone who's probably dead! We just have to-"

_Fwwp! _

Riley's shaking hand flew to the Dingo's collar, clutching it in furious anguish. "NO! She's _not _dead! Don't you _dare _even bring up that possibility, you hear me?!" Hot tears sprang from his eyes as he choked back sobs. "Sh-She's not dead...she's _not..._I _can't _have failed her...I _can't _have let her die...we have to try looking, at least!"

"Riley, be reasonable!" The Sand Fox said sternly. "Even if Fay _is _alive, we can't organize a search party now, not with all the slaves we have to escort, not with the time before the reinforcements arrive...and certainly not with the intense risk of dying in those flames!"

Wolf, processing the conversation and the situation at hand with keen eyes, looked from the flaming temple and back to Riley.

"Now, we can't waste any more time," Radu continued. "All we can do is accept the inevitable, and preserve the safety of as many slaves as we can. You need to come with us, Riley...there's nothing left for you to do here."

Riley looked at them helplessly. "But, I-No...NO! You have to help me, please, I've-"

"They're right, Riley. Do as they say and go with them."

The tear-stricken, panicking young cat turned to Wolf, feeling heartbroken and betrayed. _"Max? _Why are you-?!"

"Go with them," Wolf said firmly, looking at the other two slaves. "You all take the slaves and escort them to safety, or do whatever. I'll stay behind and look for the girl."

All of them turned surprisedly, Riley being the most stunned despite his overwhelming relief. Leon shrugged, as if expecting this to happen.

"You?" The Dingo said. "An off-worlder, sticking your neck out to help her? Why?"

Wolf folded his arms indifferently. "Don't get the wrong idea...I'm not helping you bunch, or her, out of some misplaced sense of compassion or heroism. The only reason I'm doing this is because she saved the lives of both me and my friend...and there's no reason to look the other way when she could potentially die. Besides, there's a debt I owe her...but that's all."

The Sand Fox looked at him sharply. "Remember, off-worlder...if you get held up or can't make it back, we can't stay behind for you. With these reinforcements coming, we need to-"

"I didn't ask you to stay behind," Wolf cut in abruptly. "I don't need you to. When I find the girl, I'll get away from here on my own. And by the way, if you need a quicker way out of here, you might want this."

He tossed the Sand Fox a small, silver disc. Radu looked at it confusedly.

"What is this?"

"It's the access codes to the storage garage next to the gate where the speeders are kept...I 'persuaded' one of the SharpClaw who surrendered to me to let me borrow it. If you need to get those slaves of yours to that city in a timely fashion, you'd better use those. And you better make it quick..." His eyes darted back to the burning temple. "If any of your people or slaves can't avoid being reduced to ashes along with this place, I won't be responsible for staying behind for _you. _Got it?"

Radu nodded. "Understood. Good luck to you, off-worlder."

"Meh, he won't need it," Leon said. "He'll have my switch-blade and my superior eye-sight to watch his back...and that ought to be enough."

Wolf turned to him. "Look, Leon...I think it's best that you-"

"...'go with them'?" Leon finished skeptically. "Why, so you can get yourself covered in more scars and shit for me to stitch up? Tch...not a chance."

Wolf smiled. "Fine. But stick close to me...I don't want to have to scour this place to look for you again."

The Dingo looked at them both incredulously. "You don't actually think you'll survive through that, do you? It's nothing but blistering carbon dioxide and roaring flame!"

Leon bobbed his neck from side to side, till he heard it crack. "I have better luck enduring a fire than you mammals do. Sometimes being cold-blooded pays off."

The Sand Fox heaved his javelin up. "We'll leave you to it, then. Martin! The rest of you! Let's get moving!"

The slaves sheathed their weapons and moved in huddled groups, their bandaged, severed-shackled feet thumping across the ground as they moved past the flickering flames and moved towards the gate.

Riley watched a few run past him, and then looked back at Wolf.

"Max..." He started, his voice lingering with concerned hesitation. "I should be going with you. I'm fast and nimble enough to search through the fires...I can help!"

"No, kid. You're better off with them...they can put you to some good use," Wolf said, tightening the bandages around his arm in preparation of some more brisk movement. "Vincent and I will take care of things here."

"But, Maxwell-" Riley protested.

_"Riley!"_

Wolf whirled around to face him, his voice become hard and commanding, in a way that Leon hadn't heard him talk in since the Lylat Wars. Riley flinched and remained rigid at the sound of his voice.

"I'm not on offensive duty or charged with the defense of those slaves out there..._you _are! This is the time where they need your help the most! Only your maneuvering and speed can get them past the diminishing lines of this place, and defend them against any remaining SharpClaw. Who's the one who planned this whole escape...whose idea and intention was it to free all these slaves? You, remember?!"

Riley nodded, swallowing timidly under the harsh reign of Wolf's voice, who grabbed the young cat by his collar and held him up to his height.

"You started this whole escapade, so now you have to see the whole thing through! This isn't the time for you to hesitate, show discouragement or weakness, or be distracted by other pressing, personal needs! You started all of this, now finish it! No one's depending on me...but all of your allies, the slaves in need...and that girl who's alive somewhere, Fay...are all depending on you! So do it, and don't you dare die in the process...that's an order!"

Leon looked at Wolf strangely, but stifled a smile of realization. This concrete, irritable, menacing tone of voice...was his own way of showing concerned compassion without sounding like Fox.

Wolf looked down at the bewildered cat. "Understand that, kid?"

Riley nodded, his surprised fear slacking a little bit.

_Fwwp._

Wolf released his collar and let his feet touch the ground again.

"Good. Now, get going...they aren't gonna wait for you."

Riley looked back at the retreating slaves and sprinted up to join them, his light feet dashing past the scorched ground. In the middle of running, he stumbled abruptly and almost fell over to turn around, cupping his hands around his mouth and yelling back to Wolf as he ran backwards.

_"Take care, the both of you! And come back in one piece so that we can meet up again in the city!"_

Wolf sighed and patted his bandages with a wince. "Trust me, kid! With all the crap I've endured so far, I doubt things could get any worse!"

And with that, both him and Leon turned and head towards the flaming bowels of the Temple's massive interior.

As they ran, Leon looked back slightly. "Not a bad kid, that one."

"Yeah," Wolf said, his eyes on the fire ahead. "He's alright. A bit of a show-off, but alright."

"Hey, Wolf..." Leon started.

"Yeah?"

"Your chief principle is 'stick your neck out for nobody but allies', right?" Leon asked tentatively.

Wolf could already see where this was going. "When I can help it, yes. Why?"

"Why _are _we going out of our way to save this girl, anyway?" Leon turned to him slightly. "You told those other guys it was for healing us, but I can tell when there's another reason hiding behind your voice, Wolf. So what is it?"

Wolf stared on into the flames ahead, as if thinking about the appropriate response from someone like him. "That girl, Fay...she healed me in a different way. Not just physically, with flesh wounds...she did so much more than that. I don't even know if it was intentional...but she helped me stitch a scar more painful and impactful than the scars I've gotten from the Adder Tongues." He turned to face Leon. "She said a lot of things back there...things that hurt, but were still true...about people like me. She sealed the discouragement that's been plaguing me for so long now...and made me recover from it before I could lose myself in it. She helped me remember...why and how I do the things I do...even without my Inner Power. And the least I can do is help her in her hour of need..." He clenched his blackened, bandaged fist. "...just like she did for me."

Leon didn't say anything for a long time. He kept on running, his pace remaining unchanged, as if processing everything Wolf was saying.

"So you received the inspiration you needed...from a healer girl?"

Wolf scowled. "You can laugh. But she did it just in time for-"

The chameleon threw his hands up defensively. "Hey, hey, I ain't laughing! Makes sense to me...courage comes from the most unlikely of places these days. But I sure as hell wasn't expecting it to come from way out here...in the middle of this wasteland, in a place like this..."

Wolf nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

As the air around them grew blazing hot, and his fur tingled as they drove deeper and deeper into the flaming depths of the crumbling temple, Wolf couldn't help but dwell on Fay's words...and what Leon said about her...

_"Courage coming from the most unlikely of places..."_

Somehow...that analogy, that girl... it all seemed to familiar to him.

It reminded him of someone...

_A few minutes later, in the flaming remnants of the SharpClaw Temple..._

The atmosphere within the temple felt like the frothing, churning interior of an oven. The air bubbled and distorted like the humidity on a sun-scathed horizon, but with rushing flames and scalding sparks instead of the hollow desolation of the desert. Bricks and charred blocks of sandstone thundered down all around the area, spraying the ember-lit air with heaps of dusty debris.

In the midst of this flaming and crumbling havoc, on one of the top floors that was just starting to fall apart, two SharpClaw Elites stood frantically in front of a rusted cage that had been bolted down to the temple floor.

_"This is freaking insane! _If we stay here any longer, we'll be burnt to ashes along with the rest of this place!"

"Shut up, idiot! You're not going anywhere, and neither am I. We've received our orders from Drakon, so let's stick to them!"

_CLANG! CLANG!_

Inside the lone cage that stood close to the walls of flame that grew larger with every passing second, slaves beat against the bars and screamed over the terrifying tremor of the destruction around them.

"LET US OUT OF HERE, PLEASE!"

_"This place is coming down! If we remain locked in here, _WE'LL DIE! AND YOU'LL DIE WITH US!"

_"YOU WRETCHED BASTARDS! _LET US OUT! YOU'VE GOT NOTHING TO GAIN FROM HOLDING US NOW THAT EVERYONE ELSE HAS ESCAPED!"

The second SharpClaw slammed the butt of his pike against the metal bars, rattling the cage. _"Quiet, all of you! _If you remain obedient, we'll let you out!"

The first, whose eyes wandered up and down the crumbling walls with builiding panic, gripped his spear shakily. "The slaves are speaking sense, man. What the hell does Drakon mean by having us guard these slaves like this?! We're better off letting the flames consume us than remain behind!"

The Second one pointed a clawed hand in his direction. "You better hope I didn't detect weakness in that voice...the penalty for cowardice amongst the SharpClaw is death. It's a defiling of our race...it's our law. Besides, we'll only be here for a few more minutes before _he _shows up!"

"What kind of a gamble is that to make?!" The first one argued. "We don't even know if the canine will take the bait! What does Drakon intend to do with him, anyway? There's no way his capture will reimburse for the hundreds of slaves that have escaped so far!"

The First one gripped his pike uneasily. "As of late, I've been wary of Drakon's intentions...and the sanity behind them. I don't think they're for the sake of this Slave Yard anymore. I saw him go at that Canine with the Adder Tongues-I've never seen him so bent on killing any slave. Maybe Drakon's been compromised by his own bloodlust...and has decided to neglect his duty..."

The other one looked at his comrade in a startled manner. "And what, defy his duty to satisfy his own rage? But...that's treason! If he's found by the General's forces, they'll-"

"WAIT! _Quiet for a moment!" _The first one hissed, throwing up his hand suddenly. "I heard something-"

The two of them listened past the crackling flames and rushing debris, before they heard the pitter-patter of footsteps across the alabaster floor...and it was too light for SharpClaw feet...not to mention lacking the usual sound of their raptor-like claws scraping the ground.

Then, two silhouettes appeared in the flame-enveloped distance.

A slave in the cage looked up, his eyes that were pink and teary from the heat squinting slightly.

"THERE! It's a pair of slaves! The ones that escaped! _They've come for us!"_

The first silhouette sprinted through the flames upon hearing the slave's voice, calling to the other silhouette.

"Leon, over here! It's on _this _side!"

As the flames dimmed behind his approaching figure, the shape of his body and face became visible, along with vague but significant features...such as a long, scarred snout, pointed ears, and a scrap of cloth wrapped around the left side of his face.

One of the SharpClaw's eyes gleamed cautiously as he leveled his pike. "It's the canine...he showed up."

Wolf drew his Claw and called to Leon. "You take the one on the right...I've got the one with the pike!"

Leon sprinted forward, flicking his knife open. "Fine, but make it quick. I'm gonna need some help getting that cage open before this place comes down...so go easy on the acrobatics and flashy kills."

Wolf's eyes wandered past the two SharpClaw and over to the cage of writhing, struggling slaves. A low breath of relief left his mouth, before he drew it back with a fit of coughing through the thick, ashy air. He had found the slaves held at the highest point...but his eyes furrowed slightly. Why were two SharpClaw guarding it? Most of the Elites that remained in the camp were either dead or fleeing the place in hopes of escaping...

So why did two remain in the wake of the fires...?

The second SharpClaw glanced at Leon. "Shit...he isn't alone. He brought someone..."

"Forget him," The other one responded. "We aren't supposed to harm the canine, but if the other one gets in the way, just-"

_**SPRAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSHHHHHH!**_

Suddenly, all eyes darted to the ceiling, where a devastating whirl of flame smashed against the crumbling remains of a charred marble column, with a pile of discarded glass panes lying on the balcony were meant to be fitted in the finished structure's windows. The explosion smashed down on the sheets of glass, and several writhing cracks spread upon the transparent surface before they shattered completely.

Leon's quick chameleon eyes widened in brief fear, before he grabbed Wolf by the shoulder and wrenched him down to his knees into a duck.

"DOWN!"

He flung the flaps of his coat around them as the jagged glass shards rained down, causing the slaves inside the cage to scream and back up against the barred, metal confines.

The first SharpClaw flung his arms in front of his face, but the second one was neither as fast or lucky.

_Shwwwaaash!_

The glass shards raked though the SharpClaw's face, their brutal edges knifing through his eye sockets. Black blood exploded in popping bursts from his eyes and sprayed like ink on the floor...with long, thick, stringy objects falling from where his eyes used to be, into the blood with sickening splashes.

_"KUUUUAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHH!"_

The SharpClaw screamed in a voce that sounded more like a pining shriek than an agonized yell, high-pitched and sob-stricken. He fell to his knees, clasping his face as he whimpered through bleeding tears that leaked through the cracks between his fingers.

The other SharpClaw flung down his spear and ran to him, while his comrade moaned in his grip. "NAGENDRA!"

Leon and Wolf looked up, rising to their feet. Their shocked gazes were fixed unsettled discomfort at the grisly scene of the sightless SharpClaw whimpering limply in his friend's grip.

_"Nagendra!" _The SharpClaw over him yelled. "Nagendra...shh, hold it together...just stay still-!"

Leon lowered his knife, giving a hesitant look at Wolf. "Should we...?"

"No," Wolf said, lowering his Claw in unison. "Don't attack him. Regardless of who they are, I won't kill a blinded man."

He walked over to the SharpClaw kneeling over the blind one. The unscathed Elite turned at the sight of Wolf's shadow towering over him, to see him pointing his Claw in his direction.

"You, SharpClaw! Get up!" He said in a concrete voice. "Get on your feet and fight. I'll only kill a man on his feet, not his knees."

The SharpClaw raised an imploring hand. _"Wait! _Please wait! I have no vendetta with you...we were just following orders! Drakon ordered us to stay behind and guard this cage of prisoners...neither of us want to fight you! Look..." He snatched his coiled whip from his belt and tossed it at Wolf's feet. "Just leave us be! Let me take my friend out of here...and get him to some medical aid. If he's both alone and blind in this fire, he'll die! Just let us go!"

Wolf's eyes glowered. "You expect me to extend mercy to the likes of you, who wouldn't do the same for me? I have still have fresh scars on my back, marks of cruelty that _your _kind left on me! Why should I even grant you the leisure of a swift death?"

"I stood up for you!" The SharpClaw ripped the black scarf over his snout to reveal his red-scaled face.

Wolf's fierce scowl slackened in realization. Familiar images appeared inside his memory from that groggy, muffled, painful strand of consciousness he was in before he passed out from the severe wounds inflicted by the Adder Tongues. He recalled the sight of a Scarlet SharpClaw stopping Drakon from delivering the final blow...and yelling sense into him.

This SharpClaw _had _stood up for him before.

"If I hadn't stopped him, Drakon would've whipped you till there was no skin left on your back!" The Scarlet SharpClaw said, wrapping his face-sash around his comrade's eyes. "Look, I'm not asking you to repay me for what I did, just let me go! I won't pursue you, or tell Drakon you were here...I swear!"

_CLANG! CLANG!_

A sudden banging noise cut him short, as the slaves within the lethal confines of the cage screamed and beat against the bars of the cage, as the roaring flames started waft through the metal bars. As more of the blown-open ceiling started to crumble apart, the slaves screamed louder as they cowered beneath a shower of ash and debris.

"PLEASE, HELP US! _GET US OUT OF HERE!" _An ash-pelted Micaw screamed.

"THE FLAMES ARE GETTING INSIDE!" Another man yelled, his voice riddled with fearful sobs. The children inside shivered with fright at the sight of grown men crying and screaming. "WE'LL ALL BURN TO ASHES IN THE FIRE IF WE STAY INSIDE!"

_"Don't just stand there, damn it!" _A Bobcat screamed with his screaminng daughter burying her terrified face into his chest. He collapsed slightly and coughed from the ashes that hung in the air, tears streaming from his pink, struggling eyes. "OPEN-_hacch-the-_CAGE, BEFORE-!"

_"PLEASE!" _A terrified vixen mother begged, wringing the bars so much that her hands started to bleed. _"Our children are in here with us-_THERE ARE CHILDREN IN HERE! OPEN THE CAGE!"

Looking at the cage of prisoners frantically, the pressure and panic of the atmosphere causing his already-heavy breath to quicken, he pointed his Claw at the Scarlet SharpClaw.

"Fine! Take your friend and get out of here." He was about to dash past him, before he turned and shot a warning glare in his direction. "But if you try anything on me while my back is turned, you're going to wish that you _both_ had been reduced to ashes with the other SharpClaw."

The Scarlet SharpClaw nodded, with a more understanding look than an intimidated one.

Wolf bolted towards the cage door, where Leon was already hammering and fidgeting at the lock. The huge, desperate eyes of the slaves were fixed on the chameleon's hands from behind the bars.

"Can you pick the lock?" Wolf asked hurriedly.

_"Gargh!" _Leon winced as one of his long fingers twisted painfully in the strange, curved, inner workings of the lock, causing him to rattle the chain in frustration. "Not this kind...this one doesn't even have a proper key-hole! No amount of prying will work!"

"What you mean, 'not this kind'? I thought you said you could pick any lock!"

Leon turned to him angrily. "I said 'any lock I'm familiar with', not this primitive crap!"

"Jesus Christ..." Wolf cursed under his breath, the heat in the air only making him more frustrated. "There has to be some way we could-"

"Wait a minute!" Leon said suddenly, his keen eyes scanning the lock in the flickering fire-light. "I know what kind of lock this is! This is the same lock that held the Main Gate!"

"What?" Wolf asked quizzically.

"Don't you remember?" Leon said in hurried realization. "The SharpClaw Caravan that brought us here...the Leader did something with his middle claw...one longer than the rest, like a raptor's...and it somehow opened the gate!"

Wolf's eyes widened. "So these locks are designed for only SharpClaw to unlock! We need one of those claws to unlock these things! But where are we gonna get-?"

The Scarlet SharpClaw, who had been bandaging his groaning friend's eyes, but listening intently, stood up suddenly.

"Wait here, Nagendra. I'm coming back." He walked towards the cage.

Both Leon and Wolf turned to him cautiously.

"What-?"

_Swa-_SHING!

The SharpClaw flexed his claws, and a long, black, raptor-like one extended from his middle finger.

"I'll unlock it."

He stuck the raptor claw into the lock, and twisted it clockwise. Metal spines grew from the side of the lock, and the thick iron bolt keeping the cage shut slackened off and fell to the ground with a rusty clatter.

_RRRRT-_ANG!

The slaves smashed the unlocked cage door open, groups of them pouring out like sweaty, coughing, ash-pelted mice. Men staggered out on their swollen feet and knees, pulling their families with them. Women scooped up their weak, coughing children, squinting through the bright haze of the crackling flames. The sightless, silent, ragged slaves were the last to emerge. They looked around blindly, oblivious to the destruction around them but cringing and fiddling with their fingers in the presence of known danger.

Even though the slaves were free, they were just as hapless and frantic as vulnerable children. Leon didn't waste any time and took immediate iniative.

"Everyone, _stay together! _If you have children that can walk for themselves, keep them within three steps in front or behind you. Don't let a single one of them out of your sight, because we might lose them for good in this fire! Stay in single file, and avoid any wall, rock, or structure that is either on fire, or cracked even the slightest, no matter how safe it may look. This place is coming down as we speak, so stick close and follow us!"

Wolf scanned the crowd of emerging slaves one by one for Fay's white fur or red bow. But as soot-covered canines and felines made their way out, there was no sign of the young Spaniel.

His heart pounded nervously. _Where IS she...?!_

A slave looked around. "The Tortured Ones aren't moving with us. They don't know what's going on!"

Leon turned impatiently towards the blank-faced slaves in the back. "Damn it, of course not...they can't hear _or _see...the only thing they respond to is..."

Then his face lit up. He looked around hurriedly, until he spotted a discarded SharpClaw whip half-buried under some debris. The prisoners' relieved looks melted into horrified ones as he snatched it up.

"What're you-?!"

_Whrrsh-_TAKK!

Leon struck the ground near the ragged slaves' feet, making them bolt a step forward in startled flinches.

"Drakon's beaten them to the point where their minds are only attuned to responding to his whip-commands. It's the only way to make them move. Take it and make sure they don't wander off!" He tossed it to a nearby slave.

Wolf's heart pounded as he turned to Leon. "Leon, something's wrong. That Weldon girl isn't here!"

"What?" Leon whirled around, his authorative voice becoming anxious. "What do you mean?"

"I've searched this entire group. Fay's not with this bunch!" Wolf said, a lump forming in his throat.

"But-_why? _No, it can't be! This is the only cage up here!" Leon's voice bounced between frustration and distress. "Where else could she be?"

_"Maxwell!"_

Wolf's ears perked at the sound of a young woman's voice calling his name-or alias, rather-from behind. He turned to see a pair of felines make their way through the crowd, their faces caked with ash and sweat. One was a sleek tortoise-shell with a face locked in a permanently-worried expression, while the other was a Jaguar covered head to with cuts and bruises, weakly hanging on the girl's shoulder.

Wolf's tense expression slackened into one widened with realization, as he recognized them as Clark and Jenna, the husband and wife from before...with the deceased son.

His confused eyes darted towards their faces. "You two...what are you both doing here?"

The girl, Jenna, let her husband stand and lean on her slightly. "I was taken with the other slaves after the explosion. My husband found me locked with the others and set me free. He told me what happened..." Her eyes glistened with warmth and gratitude. "About how you helped him...I can't thank you enough for-"

"Don't worry about that now," Wolf said hastily, already nauseous from the humidity of the fire. "Just keep going. What happened?"

Her husband nodded, his voice sounding stronger than it was before. "I found her in one of the crowded cages. The girl from the Infirmary Tent and I helped her escape, but by the time we outran the SharpClaw, the temple started coming down around us, and some more Elites found us, and-"

"Wait! Fay was with you?" Wolf cut in urgently, suddenly remembering Fay disappearing with the Jaguar earlier.

Jenna nodded ."Yes, she was...she kept talking about regrouping with that ginger cat, Riley." Her eyes moved down to Wolf's bleeding, scarred torso and hands. "Oh my God...what happened to your wounds? You...did the SharpClaw capture you?" Her voice became frantic and concerned. "Those look awful...we need to get you some help! How are you even still walking?!"

"Never mind about me, I'm fine!" Wolf said hastily. "But where is she now? Why isn't she in these cages with you?"

Clark looked up quizzically. "With us? She wasn't captured with us!"

Leon looked at them confusedly. "What? But you said she was with you!"

"Yes, but..." Jenna started. "She left before we ran into the SharpClaw for the second time. She said she needed something that had been taken from her in the Prisoner's Belongings Tent...and told us to head for the North Entrance. She didn't come back."

"What?" Wolf stepped forward, grabbing her shoulders. "No...she had to have been captured...the Armed Slaves said that they had taken control all the walled buildings around the Temple, and _they _hadn't seen her either. Where else could she be?"

The young cat shook her head, nervously shaking under Wolf's intense grip. "I-I don't know what happened! I only saw her take off in the direction of the Western Wall...while it was still collapsing from the flames that had spread there! That's all I know!"

Wolf released her, his eyes wandering past the flickering flames in the distance, while Jenna rubbed her arms and backed away fearfully.

As Leon continued rounding the slaves up, Wolf's confused thoughts revolved in his head.

_This...this can't be right..._

_If Fay was never captured, then where is she? Did she make it out alive? _

_Is she...?_

_No...she can't be dead...she's too resourceful for that...after all, she's made it this far..._

_But, then..._

He looked back at the open cage, and then at the prisoners. Why were the prisoners imprisoned up in a place like this? Did Drakon expect any of the freed slaves to look up here, in the flaming Temple?

_Only Leon and I turned up to look for them...and even then, Fay wasn't here when we got here..._

_So we were following a fake trail..._

_...but why?_

His eyes wandered in frustration across the crackling flames.

Then, his eyes widened.

_Wait..._

_Why would Drakon have guards holding slaves up here in the first place? Why these ones, and not the others?_

_What, were they supposed to be some kind of bait?_

His heart stopped. He whirled around instantly, eyes darting around cautiously.

Leon, noticing the startled look on Wolf's face, turned to him quizzically. "What is it?"

Wolf looked past him, his panicking mind processing an ominous possiblity. Then, his eyes fell on the Scarlet SharpClaw, who was bandaging his friend while occasionally shooting an uneasy look at the crumbling architecture around them.

"Hey, you!" Wolf called suddenly. "SharpClaw!"

The Elite turned to him with a resigned look. "What? Look, I can't help you with anything else. I've already surrendered, _and _unlocked the cage for you. If I do any more, Drakon will-"

"No, forget that!" Wolf interrupted impatiently. "Look, did Drakon tell you why you were guarding these slaves up here?"

The Scarlet SharpClaw froze, hesitating before facing Wolf. He looked at him for a long time, with a cautious, expression, as if deciding what he could say without revealing too much.

"He...didn't tell me much. He was vague on the details," he said slowly, as if deciding on his response. "But he said something about finding who he was looking for...and crushing him like the weak, vile insect that he is."

Wolf blinked. "What?"

"The _weak, vile insect." _The SharpClaw put some louder emphasis on his words, looking at Wolf hardly...as if trying to give him an alternate warning hidden in his words.

Wolf stared at him, his eyes clearing in realization. The pace of his heartbeat quickened, as he whirled around, his eyes scanning the fires frantically.

Leon's eyebrows furrowed. "Insect? What does that mean?" He turned his puzzled gaze to Wolf.

His eyes widened as he saw Wolf's distant expression change completely. His eyebrows arched angrily, etching furious lines down his cheeks. His lip curled up, exposing his baring, sharp fangs. The steel of his Claw rattled slightly in his tightened grip, and his eyes glinted with hate.

_He's here. _

"Wolf!"

Wolf's angry, brooding look melted instantly, and he turned to Leon. Then, his pulse quickened... this time in panic, not in rage. His eyes went from Leon, to the Feline Couple, to the slaves behind them, worrisome anxiety building in his throat from hollow experience from past situations.

_I have to get them far away from this place...if they stay, they'll get caught in whatever ensues..._

_I won't forgive myself if I fail again..._

His insides tightened coldly at the brief image in his memory of a tall pike embedded into a bloodstained bundle in the sand.

"Leon. Take these prisoners and go. Don't leave their sight until you've taken them to the safety of the gate. I'll be there shortly."

"Shortly?" Leon repeated in confusion. "Why? Where are you going?"

"I just have to..." He cleared his throat, trying to sound convincing. "...look around for Fay some more."

"By yourself?" Leon stood his ground firmly. "You're not going anywhere on your own, especially in the shape you're in. You've already got enough scars for a new set of skin, let alone the one you already have! Where do you plan on looking, anyway? We've searched what's left of this place from top to bottom!"

"Just trust me, alright?" Wolf said impatiently, trying to fortify his lie as much as he could. "I...I know what I'm doing. After you help them, just grab yourself a speeder bike and wait for me to come back."

The Jaguar looked up slightly. "You're going to stay and look around in this?" His eyes lingered on the crumbling walls and flame-ridden cracks.

Jenna's widened frantically. "But this place is an inch from burning down! If you stay, you'll be killed!"

"I'll be fine," Wolf reassured him, but still facing Leon. "You have your wife with you. You both should be fine without me as long as you stay together."

"But there's no reason for you to stay behind! What if the flame engulfs you and you don't come back?" The tortise-shell insisted pleadingly. "If you die, we'll never get a chance to repay you for what you've done for us! Please, just come with us! I can't leave knowing you'll burn here..." Pearly tears brimmed her anguished eyes. "...that you risked your life for us and let Drakon cripple you for nothing!"

Wolf stood over the smaller cat, his shadow overlapping hers in the firelight. He wore a pained look from seeing her in tear-stricken distress, reminded of that heart-wrenching moment when he had turned his back on her pleading the first time.

But things were different now...

He straightened himself up, clenching his fists determinedly. "You don't have to worry about me anymore, miss. You and your husband are free now...and no one will harm you. It's not your place to care what happens to me, you barely even know me! Just focus on getting out of here!" He leveled his face with her sternly. "If you really want to repay me, then get out of here, get away safely...make for the city, start a new life...forget everything that happened to you here! By tomorrow's dawn, we'll never meet again, so shedding selfish tears for someone you barely know! I know what I'm doing!" His voice sounded less controlled, and more agitated and impatient. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than them.

Leon narrowed his gaze sharply, his electric-blue eyes melting through Wolf's insecure wall of reassurance.

"There's something else that's wrong. Something you're not telling me about..." His expression hardened. "And instead of telling me the truth, and trusting me with it, you're sending me off to babysit these slaves while you deal with it yourself!"

_Fwpp!_

Wolf grabbed Leon's collar and yanked him closer. "LISTEN! _Now isn't the time to question my authority! _I'm not asking you to take these prisoners, Leon, _I'm _ORDERING _you, understand?! _I'm already bleeding in more places than I can count, and I've got little to no chance of escaping this fire by myself! You've done nothing but lecture me on how I should act as a Leader, and when I start taking initiative, you disobey me right when I need you the most!"

Leon's angry expression faltered, as Wolf's hand, still gripping his collar, shook under strain.

Wolf looked up imploringly. "I'm not trying to be a lone fighter on this...I'm not turning you away because I'm worried." He eyed the slaves in concern. "I just don't want anyone else to be involved...and get slaughtered because of me failing again. So please...help me. There's something I have to do here, and I can't stay and..." He hesitated. "...and look for Fay...while worrying for their safety. You're all they've got. You're all _I've _got."

The chameleon's expression shifted. Somehow, he knew that Wolf wasn't worried about the _fire _being the hazard the slaves needed protection was. There _was _something else...

Leon looked at him, expression torn between frustration and anxiety.

Wolf held his shoulder. "I'll come back. I still have to make things up to you..." His eyes faltered with guilt. "For everything I've done and said."

Leon's expression became cold. "So...you're heading in, alone, looking like crap, without my help...and without a plan to escape from this wreckage when it crumbles. Am I right?"

"Yeah," Wolf said sheepishly. "Pretty much."

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time you've dove into a situation without a plan." A familiar smile played on Leon's teeth. "You _are _sounding a lot like your old self again. That's reassuring enough for me."

Wolf half-smiled knowingly. He took a deep breath, gripped his Claw tighter and turned to walk away.

_Fwpp._

Leon's hand pulled on Wolf's bandaged arm, stopping him.

"But get one thing clear, 'Maxwell'," Leon said in a dead serious tone. "I don't care how long 'looking for Fay' takes...if you're not back down at the gate in the next ten minutes, I'm coming _straight back _for you...and kicking your ass for making me worry. Got it?"

Wolf smiled. "Sure thing, 'Vincent'. Just try not to lose anyone or yourself in the heat of blaze."

Leon eyed his bandages skeptically. "Heh, bullshit! Look who's telling who to be careful! But seriously, I'd take whatever wounds you've got..." He lowered his eyelids in a disgruntled manner. "It'd be easier to cope with than all these trudging women and their kids. I'm not cut out for this."

He raised his voice, causing all the slaves to huddle behind him attentively.

"ALL OF YOU! Follow me if you don't want to look like one of Solar's meteors. I'll take you as far as the gate, but from there, it's your problem. And somebody crack the ground with a whip for those beaten slaves in the back to make them move! C'mon, _let's go!"_

The slaves briskly shifted behind Leon like a flock of timid sheep. No one strayed behind or complained, not after years of fearful obedience in Drakon's ranks. They preferred Leon's impatient drawl over Drakon's harsh commands.

The Scarlet SharpClaw heaved his blinded friend on his back and silently moved on with the group, not waiting around to be thanked. He kept looking over his shoulder, as if paranoid like something would jump out of the flames in the distance to punish him for helping the slaves escape.

The Jaguar and his feline wife were the last to start walking away, giving Wolf one last hesitant glance of worried sadness.

Wolf nodded sternly. "Get going. There's no point in staying here and being burnt alive...unless you think Drakon's prepared you for that kind of pain."

He was about to turn and head in the opposite direction, when the young girl called after him frantically.

"Wait!"

Wolf turned with an impatient sigh. _"What?"_

"You came back." Jenna gave him a closer look, her eyes teeming with curiosity and compassion. "I begged you for help the first time, and you refused...but you came back to help my husband and I anyway. You've done so much for the both of us...you've gone out of your way to bleed and suffer for us...when you never needed to, and even when you yourself refused."

Wolf blinked indifferently. "Is this going somewhere?"

The young cat reached out and held his bandaged hand tightly. "Why? I want to thank you, but...I must know...why did you help us? Why step out of line to help a stranger?"

Wolf looked at her for a long time, with his keen, purple eyes. He had been dreading this question...because he felt he'd have to be a person like Fox to answer it.

"I'm not usually the type that helps people. I try to avoid it all costs, honestly, so I'm not involved and don't have to pick a side. But after everything that's happened...all of that's changed now. Now...you and I aren't just bystanders, struggling to survive. We have something in common..." He put a hand on his bandaged forearm. "We're both scarred."

Jenna's eyebrows furrowed. "Wha-?"

"I've got my scars, and you've got yours. But the difference is...no matter how deep the Adder Tongues etched their marks, I know that the blood will dry and the skin will rearrange...and they'll heal one day." His eyes became sad, and mournful. "But you...you've endured the scars of loss. Scars...that won't ever go away."

Large tears formed in the young cat's eyes. She covered her mouth, preventing a heartfelt sob from escaping.

Wolf looked in the direction of the flames with only the patch-eyed side, looking mysterious and somewhat distant. "I've had scars like that before...but there wasn't anyone there to treat mine." He looked back the girl. "So I'm doing what I can to help treat yours. They might never go away...but I can help you forget they're there. I can at least do that much for you."

The young cat's eyes were filled with overwhelmed gratitude and tearful happiness. She opened her mouth, wanting to say anything, offer anything...anything she and her husband could give Wolf for what he had done. But the immense emotion in her eyes were enough to express the thankfulness that no word or gesture could provide. She couldn't help but feel amazed...these weren't the words of a common slave.

So all that she could bring herself to say, in a hushed tone, was: "W-Who...who _are _you? Who are you _really?"_

Wolf unlatched his hand from her shaking one.

"Your husband already knows the answer to that. He was there when I said it."

The Jaguar blinked. "I was?"

Wolf turned his gaze to him, and then to the perplexed girl, his stomach tightening as he prepared his lie for the second to time...yearning to abandon his alternate name and reveal himself for who he really was. But, no...he had to contain it a little longer.

"I told you. I don't have a name anymore."

And without another word or even a second glance back at the two bewildered cats that watched him disappear, Wolf turned and bolted off into the direction of the crumbling walls and towering inferno ahead, leaving a cryptic air behind him.

_A few moments later…._

The flames within the massive, decaying construct of the tumble rose and fell in crackling unison, beating to the simultaneous padding noises of Wolf's feet sprinting across the debris-littered ground.

He stopped and looked back, making sure that both Leon and the group of slaves were far out of sight. The looming, orange smoke in the distance revealed no silhouettes, just over-turned slabs of stone that were once the base of the proud, tall pillars.

The only human noise was the ragged noise of his own breathing, and the only sign of anyone's presence was his long shadow drawn across the cracked stone ground, with layers of peeling strands that imitated the shape of his hanging bandages.

He was the only, solitary one here. But he knew better than that.

He drew his Claw up in front of him in a defensive stance, eyes darting around suspiciously. Finally, as sweat matted the fur on his forehead from the intense humidity, he called out into the ring of fire that walled the area around him.

_"Come on out!_ I know you're out here...there's no pointing in hiding your presence anymore."

His ears perked around for an answer...maybe in the form a weapon being drawn, or the scraping of clawed feet against the stone.

Then, a low, malicious, familiar drawl echoed right behind him.

"Who says that I'm hiding, canine?"

Wolf froze, his eyes turning behind him slowly as a massive, ominous shadow towered over his smaller, pointed-eared one.

_WHHRRRRSHHHH-_TAAAAAAAAKKKK!

Not able to turn around fast enough before the thunderous echo and whooshing crack of the whip swinging behind him, Wolf stumbled as he swung his Claw around him blindly to parry the attack with his clumsily-reacting reflexes that were caught off guard. Something curved and small glinted at the end of the whip, attaching itself to Wolf's shoulder and yanking on him like a leash. Becoming rigid and startled at the sudden jerk at his shoulder, Wolf dove forward into a combat roll, the end of whatever that was holding him back pulling tighter before emitting a loud, ripping sound and loosening from his shoulder.

_Rrrrp!_

FWPP!

Wolf curled into an evasive roll, before whirling around and crouching defensively, holding up his Claw in front of his panting face. The cluster of bandages on his shoulder hung in red-stained tatters.

With his tall, menacing silhouette outlined against the towering flames behind him, Drakon emerged into the firelight from where he had leapt out and attacked Wolf. His chain mail and leather tunic were chipped and charred from the fiery condition of their surroundings, and one of his spiked shoulder-pads were missing. Some glass shards were embedded into his arm, and the swollen outline of Wolf's fist still shone on the side of his face. He was nowhere near as tall, clean-cut, and confident as he was when Wolf had first met him...with wild eyes, tattered and beaten armor, and bruised flesh, and the faint lines where he had been clawed on his face from days before…but despite his maddened appearance, his smile was just as smooth, confident, and triumphant as before.

He stood full height, his shadow stretching past Wolf like an ominous pillar, swinging a long rawhide whip with a gleaming hook attached to the end…a tattered remnant of Wolf's bandaged fluttering on its point.

Wolf's lip curled up to bear his sharp canines into an enraged growl, his fur spiking up at the mere sight of the tormenter he despised so much. Just looking at him brought back the immense weight of his rusty shackles and the stings of his newly-etched wounds….and the boiling anger at the face that laughed at his suffering.

Now…it would all end. It was now that he'd break the invisible shackles that had tied him down for so long.

"Well, now…isn't this a fitting reunion. For a while, I thought you had been killed along with some of the others…and had robbed me of the satisfaction of seeing you cringe like a beaten dog some more." His fiendish grin widened. "I was afraid I'd have to hunt you down through the masses of other slaves, but you seemed to have saved me the trouble, and came out yourself. Has the obedient slave has returned to claim his rightful beating?"

"The only thing I'm here for is to carve open your face and watch your corpse burn with the rest of this place," Wolf said in a concrete voice. "And I'm not your slave….not yours or anyone else's. I thought I made that clear after I almost punched a hole through your face. Maybe I wasn't clear enough."

Drakon chuckled tauntingly. "Heh-you and your big talk. It looks like no matter how much skin I peel from your back, you'll always be spewing shitty threats that you can't even dream of fulfilling."

"I can back up my words at the cost of your pain, and you know it, Drakon. We've established that we're both men of our word by now." His eyelids lowered. "Well, one of us, anyway…after all the low shit you've done, I'd hardly classify _you _as a man."

Drakon's smile faltered slightly. The slightest twitch of suppressed anger appeared on his face. "You're still as insolent as before, I see…no matter. Nothing a few lashes won't fix." He twirled his whip casually, trying to fortify his confidence with his smug grin. "There's a reason I lured you out, and no one else, canine. The blood of each slave that has escaped is indeed my property…and they will pay for their disobedience once retrieved. But you...your payment for your resistance and insolence must be in more than blood."

Wolf kept his stance steady, his eyes cautiously watching Drakon's feet as he strolled, humoring him with some more talk. "So…Those slaves locked up here…they were the bait, weren't they?"

Drakon's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "What do you mean?"

"The ones back there, in the cage. You didn't just lock them here on a whim…you placed them there to draw me out. Then you somehow let the information of them being here out to the Armed Slaves to get a hold of, to tell me, and lure me here…"

The Head Scourge's grin widened. "So you _did _see through my little trap…I'm impressed. Maybe in heat of tearing the flesh off your mangled body, I might've uncovered a sense of intellect rather than submission." He flung his whip across his shoulders and tugged on both ends in a bored manner. "Is that why you sent off the prisoners with that other slave friend of yours? What, trying to be heroic and protect them from me? Trying to-?"

"Shut up." Wolf narrowed his eyes. "It's got nothing to do with that, so don't badger me with that heroic crap. The only motivation for everything I've done in the past few hours was to confront you uninterrupted, not because of some misplaced sense of mercy or compassion. Too long I've tried to destroy you, and too long has our fight been plagued by the shedding of innocent blood, the weight of my shackles, or the advantage of your SharpClaw horde. Now, it's just you and me…"

Drakon unlatched the whip from his shoulder, the gleam of his smile reflected in the hooked end. "Tch. You can only hope that another distraction or obstacle like that shows up. You think you can fight on even ground with me? The only reason you've survived this long is because you've either been shielded by another slave, or you've been lucky enough to have my Elites beat you in my place…and save you from the death that I could inflict on you myself. Just look at you! A mere clash with a few of my men has made you a crippled corpse! What makes a sniveling, crawling, wretched, little roach like you think he can-?"

Finally, the blood that boiled from both the crackling fire and the heat of his own anger snapped inside Wolf.

"ENOUGH!" He spat. "I'm more than a match for you, and you know it! The proof of that isn't in a few scratches I've gained, but in the mauled corpses of your own SharpClaw Elites gathering flies in the sun outside the Temple Grounds! I've gone through hordes of your 'superior' men, and I can just as easily kill you! But I've made sure nothing will come in the way this time… I've freed slaves so that they don't get killed in the midst of our battle, I've killed SharpClaw so you can't hide behind them like a sniveling coward…. now, the factors that'll affect the outcome of this battle won't be the blood of bystanders…only the speed of our reflexes, the heat of the fire, the extent of our wounds, and the edges of our own steel. I've waited too long…spent too many hours in the sun, lost too much blood, shed so much hatred of the sight of your face standing above me while I suffered...all to settle a score with you, to rip that smug grin off your face, and ensure that the only living thing that towers above me in superiority is the sun! So stop wasting my time with all this taunting bullshit, stop having onslaughts of your men get killed where you should have died, and FACE ME!"

The smoke curled and frothed above the high reaches of the fire, as the two black shadowy opponents stood apart from each other in front of the whirling inferno.

Finally, the low sound of laughter broke the silent atmosphere of crackling flames and rushing rock.

"_Hahahahah…._" Drakon threw his head back, his malicious laugh vibrating the alabaster walls. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Wolf slackened his tightened stance, his furious scowl fading into a confused look.

Finally, Drakon wiped his mouth amusedly, toning his laughter down. "Oh….I don't know what's worse….the fact that you think those SharpClaw you've killed were an actual threat, or that you think you've gained some kind of advantage! Those Elites, superior? Don't make me laugh. I've overestimated just how much you know about us SharpClaw, canine….clearly you know nothing." His grin faded and drew himself up seriously. "Listen, boy….those Elites you've killed are nothing more than a step up from the common SharpClaw grunt. They're second-to-lowest, understand? One of the lowest ranks in the SharpClaw Empire's hierarchy!"

Wolf lowered his Claw, eyebrows furrowed. "Hierarchy?"

"Yes," Drakon replied tartly. "Even a race that's walked such primitive ground as the SharpClaw is dictated by the concept of ranking…classes…status. And the ones you've fought with are just the second class to the lowest. The only thing that separates them from common SharpClaw is that they're intelligent enough to stop beating their opponents just enough so that they don't kill them…a useful trait for scourges, when it comes to breaking a slave. But in a battle, they're almost entirely useless…they lack the necessities to carry themselves in a real battle, let alone an all-out war."

Wolf looked at Drakon quizzically. "The way you criticize them, like…you talk like you aren't one of them..."

The Head Scourge smiled. "Of course not. You think General Talon would let some common Elite swine oversee the construction of one of his Temples, let alone the slaves? No...I'm no Elite. I'm merely an executioner who refuses to strike the final blow." His smile melted, his tone suddenly becoming irked and irritated. "I'm only a demoted remnant of I once was."

He raised his hand up to the black set of chain-mail draped on his shoulder under the left shoulder-pad, pricking his claws through the rings.

_KKRRRRT!_

Ripping at the mail like it was paper, Drakon's fingers tore the armored sleeve clean off, clinking pieces littering the ground, followed by the swift _CLANK! _of the black shoulder-pad landing on the ground.

Wolf's eyes widened at the sight of a fluttering red sash wrapped around Drakon's black, scaly bicep, with its long, tattered wrapping fluttering in the ember-littered wind. The sash had a gold pattern stitched into it, consisting of strange lettering above a set of three prominent claw-marks, representing some kind of ranking system. Wolf had definitely not seen it on any other SharpClaw he had met so far…which must've made it an uncommon ranking symbol or coat of status.

"Now you understand just what I am, canine," Drakon said, catching the bewildered look in Wolf's eyes. "Before I was Head Scourge, I was Centurion of the 3rd SharpClaw Division…" He tapped his claws on the three claw-marks on his sash. "…a high-ranking officer for the Talon's Imperial Army, before I was demoted, and sent here to serve as punishment." His tone became bitter and regretful.

"So…you're the strongest SharpClaw here…?" Wolf murmured his mouth suddenly dry.

"Naturally…we SharpClaw are ranked by strength, and genetic build." He took a few steps forward, causing Wolf to back up cautiously. "You understand now, boy? You haven't fought real SharpClaw…you've only cut down one of the lower classes, and worse…" A smirk played on his lips. "…you've taken extreme damage from them! You're barely walking just after a clash with SharpClaw unfit to do battle! You know how weak and insignificant that makes you? You can't even hold your own against _them!" _

Wolf kept stepping back, his breath quick from realizing the sudden trap he had been caught in.

"And yet despite that, all this time, you thought you could challenge me. You actually think you're fit to fight on par with the likes of _me?" _Drakon sneered jeeringly. "This isn't a battle. You haven't come to fight on par with me. This is merely the confrontation between the fly and the spider…an attempt for the wretched prey to place himself higher on the food chain. But despite your wasted efforts, you'll remain an insignificant insect, broken and forced into submission, who'll never overcome his own weakness. And once I drag your senseless, broken, mangled body back with me…" His fingers reached towards his waist and curled around the handle of a massive machete. _"…everyone will know _WHY!"

_Shrr-RRRING!_

**CLANG!**

Wolf managed to jerk his hands up to raise his Claw above his face just as Drakon dove forward like a cat to swing down his machete. His wrists rattled from blocking the overwhelming strength of the massive SharpClaw, his fingers numb from clutching the handle with both hands. Drakon grinned viciously, driving his machete with only one hand while Wolf struggled using both of his just to block the blade.

The Head Scourge drew his machete back, sparks pouring off the battered edges of both blades as they scraped off each other. The blood circulated normally in Wolf's hands again as he tore himself away, the wake of the moment making everything slow.

But he didn't have time to savor that moment...because once Drakon swung again, his attacks went from fast to mind-numbing.

_CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!_

It was like fighting two people at once. Drakon swung his blade horizontally and vertically like a guillotine swinging from all sides, forcing a desperate Wolf to clench his teeth in frustrated effort and block each attack as it came. And while all that was happening, the Head Scourge's reptilian eyes darted back and forth from Wolf's face to his feet, his other hand cracking his whip at Wolf's bare, unprotected toes.

Sweat poured down Wolf's neck like a reeking, itching shower, as his bandaged hands swung up and down in desperate, clumsy attempts to parry each attack. Each strike shattered against his grip and sent a shower of sparks into his face, forcing him to shake himself out of a brief daze to block the next attack. The only advantage he had was his nimble, padded feet stumbling and bolting back to avoid the spark-scraping jabbing of the hook-ended whip lashes.

He didn't have the time, thought process, or even the room to find a weakness. The SharpClaw was a head taller than him, towering over him and diving forward like a shark at even the slightest misstep. His blurred vision could barely make out an opening on his armored body past the constant gleaming of the machete swinging all around him.

_Sheeerrrltch!_

CLANG!

Wolf's hand slipped slightly, failing to block the force of another attack. Drakon's wristed twisted and drove his machete forward, the battered edge knifing into Wolf's shoulder.

_"Gaaargh!" _Wolf yelled through clenched teeth, swatting the machete aside with his Claw.

Drakon snarled and swung his whip horizontally ...while his other hand swung his machete horizontally for the final, beheading chop.

Suddenly, Wolf's head rushed-as he saw the smallest brink of an opportunity, paralleled with the hazardous possibility of mistepping and being beheaded.

He didn't have time to think it through. The blur of chops, blocks, and dodges only left room for one quick chain of thought:

_NOW!_

Kicking his worn-out muscles into action, Wolf drew his bare foot up just as the hooked-end of the whip tore through the air, gleaming inches from his heel. Already hearing the hum of the steel machete approaching his head, Wolf stomped his foot down on the whip, colliding painfully with the stone ground but causing the whip's handle to yank slightly out of Drakon's grasp. The SharpClaw's stance shook slightly, his steady swing wavering just enough for Wolf to swing his Claw up with both hands to catch the blow.

_Shhrrr-_RRRRING!

The handle of the Claw vibrated in Wolf's hands as the machete hammered straight into it, the explosion of sparks illuminating the two opponents' faces.

Drakon curled his lip into an amused sneer, before he arched his back.

Wolf's eyes widened in startled reaction, just barely seeing the SharpClaw's thick, black-scaled knee rush at him.

_SLAM!_

_"Kaaarggchh-!"_

As the canoe-like mound of iron flesh and muscle rammed straight into his bandaged stomach, Wolf's ribs made a clenching noise as he let out a painful gag just as his breath was snatched from his shattering lungs. Blood and saliva flew from his open mouth, his eyes scrunched shut as his body was compressed into a numb shell of pain. The active side of his brain allowed him to keep his hand around his Claw, but wasn't fast enough to focus on the balance of his feet.

_Clump!_

The horizontal ring of fire all around the area did a cartwheel in Wolf's muddled vision as he fell on his back, the battered stone floor waking his body from the numb daze like a rigid bed of rock.

His eyes jerked awake just in time to see Drakon's towering silhouette snarl against the flames behind him, raising his sword hand into a fist and bringing it down on him.

Wolf's fur spiked in fear, his heart quickening as his nerves lurched his pain-shocked body on its stomach into a clumsy-but-effective roll to the side.

KRRRSSHHH!

Drakon's fist smashed into the ground, causing huge cracks to appear in the floor where a startled Wolf once was. He let a frustrated growl escape through his bared teeth before drawing his massive fist out of the ground, crumbling rock and dust dribbling off his unscathed knuckles. He drew it so fast, swinging his machete up as an instant indicator for Wolf to shoot his hand out and grab his Claw, flailing it in front of his face frantically.

CLAAANG!

The two of them remained locked in a collision of shaking blades, Drakon leering over like a mantis, smiling tauntingly at the sight of Wolf grunting with effort through clenched teeth while on his back. Sweat leaked down Wolf's shaking arm, his numb fingers edging dangerously into letting his grip slip off from bearing the burden of the SharpClaw's immense strength. His failing hands itched to rub the horrible bruise on his stomach where Drakon had kneed him, coughing hoarsely and letting blood dribble down his chin.

"Stings, doesn't it?" Drakon cackled snidely. "Get used to that. It'll be the first of many yet to come."

Wolf's effort-hardened expression slackened in confusion, managing a hoarse word through fighting off the massive blade. "M-Many?"

The SharpClaw's grin widened. "What, you thought I was planning to kill you? Does it make the pain easy with the knowledge that the possibility of a swift death is present?" His eyes glowered, almost hungrily. "Not a chance. After all you've done, death would merely be an antidote to the long, tempered poison you'll endure in pain. Before your time is done, I'll watch you writhe and cringe into place until the very walls of this place ring with your screams!"

_Wa-_TANG!

With a snarling growl, Wolf twisted his grip on his Claw, grinding against the machete with enough force to knock it back slightly. Then, crouching into a quick roll, he dove between Drakon's massive, arched legs. As he emerged from between them, taking advantage of the SharpClaw's slow head-turn, he leapt to his feet and swung his Claw blindly behind him.

_Sltrrch!_

Drakon roared furiously as the blade pierced a small opening in the crack of his armor, whirling around to tear at Wolf with his whip.

But the heat of the blocking and the numbness of his inferior strength made Wolf's reflexes blazingly-reactive, causing him to leap back and raise his Claw in front of him, desperate to put as much distance between him and Drakon as possible.

Wolf stood with his shoulders and head lurched forward exhaustedly, trying to force his battered body into a straightened, defensive stance. His breath became rasped and uneven, the fur on his back suddenly feeling clumped and heavy in the heat.

"_Hrr-_KAACH!"

Suddenly, he clutched his bruised stomach, watching blood dot the ground below him as he coughed it up hoarsely. His body shook slightly, and he struggled to keep his blurring eyes straight ahead.

Drakon exposed his fangs in a scornful fashion. "Peh…Look at you. You can barely keep your body upright and standing. You've only been fighting me for a few minutes…and you're already on the brink of dying." He turned fully, slinging his whip up and dragging his machete across the stone floor. "I told you before…you aren't suited for fighting me, canine, or fighting in general…" He raised his machete. "…only serving."

Wolf continued to breathe heavily, throwing frustrated but weary glare in the Head Scourge's direction. But his legs wouldn't move-

"Looks like the only thing you're good for is killing common scum," Drakon said jeeringly, swinging his whip back. "You're too weak to handle a serious fight with your own pathetic strength!"

_WHRRRRSSSHHHHH!_

The whip's uncoiling ring echoed against the cracked walls, before he swung it down on Wolf.

"HUAARGH!"

Right as the hook gleamed just above the gap between his ears, Wolf's hand shot out and grabbed the end of the whip, its narrow end wrapping around his wrist like a snake. Before Drakon could even widen his eyes in response, Wolf yanked the whip out of his back with an enraged snarl and forced him to arch forward. Once they were close enough, he leapt forward and hacked at the SharpClaw's face.

_Krrsh!_

Drakon's raptor-like feet skidded back rapidly, swinging his face away from the blinding gleam of Wolf's blade. But his reflexive dodge only saved half of his face, the Claw's point knifing into his cheek as he leapt back.

The SharpClaw bared his teeth and tried to draw his whip back, but Wolf's bandaged fist clenched the end defiantly like a fish at the end of a reel. Drakon snarled and whirled his machete, the flames flashing in its reflection as it came down.

_CLAAAANG!_

The shattering force of the blow rang through the short, withstanding blade of Wolf's Claw, but he clenched his teeth and sunk his bare feet into the ground. Drakon's strength pushed him back, the claws on his feet grinding against the rock as his heels painfully dug deeper into the cracked stone.

"HAAAARGH!"

Wolf roared through agonizingly-clenched teeth and stomped his feet down, halting the grinding push that was thrust upon his body. Fragments of alabaster scattered around his bruised feet, as he shakily stood his ground, clutched his end of the whip, kept his guard against Drakon's pressing blade.

He looked up at Drakon, his eyes swarmed with purple vehemence. He would take insults about his fighting from anyone….Fox, Andross, even James McCloud…but not this vile bastard.

"_You of all people _DARE _to accuse me of being weak?! _BULLSHIT!" He spat in furious contempt "All you've ever done is slaughter people weaker than you! Broken-backed, hobbling, injured _beasts,_ too frail and dead to stand up to you! And after all that, you think YOU have the jurisdiction to lecture me on strength and true fighting? _You have as much right as a fucking _LOUSE_ to claim that you know shit about fighting!"_

SHHR-_Snaakkk!_

Wolf tore his Claw from the burdensome block and brought it down on the coiled end of the whip that circled up his wrist. The rawhide chord sliced in half, the hook-end dangling from Wolf's fist as he flung it aside.

Drakon's maddened eyes locked on the severed whip in his hands before he grabbed his machete with both hands and hurled it down.

KRRTAAANG!

Wolf leapt to the side, sweeping his legs and tail away from the large, curved blade as it smashed into the floor, sparks and rock scattering in its wake. Drakon's hand shot at his neck, but Wolf jumped up and kicked his foot against the hilt of the buried blade, vaulting himself up in the air.

He swung his feet back, about to curl into a back-flip, before-

_SHRRR-_**TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKK!**

Drakon snatched the severed-barbed whip from the ground and hurled it round Wolf's leg while he was still in the air. The thick chord wrapped around his bare ankle and yanked him back down, causing Wolf to be snatched down like a marionette. The Head Scourge roared as he swung the whip towards the cracked wall behind him, sending Wolf flying into it.

Wolf, whose vision raced blurrily as he was whirled across the air over the speeding floor and fires below him, hacked at his foot blindly to sever the whip's hold on him-

CRASH!

His body slammed into the stone, dust flying from the cracks smashed into the battered bricks' surface. He groaned as his sore body slid down the rough, cracked edges of the wall and landed on the ground with a thud. The floor vibrated under him as he looked up groggily to see Drakon sprinting towards him, flinging the whip aside and swinging his machete up.

Wolf shook himself awake and seethed as he forced his aching body to his feet.

_Sh...Shit..._

CRACK.

His ears perked at the loud, ominous sound below his feet. Wolf froze as dust flew up from cracks in the contorted remnants of fine masonry under his feet, the jagged lines spreading across the surface. He looked around fearfully, noticing the fire had spread even closer while the fight had been ensuing.

_The building's gotten too weak..._

_That last crash against the wall must've shaken the structure too hard..._

Drakon, apparently noticing the cracks too, stopped in his tracks, his slitted eyes large with caution as his large raptor-like feet stepped slightly on the weakened floor.

Crick.

_KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKK KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!_

Plumes of distorted dust and embers swarmed the air as the floor's stone pattern shattered instantly, bringing the entire set of walls and fragile columns down with it. Bricks detached from their cemented holdings like burnt paper, scattering into crumbling debris. Chunks of rock and heaps of ash rained from above, as the floor fell apart completely, sections divided into broken-off, dismembered fragments.

Both Wolf and Drakon, bolting back in panic of their diminishing surroundings than for the sake of their fight, backed away cautiously as the walls came crashing down, and the floor started to crumble under them.

Drakon's slitted eyes grew large with angry fear, looking more inconvenienced by the collapsing architecture than intimidated. He seized his machete and leapt back as a massive fragment of the roof came crashing down in front of him, its massive shape and colossal spray of dust smiting him from view.

Wolf's heart hammered in his body as the deafening sound of the crumbling rock rattled his eardrums. He turned and sprang for the still-attached ledge of bricks, his feet pattering hurriedly over bricks that crumbled away the second he kicked his heels off of them. He ran faster, lowering his bruised and sweat-drenched head in front of him. His blood rose higher every time his feet scraped the falling brick, his foot slipping just enough for it to sink slightly into the empty nothingness below before he pulled it back up.

Suddenly, the ledge in front of him started to rise, the bricks around him cracking and shattering into ash, the fiery wall above the crumbling walls swirling higher and roaring louder. Wolf's pulse quickened in terror-stricken realization as he looked down...

The ledge in front of him was getting higher..._he _was descending. The floor beneath him was sinking completely.

_End of Part 1 _

_Continued in Next Chapter __-__-_


	16. Chapter 16

_Chapter 16: A Ghost in the Ashes – Part 2_

_Somewhere in the Crumbling Wreckage formerly known as the SharpClaw Slave Yard, 5 ALW (HMD Period)_

Wolf's breath became chopped and pressured his battered lungs as he tried to run faster without slipping, but it was too late. His portion of the floor broke off from the ledge, shedding ash-covered bricks as it started to flip vertically..._with him still on it._

The shattered floor fragment hurled down, Wolf hanging on it desperately by his claws. His fur bristled and tore as the wind around him rushed as the fragment fell faster, the blood pounding in his head as the blurry embers and stone chunks raced down with him.

He didn't have time to think with the intensity of the fall, his stomach welded shut in horrible anticipation for the collision with the ground, before his eyes fell on the wall that extended alongside his descent.

Wolf kicked his feet off the stone fragment and leapt at the wall ahead, his movement jerked forward in the midst of falling. Mind numb and thoughtless from the moment, and all instincts screaming inside him, Wolf gripped his Claw with both hands and raised it above his head right as the wall came at him.

_Ker-_TAANG-_SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHING!_

Wolf drove his Claws into the wall, sparks exploding from where the steel point and the rapidly-moving stone surface met. Rock and stone shattered beneath the intense shower of sparks, Wolf's hand shaking beyond control just trying to keep the rattling, grinding Claw in his grasp. His feet danced on the surface of the rushing wall every now and then, pain singing into his skin as the rushing surface burned into them.

_"Huuuuuurrrrrggghhh -_AGH!"

Wolf's grunt turned into an effort-driven yell, as the Claw slowly grinded to a slow down, and the rushing tension in the air started to decrease. He slammed his clawed feet against the wall, trying to pinpoint a stable position into the wall.

CRACK.

Then, he stopped. Wolf looked up to see a slowly tipping heap of debris on the edge of the severed wall high above both of them lurch dangerously. Small pebbles drifted down warningly, and Wolf's eyes widened as the large, fridge-sized mounds of rock came down, their shapes growing as they drew nearer.

But Wolf was more prepared this time. With a grunt of effort, he lined his feet up against the wall and kicked himself off, the force of his body allowing him to wrench his plunged blade out of the stone. Down he fell, the adrenaline of the rushing ground below him; the debris above him, and the tightened air around him making his body tingled.

Then, just as he was a few feet from the ground, he brought his knees to his chin and curled into a combat roll upon the ground as he heard the rumbling whoosh of the mass of stone diving down to crush him flat.

In a blazing movement that happened the second he uncurled out of his crouching stance, Wolf snatched his Claw and bolted back up against the wall, the heap of stone just grazing the front of his body before it collapsed in front of him.

CRAAAAASSSHHHH!

The stone shattered into a mountainous pile of jagged debris, the once-untarnished carvings of SharpClaw deities distorting from the writhing cracks along the surface. Wolf disappeared from view, the huge pile of stone burying him from view before hiding his shape behind a veil of billowing dust.

Drakon, who had made his way to the bottom safely, narrowed his eyes suspiciously, their murderous slits scanning the rocks for any sign of him. Heaving his machete on one shoulder, he walked over to the pile.

As the dust cleared and the remaining pebbles clattered off the broken stone, the only sound was the crackling fire far above in the diminished Temple's upper construct, along with the impatient scraping of Drakon's blade against his remaining shoulder pad.

"Get out here, canine. I know you're alive...I wouldn't dare let you die on me yet."

KRRRSSSHHHKKK!

The depths of the shattered blocks smashed open, pouring a shower of pelting rocks and coiling dust. Wolf rammed his way wearily out of the pile, the fur on his face and shoulders caked white with dust, with the cuts and bruises he had obtained shining red against it. He panted heavily, the miserable remnant of his clothes reduced to shredded shorts hanging in tatters on his legs. He rubbed a new cut in his mouth, scowling as he swiped the blood from his chin.

Then, his eyes widened, looking past Drakon. His canine ears perked up cautiously, his senses picking up noise that the SharpClaw could not.

Drakon heaved his machete off his shoulder and pointed it at Wolf. "Right then, canine….let's finish this."

But Wolf didn't answer. His purple eyes darted up to a cracking mass of rock, still blazing from the surrounding fires, perched dangerously on the edge of the already weakening rooftops of the Temple. It would collapse in a matter of minutes….and when it did-

_Shit…_ His eyes darted to the edge of where they were standing, scanning the area for a possible escape route. _That roof will come down and bring the entire Temple down with it…._

_It'll bury us in a grave of stone and ashes…_

Wolf sheathed his Claw hastily, and peered over the edge, calculating the distance should he be desperate enough to jump.

Drakon's smile faded at the sight of him putting his weapon away. "What do you think you're doing?"

Wolf looked back impatiently. "What the hell does it look like I'm doing? I'm finding a way out of here."

The Head Scourge leveled his sword dangerously. "Oh, no…you aren't leaving this place alive. You think you can just skulk away like a coward after everything? You think I'm going to allow it?"

"I couldn't give two shits about you don't allow, Drakon," Wolf snapped. "The sole fact is that this place isn't suitable to have a fight. Staging our battle here was a stupid idea, regardless of how much seclusion you wanted. At the rate the roof of this place is weakening, it'll fall on this level of the Temple with us still on it." His eyes narrowed. "Believe me-I'd like nothing more than to paint these walls with your filthy black blood….but not at the cost of adding my own."

Drakon's eyes glowered furiously. _"If you think that I'm just going to let you waltz away after all the disobedient shit you pulled off-"_

Finally, Wolf lost his control and stepped up.

"LOOK AROUND YOU, YOU MORON!" He shouted hopelessly. _"Do you think the weakened cement of this place cares how much you want me dead?!_ DO YOU WANT TO DIE BY A BLADE, OR BY BEING CRUSHED BY THE VERY STONE YOU HAD CRAFTED?! If you want to stay behind, and rot in your own ashes, then be my guest…I'm getting out of here while I still can!" His furious gaze faltered. "How far did you plan on getting anyway? You'd never win this battle. Not here, anyway."

"What did you just say?!" Drakon hissed, stepping forward to cut that smug look off Wolf's face. Then, he staggered slightly, aligning his feet before they slipped off the narrow ledge they stood on.

"We're standing on the top of the Archways to the Temple," Wolf said. "It's too narrow for sudden movement. You'd need to be quick, nimble, light…things you can't be as a bulky SharpClaw." He pointed at his raptor feet. "You wouldn't make it two steps without failing this fight."

Drakon's lip curled in livid anger, exposing his fangs. "Really? Well…that just sounds for a miserable excuse for you to snivel away from this fight. I was right all along canine…" He smiled cunningly, attempting to taunt him. "You _are _afraid of me! You're WEAK!"

Wolf looked at him for a long time. He had wanted his tormentor's death for so long. But he was too tired…too wounded…too sick of warring with him.

"You've lost it Drakon. Your army is gone, your slaves have escaped, your walls have fallen…and now you've lost your will to survive." He turned and started walking away. "You aren't worth my time."

Drakon growled menacingly, prepared to stomp over and rip his opponent to shreds-but no. Despite how much Wolf infuriated him, he was right. He was too heavy, and this wasn't the right kind of terrain.

He had to lure Wolf over to him without moving…he had to drive him to the point of fighting him. His eyes darted around, until he saw it:

Floating embers drifted past Wolf's forearm…illuminating something Drakon hadn't noticed before. As the faint light of the fiery remnant grazed the spot, faint lettering appeared…like a serial number.

"What's that set of numbers on your arm, boy?"

Wolf's heart stopped, and he froze in his tracks. His hand flew to his forearm.

"Nothing," He said automatically.

"Oh, but there is…" Drakon smiled tartly, knowing he had found something. "Looks an awful lot like a brand…or a mark of property. I've seen mark like those before on escapees, canine…and judging by the way you're hiding them, they bring back some bad memories, don't they?"

Wolf clenched his fists, sweat running down his tightened face. _Don't let him get to you…it's what he wants…_

"You must've been in some kind of captivity before you came to this planet, eh, off-worlder? Or maybe those are older…who put them there? Your master, torturer, who?"

"Quiet…" Wolf said through clenched teeth, trying desperately to control his anger, already seeing a familiar, snide smile in his mind that he tried to block. "You don't know what you're talking about-"

"Ah, _there _it is…" Drakon cooed. "The pain of a past enslavement….now it all makes sense. No wonder you're always filled with rage whenever I beat or belittle you. You've been made a slave before, haven't you? And your master didn't let you forget…" His eyes gleamed evilly. "Did he?"

It was too late. Already, Wolf saw it: that dimly-lit room, surrounded by corpses strung up by rusty chains, and a voice…a low, malicious, hateful voice…one telling him what he was…_who _he was, how weak he was. It was all coming back….the pain of the chip's electricity burning his insides, the torment of seeing the mark of an experiment on his body, the horrible feeling of his body being forced into a bow of humility…and being driven mad by that laugh….

…Andross's laugh.

"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!"

With a roar of rage, Wolf sprung around and bolted at Drakon, ripping his Claw out and whirling it straight at his face.

CLANG!

Drakon swung his machete up, just barely in enough time to catch the blazing swing, which caused so much of an impact that it rattled both of their grips. Wolf ash-caked face twisted into a nightmarish, teeth-bared scowl, so intense that Drakon's smug expression faded slightly, wondering just what he had provoked.

Wolf tore his Claw from the blade-lock and swung at him relentlessly, his rage distorting his form into mindless attacks. Drakon grinded his blade against his and whirled it at the left side of Wolf's neck. Wolf drew his foot out to arch his back, swiftly tossing his Claw from his right hand to his left, bringing it up to block the blade and parry it aside.

Drakon kept his feet lined up against the narrow pavement of their terrain, gripping his machete with both hands, whirled it horizontally at Wolf's feet. But Wolf didn't hesitate to use his lighter weight, and kicked his feet off the ground into a somersault, the blade humming just inches under his toes.

SLAM!

While in mid-air, Wolf aimed a swift kick at Drakon's face, the Head Scourge staggering back with a snarl but reinforcing his stance by digging his clawed feet into the ground. Taking advantage of his enemy's daze, Wolf dove forward and hooked his blade beneath the machete, forcing it upwards before jerking it free and pounding the hilt on Drakon's wrist.

_Shing!_

"HUAGH!"

The machete was ripped out of Drakon's grip, clattering behind Wolf as he drew his arm back and stabbed for the heart-

CLNNNCH.

Drakon's hand shot out like a viper, his huge, black-scaled fist clenching Wolf's wrist, right as the Claw's point edged inches from his unarmored chest.

Wolf's scowl melted into startled surprise, wincing as the SharpClaw tightened his grip around his wrist until his skin started to stretch.

_W-WHAT?!_

He tried to wrench it free, but the Head Scourge's grip was like iron. His hand started to pale as blood stopped circulating down his arm.

"Tch," Drakon sneered. "I thought as much."

_Waaatch!_

He cranked Wolf's hand down painfully, causing his agonized fingers to release the Claw and let it fall to the ground with a _Clang! _Then, Drakon raised his foot, and smashed it into Wolf's stomach.

"GRRNGH!" Wolf yelled through clenched teeth as he fell to his knees, his hand feeling like it was in a ship compactor,. He struggled and wrenched as much as he could, the sweat and blood dampening his hand but not enough to escape Drakon's tight hold.

_Skrrntch!_

"_Gaaarghhh-_AAAAAARGGHHHH!"

Drakon began to twist his grip, until Wolf yelled in pain and started to haunch his shoulders forward, but couldn't get up, let alone move. Drakon's grip tightened, and blood started to trickle down Wolf's arm. He tried to claw and rip at Drakon's grip with his other hand, attempting to free the one being crushed.

"Your speed is impressive…your reflexes are excellent, and your agility is perfect." Drakon leaned forward, his hot breath mashing on Wolf's grunting face. "So you're probably wondering…how did I catch your hand before it hit me…like I was expecting it?"

_Krrrnchhh…_

"It's because I've broken you, canine…whether you like it or not. You may not walk like others do, or cringe like the others do…but that doesn't separate you from them. Your speed might have slightly improved, but I've numbed and scarred your reflexes enough through the pain of the Adder Tongues, that they react rapidly and primitively. So primitively, in fact, that they've become easy to predict…and even easier to counter…"

Wolf's hand made a slow, sickening, crunching sound, as his bones started to tighten beneath the grip. Clawing desperately at Drakon's wrist with his free hand, he forced himself to speak through the combined exhaustion of both effort and agony.

"_B-Bastard…." _He spat. "If this-_guargh-_is a test of speed, and not strength-then why are you clutching my hand? Afraid I'll rip your stomach open now that you're unarmed?"

Drakon laughed maliciously. "I don't need a weapon to torture you…I already control you. You can never go fast enough to the point where I can't expect it. Your body and mind have fallen…and have become my property."

Wolf's scowl faded, his eyes becoming large and terrified.

What if what Drakon said was true? What if his body had become attuned to the pain of the Adder Tongues? Was he a cringing, wincing slave like the others…responding mentally to the crack of a whip?

"You're wrong," Wolf said dryly, trying to conceal the shaking nervousness in his voice. "I haven't been broken….I—I-My-"

"Your what?" Drakon snapped. "Your mind is still unscarred? Your soul is still free?" He sneered through illuminated fangs. "When are you going to finally accept that you've been beaten down into your place?!"

Suddenly, Drakon grabbed Wolf's wrist with both hands and swung him off of his feet. The yank on his skin was so intense that Wolf felt like it was about to be ripped off, the comfortable stability of the flat ground beneath his feet disappearing as he was thrown behind the SharpClaw, smashing onto the stone ground behind him.

CRASH!

The pavement under Wolf's body shattered on impact, cracks forming on its delicately-carved surface. The second he tried to move, sores and bruises attacked his body from all sides, his ribs shaken from the collision with the hard ground. Scrapes were raw red on his knees, and the gaps in the bricks on the ground made painful marks on his chest. He jabbed a weary arm into the ground in a shaky attempt to hoist himself up.

Wolf raised his battered, flattened face from the ground. As Drakon's shadow loomed over him from behind and draped his hands and the ground underneath him, Wolf managed a beaten glare.

"Did you honestly think that you had fought those SharpClaw with your own feeble skill? That your speed had dramatically increased by some kind of miracle?" Drakon laughed down on him. "Of course not. I beat those faster reflexes into you. My torture techniques molded your speed….I _made _you into what you are…" He made a rushing gesture to his belt and drew something. "…with these."

_Clink-clink-clink-clink._

At that very moment, Wolf's ears perked up. His heart stopped at the echoing noise, color drained from his face. A cold, hollow sense of fear crept up the inside of his stomach clammy centipede. Even under the thick bundle of bandages, the wounds on his back tingled ominously.

He knew that noise.

Wolf turned slowly, his fur shivering and eyes widened, and looked to see a horribly-familiar shape dangling from Drakon's hand. Black metal links clinging together, the fire-light gleaming against their metallic surface. Swinging from the dangling chains were jagged barbs, hooked and chipped with dry bloodstains.

The barbed, lash-end remains of the Adder Tongues.

The heat that sucked the air into a suffocating grip suddenly grew cold and rigid. The blood in Wolf's body stopped circulating in traumatizing fear at the weapon that had thrown his body into countless nightmares of agony before. The mere sight of it, even without the handle and dangling in chain form, was enough to make him stop breathing.

_No…._

_NO…_

_How did….?! I-I….I destroyed them….when I helped Fay…. _

_Did he put them back together, or something….?_

One of the barbs clinked against the other, and Wolf flinched instantly, backing up on his hands.

"You seem to remember these…" Drakon's eyes narrowed cunningly. "Of course. Flesh always remembers its worst experiences…and the Adder Tongues has that affect on every slave I've beaten with it. Do you think their effect on you have been any different? In the midst of the pain, without even realizing it, your body has become accustomed to the sudden movement and essence of the barbs. The pain has gnawed on your reflexes to make you react faster and cringe quicker on instinct….just like the others. The only difference between you and them is that you can still hear, see and talk!"

The image of those ragged, sightless slaves cringing and wincing on instinct formed in Wolf's mind….as he pictured himself as one of them.

Wolf's breathing became difficult as he processed what the SharpClaw was saying, the terrifying possibility washing over his mind like paranoia-stricken poison. Could it be possible? Had his body and senses reduced themselves to be nothing but those of a trained animal?

"I-I-no…" Wolf said dryly. "No! You're lying…I _haven't _been broken…I'm _not _one of them!"

Drakon laughed. "Then how else do you explain your sudden advantage of speed over the SharpClaw you've fought? But, if it's proof you need to get it in your thick skull…then so be it."

Clenching his fists and letting the metal lashes dangle from his grip like the strings of a marionette, Drakon drew his arm back and swung the whip down.

_WHRRSSHH-_TWAAAKKK!

The noise of the clinking barbs cracking at the ground lingered in Wolf's ears for a moment like it had never left, but as his eyes watched its shape coil and extend, the familiar feeling of its whirling pressure stinging the air with its noise, his blood started to tingle. Suddenly, his mind went numb the second the noise passed through his ears. His shoulders grew rigid in an instant, and he hunched over into a cringing bow.

Wolf's face tightened with horror. He didn't even feel himself do it, or command his body to do it….it just…._happened. _His body seemed to move on its own, but he could feel everything…his back stretch, his nerves wince…except it seemed to happen automatically.

He had cringed into a fearful bow….just like the others.

All thought in his mind seemed to come to a dead halt, his senses overwhelmed with realized, insane, horrified shock at what he was…what Drakon had turned him into.

_It can't be true…_ He thought with wide eyes, twitching as he rose a shaking hand and looked at it. _I can't be….I'm…n-not…._

"The agony you've endured has molded your body into a reactive, faster one….whether you like it or not." Your body has become my property...your bloodstream, your reflexes, your nerves, your very instincts…are a product of my torture methods."

Wolf looked at his own reflection in the battered surface of his Claw, which lay discarded on the ground from where it had fallen from his hand.

The idea of his body betraying him into automatic slavery played around in a sick, twisted way within Wolf's mind. He thought of how Andross had controlled him with the chip before….shocking him and forcing him to bow. Except now, the chip was gone, ripped out of his body. This….this was different. It would be there permanently….eternal shackles from the inside that he couldn't tear off.

He might not have been a slave in mind….but he was a slave in everything else.

SHRR-_AAANG!_

Wolf snatched his Claw up from the ground, gripping it with both hands, voice torn with furious anguish and disbelief. "LIAR!"

Drakon grinned and stretched his lashes out by the barbs, catching the strike against the ringing links of the chain. As the blade scraped across the black links, Drakon roped the lashes around the Claw and wrenched it back, ripping it from Wolf's grasp. The moment the leather-bound grip of the blade left Wolf's fingers was when Drakon flourished his lashes down on Wolf's hand.

"_GAAARGH!"_

Wolf screamed as the blood from his hand splattered the ground where his Claw had landed, clutching the back of his hand where the Adder Tongues had torn off a raw layer of his flesh. His vision hazed and he became dizzy at the sight of ripped skin hanging sickly off of the open wound, but was soon woken up as Drakon snatched Wolf up by the top of his head-fur, the yanking pain causing Wolf to seethe.

The Head Scourge curled his massive-boned, muscular, black-skinned hand into a brutal fist.

**KRRRRNCHHHHH!**

The fist slammed into Wolf's face like a boulder, smashing into his mouth and cheek bones until his entire skull rattled. The bones in Drakon's fist stabbed deep inside, making Wolf feel like his entire face was going to shatter from a bruise that would rip it inside out.

As the scaly flesh separated from his face in a relieving gap for the swelling pain, the mold of skin on Wolf's face seemed to crack as it stretched back to normal. He rasped painfully, blood emerging through his clenched teeth and dribbling pathetically down his chin. The vision in his one eye was too blurry to see, and his hands dangled near his sides in a limp fashion.

The blurry shape of Drakon's face with a grin gleaming from the firelight drifted from Wolf's vision as he was dropped to the hard ground, the battered pavement knocking his aching body and skull awake.

"_Errhaaach-_huaaak-KAAAK-!"

Blood and saliva sprayed from Wolf's mouth as he coughed into the ground that his face was planted into, his shoulders shaking as he tried to raise himself.

Drakon sneered and dropped to one knee, turning Wolf's body over while it was still lying strained on the ground.

But in the midst of his aching, muddled consciousness, Wolf was ready for it.

_SLAM!_

Wolf swung his foot out and kicked the lashes out of Drakon's grip, causing them to fling themselves in clattering disorder across the ground. Still on his back on the ground, he unsheathed his claws and lunged at the SharpClaw's face. But Drakon didn't even flinch at the sudden rush of movement, even with it being so close to his face. Catching Wolf's right hand by the knuckle as it swiped at him, he caught the other hand by the wrist.

As they were locked in a tight struggle, Wolf's claws shook in the SharpClaw's grip as he tried to force it far enough out of his crushing fingers and at his face. Wolf clenched his teeth, his sweat hands desperate to push themselves further.

"Tch. You think you can claw my face again, canine?" He curled his lip, the faint lines on his face where Wolf had clawed him the first time stretching. "The wounds you inflicted on me gave me both experience and a lesson that day. I think it's time that I remind you about the ones recieved!"

Drakon yanked Wolf forward by his arm, so that his back was lifted from the ground. Curling his hand into another brutal fist, he reached behind his back and slammed his hand against the bandaged surface of his back.

"DAAAARRGGHHH!"

Wolf's voice distorted into both an agonized yell and groan, the scaly fist smashing against the barely-healed surface of his bandaged wounds, undoing the unhinged skin underneath and causing red to seep through the white wrappings. Collapsing on his bleeding back with a seething groan, his entire body shivered from having those dreaded wounds open up again.

"The best kind of lessen is one etched in skin," Drakon said maliciously. "But you know that better than I do, don't you?"

Wolf looked up at him, gasping through his bleeding mouth and wincing at both the ache and splitting pain that tore at his body.

"W-Why?" He spluttered in confused anger. "Why _me? _Why are you doing this to just me, and no other slave? What do you get out of punishing me that you don't get from torturing the others? _What's the point of going to this extent?"_

Drakon looked at him for a long time, not saying anything. His eyes had gotten large, and for a moment, Wolf felt uneasy, afraid that he had gone too far or something.

_Snakkk!_

The Head Scourge slammed his skull-sized hands down on Wolf's smaller ones, binding him to struggle on the ground like an insect latched in a web. He lowered his head down to Wolf's scowling face, his jagged teeth and hot breath looming over him.

"Why? _Why? _After all the skin you've lost, the begs you've screamed, the resistance you've shown and the humiliation you've flung on me…you dare to spit your defiance in my face and ask me WHY?!" He hissed with his lip curled, his eyes shaking in livid disbelief. "You were different from any slave I've ever beaten….every soul I've ushered into the madness of his own agony….for one reason: no matter how much of your blood I spilled, no matter how much I pushed you to the edge, you _refused _to break. But unlike all the other rebellious vermin that I managed to cripple into hounded slaves, you not only maintained your resistance longer than them, but you also did the unthinkable….in the midst of you feeding your conceited, blind mind the illusion that you could break free from your shackles as a slave, you also thought you break through the ones binding you down as a inferior species. You stepped out of the limits of your own race, attempting to battle the superior likes of SharpClaw…even when you confronted me." His scarred and bruised face scrunched into a tightened mask of hatred, his eyes glowering murderously. "You humiliated me, boy…you scarred me, and pulled me down to your level, in front of my own slaves. You gave them that putrid, vile, unthinkable thought that a common warm-blood could surpass SharpClaw…and not only win your freedom, but dominance over me!"

His hand shot out and latched around Wolf's throat, forcing him to choke and struggle on the ground.

"I won't have it, canine…I won't be outmatched, outclassed, _defeated _by a miniscule worm like you….one who makes me _sick._ The only way to punish you for crimes even the most pathetically-courageous of slaves wouldn't commit…I have to destroy that defiance. Not cripple it, not beat it…._destroy _it. And I've forsaken everything for it…" His eyes glinted madly. "You said earlier that I had 'lost everything'…and you're right. I let this Temple fall, the slaves escape, and the SharpClaw Elites die…all of which General Talon will surely execute me for, should I ever to return to Catalaya. But it's all worth it…just to see you wriggle and cringe on the ground like an insect with dismembered legs, to whine for the agony to kill you….so that when I drag your mangled body by a chain for SharpClaw and slaves to see, I will reveal you for what you are…a fake. A _lie. _You're no warrior…just a low, wretched, insignificant worm attempting to burrow his way up the food chain to a place he can never hope to reach. Between your own screams and unconscious silence, you've loaded your mouth with stupid false hopes of holding on to your freedom. But by the time I've finished with you…."

He drew his hand outstretched high behind his head, like a cobra preparing to strike. Wolf stopped struggling and widened his eyes.

"….you won't be able to hold on to your senses to process your pain…"

SHING!

The brutal raptor claw erupted from his middle finger, its black surface blending with his skin like a grotesque, extra-long finger.

Wolf's eyes reverted to their primitive, animalistic state, the purple irises expanding while his face shook fearfully. He tried to wriggle himself free, his nerves and senses terrified of the ominous, unknown pain that the raptor claw would subject him to.

"….let alone hold on to your own sanity!"

_**SPRRRAAAAATTTCCCHHH!**_

Wolf wasn't even ready for it when the strike came. Like a snake spitting venom, the SharpClaw's finger plunged down past Wolf's face, the curved claw whistling past his frozen, startled expression of shock….and plunging itself into his bare, exposed shoulder.

"_UUUURRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR GGGGHHHHHH!"_

The raptor claw knifed its way through his shoulder, the weight of pain numbing his ears from the sound of his own scream. The point shot through the bruised flesh on his shoulder, its expanding thickness forcing its way through the sickeningly-fragile surface of his parting skin and tissue. The claw buried itself under a long imprint of skin wrapped around it like a foul tumor, but it wasn't half as painful until Drakon started to ram it far enough to mash through muscle…

…and jerk itself between the joints of his arm and collar-bone.

"_UUUOOAARRGGHH-_AAARRGGHHH—_GGG—_TT-GAAA-_RRRGGHHH-!"_

Wolf's screams distorted into hushed grunts and gasps, the swollen pain in his bleeding mouth restricting his speck. His face started to pale and shiver in the midst of the agony, as fountain of dripping blood bubbled from around the wound. His neck sucked itself in as his breathing became chopped, sweat running down in droplets off his body. His mouth remained open, small gasping remnants of his wheezing moans escaping as the searing feeling locked his brain in a thoughtless state.

Drakon smiled at Wolf's agonized, trembling face. He drove his claw in deeper, twisting it with a laid-back, sadistic gesture as the flesh all around it squirmed helplessly.

Wolf's guard and scowl were gone. His moistened face scrunched into the pained expression on the brink of imploring sobs, his arm already twitching into a limp, unmoving state. As the Head Scourge slid the claw forward and back like an ignition lever, Wolf arched his back up slightly and let his head jerk back, his eyes scrunched shut and teeth clenched.

Finally, with a satisfied smirk, Drakon ripped his claw out.

A rush of burning pain and searing ecstasy relieved Wolf's shoulder of the pain as the claw slid out, the forced parting of his skin left to collapse naturally as it hung sickly over the raw and pulsing wound. The pain was so intense and devastating on his body that it rendered his entire body numb….making his arm beneath the wound too weak to even curl his fingers, let alone move.

Drakon released Wolf's arms, confident that the wound had made them too limp for resistance. Wolf's stomach rose and fell rapidly as he breathed unevenly, his pain-stricken eyes watching Drakon's hand in terrified anticipation for whatever he had in store next.

"How did that feel? Refreshing….or nostalgic? Not as effective as the Adder Tongues, but decent." Drakon's finger was dyed crimson, while his leering face was flecked with it.

Wolf's voice hung on the sob-stricken border between heavy breathing and the distorted depravity of forming words. Unable to speak or even beg, he attempted to raise his arm in a gesture of submission…but his arm wouldn't move. Uncontrollable, pain-stricken tears trickled down his bludgeoned cheeks, even as his angry eyes tried to bravely scrunch shut and hold them back.

_I shouldn't have come here…I should never have come back to face him…_

_Leon was right…I wasn't ready to confront him alone…_

_Leon was always right…._

The intense regret made him squirm with guilt…the thought of never making it back to Leon, never escaping this place with him….

…or to apologize for everything he had said and done. He'd never get the chance now. He'd lose his sanity to the pain first.

Drakon flicked his claw indifferently, getting the blood off his hand. "You seem to be recovering from your pain awfully quickly. Is that a sign for the need for more, I wonder?"

Wolf's nerves kicked in, and his lips quivered slightly.

"S-STOP! _Please-_stop-s—st-no-_mo —_Haagh-rrr-!"

Drakon laughed cunningly.

"Oh, but you know me better than that. Surely enough time wallowing in pain from the Adder Tongues has taught you that I don't stop until you can't feel anything!" Then, his expression changed, his face illuminated with some gloruious possibility he had overlooked. "Now that I think about it…there _is _a way to mend things. Maybe bringing your crippled body before General Drakon will be a sufficient pardon for failing to supervise his Temple's full construction…" His eyes glinted hungrily. "Oh, what a delicious spectacle that would be…all the slaves cowering in fear at the sight of you, crippled and broken at my feet…."

He looked down at Wolf's shivering body, frowning slightly.

"But I can't submit you as a prize in the shape you are now….you're far too unscathed."

Wolf's eyes bulged in horror. He had already been beaten to the point of staggering before this fight started, and now, his mouth was bleeding, his wounds were open again, and his arm could barely moved. All of this…and Drakon considered him unscathed…and in need for more.

"You see….those wounds will heal. You'll stop bleeding eventually, that arm of yours will revert to normal…even those scars on your back will disappear. I need a way to break you through the flesh, and make you a presentable victim of my torture…without mortally wounding you. Something…that will stay…"

His eyes wandered past his scarred torso and neck to his face, darting about in a narrowed, unsatisfied manner.

Then, they fell on the cloth eye patch.

"Well….what's this?"

Wolf, despite his painful panting, furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at what the SharpClaw was looking at. Then, he saw the slitted reptilian pupils align with the left side of his face…the side where his vision was completely empty.

Whatever blood left in his body almost stopped…

"I've been so busy splattering your blood on the sand, I haven't even taken the time to ponder about that missing eye of yours. Tell me….who did it? Your master, the same one who left those markings on your arm?"

Wolf wriggled fiercely under the SharpClaw's grip, trying to put as much distance between the SharpClaw and his eye as possible. All fears of turning insane or weak melted at the terror of thinking about how the SharpClaw could take advantage of his missing eye.

"KEEP AWAY! It's-none of your business-"

Then, too quickly for Wolf to react, he thrust his hand forward and tore off the tangled wrappings over his eye.

The second the faded cloth slid off his scarred eye-lid, Wolf shut his left eye tightly, determined not to let Drakon see the dark depths of his socket. He stared up, with one eye closed tight so that the decay-eaten scar on his eye-lid scrunched up.

"Oh, but you see, canine….it _is _my business. Your covering of your eye is a privilege of hiding the unwanted scar of a past battle. It's a freedom….your last freedom. I've stripped you of your honor, pride, skin, and dignity. I've taken everything from you…but I feel that this missing eye of yours is the last humiliation you have…maybe even the worst."

Already, hateful images of his own one-eyed face on wanted posters and arrest warrants came back to Wolf's face…the mark of defeat that had stung Wolf harder than any wound. For years, he was determined not let even the foulest of his enemies get the satisfaction of seeing his missing eye.

Drakon, catching, the air of extreme discomfort in Wolf's face, expanded his thin smile. "Yes…it _does _affect you…more than you'll admit. But like all the freedoms you've had…it's one I'll have to break. Just imagine how broken you'll look with a sad little hole for an eye, staggering at my feet like a wretched leper."

And that's when Wolf realized the trap he had been lured into. This was the final lashing…and this would be the final humiliation.

The opening of the scar he hated the most.

Drakon curled his lip impatiently. "Open it."

Wolf's face paled, his palms starting to sweat. Mouth too sore and full of blood, he shook his head frantically.

Drakon looked away, his face calm but eyes wrought with fury. Then, in a sudden, wild movement, he flung his Adder Tongues aside, snatching up Wolf's fallen Claw.

"_I said…_OPEN IT! Open your eye! I want that empty, miserable socket of yours open when I drag you behind me. Do it, or I'll pry your shoulder open with this blade! If you think you can defy me some more, just think about the pain you're feeling right now…and double it. If I have to tear out your spleen to make you submit, I will. If you don't want to thrust your body into more pain, you'll surrender your last right…._Decide now!"_

Wolf's chest began to heave, his reflection appearing small and scared in the glossy steel of the Claw held inches from his face. Now, he realized what Drakon was trying to do. In every past encounter, he had beaten him, tortured him, and humiliated him. Now, with his final act of spite, he would force Wolf's eye open…without the eye patch to shade its shameful state.

_It's the last freedom I have…_

_My body won't move…my weapon is gone…_

_He could kill me at any time..._

_...so how much does he plan to humiliate me?_

"Fine. If you prize your resistance this much and refuse to submit, then I'll slice your eye-lids off so that your eye will be open...permanently!"

He slammed Wolf down on the ground by the neck, causing him to wince and shut his eyes fearfully, his heart in a frantic knot as he waited for the pain to ensue.

"Wait..._no..."_

Wolf's frantic expression faltered and he opened his eye slightly. He looked up and saw that Drakon's eyes had had wandered over to the right, scarred, eye-bearing side of his face, lingering there hungrily as if he had discovered a far more delectable means of pleasure.

"Why should I leave you the privilege that your past master gave you...and let you keep an eye? If the memory of losing your eye causes you so much trauma...so much pain... who am I to deprive you of feeling that for a second time...right before you slip into madness for good?"

The circulating, heat-heavy air around Wolf's head seemed to thin out completely. A cold, horrified feeling had slunk up his insides to his very heart, which had stopped reciting its frantic beats in Wolf's pounding ears. Slowly, as his mind processed what Drakon was thinking of doing, it locked itself away into a coma of pure fear...more horrible than the sting of thirst...more burning than the strike of the chip's charge...and peeling more layers beneath his skin than the Adder Tongues.

_W-Wh...wh...?_

_..ahh-a-wh-a-what?!_

_WHAT?_

His mouth was half open, no gasp of terrified air passing through his lungs. The pain in his body melted away into insignificance, the newfound terror gripping it into a paralyzed state.

"Don't worry...if you're afraid I'll do it with the Adder Tongues, than you can breathe easy. I'd rather not stain my fine lashes on _that _much blood. I'll be using your own weapon to do it..."

The last sentence sent a mind-numbing feeling of horrible nostalgia down Wolf's mind. Short, breathless words escaped the dry, bloody hatch of Wolf's open mouth.

"W-What..._what did you say-?"_

"Yes... I won't torture you into insanity just yet...I'll let you hold onto your mind for just a little longer. You've spent a nightmare of your life dealing with the loss of one eye...with half of your vision engulfed in the shadow of nothingness. Now...you will skulk in complete sightlessness...staggering blindly in the dark, with only your pain and anguish to comfort you."

Thoughts rushed through like air out a ventilation shaft in space, horrible memories racing back...

Lying with half of his face drenched in blood on Macbeth, weeping as the he tried force sight out the searing eye that had been cut...

Being dragged by the armored hands of the Cornerian soldiers...dragged to a surgery room where he would be patched and interrogated...

Yanked through the courtroom in Corneria City, the chains held by the guards weighing his body down...the new mark on his face, the lack of an eye, drawing looks and enraged shouts from all sides of the echoing room-

_"Murderer!" "Traitor!" "Defecting scum!" "Honorless bastard!"_

The mark that made him a fugitive, an outcast. The mark that had made him the most hated of men...Star Wolf. The dark brand that had hounded him for his entire life, engulfed his future, and reduced whatever freedom or happiness he had left in this world into wasted ashes.

The mark forged by the one person he despised most in this world...by his own Claw.

It was happening all over again. Except this time, it would be worse. It wouldn't be some temporary nightmare, that he could escape from by simply relishing whatever sight he had left through his remaining eye... No. This would be complete blindness. The final bar to the claustrophobia-inducing cell that would murder his soul with his own anguished madness.

The thing he feared most. Not death. Not Andross. Not even the Devourer.

Being blind.

His eye had become huge, bright, with the iris reduced to a dot. Sweat poured down his neck and dampened the ground behind his head. His facial expression was without one line of courage or dignity...but had become small and frightened, like a child in the dark.

Drakon's smile faltered slightly, for Wolf's expression had become far too distant with fear, almost maddened, like his mind wasn't really there. But regardless, he continued, enjoying the newfound effect he had.

"And once all look upon you...the great, rebellious, unyielding, pretentious, resisting slave that wouldn't even bow to the will of the Adder Tongues...they will no longer doubt the extent of a man's will to hold on to his sanity. If they regard you, they will only regard you as the slave who thought he could never be broken."

He raised the Claw above his head, the blade pointing down like a stalactite, ready to tear Wolf's shaking eye out.

It was in that moment...that Wolf saw his reflection briefly in the stainless surface of the blade raised above him. His eyes bulged fearfully, all courage and defiance swept from him like deprived air.

"And one look at that sightless, defeated, mentally-distant face of yours will be a reminder of how you were beaten back into place...back where you belong...as a slave of your own failure."

But the face he saw wasn't the one he had now.

It was another one...a startled, frightened, naive face of a seventeen-year-old boy...with both of his purple eyes intact, and a face unscathed by a surgical scalpel.

The image of his own face...right before the blade struck...just like before...

...the last fleeting memory of seeing something with two eyes...before the darkness and agony consumed...and ruined him.

_**"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**_

**KER-**_**FFFSHINK!**_

Wolf's shaking, frightened gasping warped into a hollow, intensified scream ridden with fury and anguish that echoed and shook the crumbling spires of the Temple. Right as the Claw came down like a meteor, a sudden jolt of determination forced movement into his limp, impaled arm, causing it to shoot forward. His hand caught the gleaming blade, his palm and fingers wrapped around the biting edge of his own weapon, stopping the point inches from his eye. Drakon's smile vanished in an instant, his wrist twisted in recoil at the sudden halt to his rushing stab.

The canine he stood over now wasn't the one he had fought earlier. His eyes had become huge and swarmed with a rage that had transformed the heat in their piercing glare. The driving factor wasn't anger, or sadness...it was fear. Pure, uncontrollable, almost insane fear that was overruling all body and mental commands. There was no instinct, or nerve restraint in his expression. His face was twisted and contorted into a mask of enraged will, without reason or restraint. His eyebrows and forehead were arched forward, striking jagged lines across his face and shedding a hooded shadow over his fire-lit face that illuminated his gleaming eyes. That, and the clenched, shaking scowl in Wolf's bleeding teeth, chills down Drakon's spine.

It was like his mind didn't embraced insanity, but wasn't applying reason either. His maddened face was completely cut off from thought, controlled only by fear...fear that had transformed into mindless will to prevent the one thing he dreaded most from happening. Drakon now realized that he had gone a step too far...and had ignited some unstable, psychologically-tormented side of Wolf's brain that had dominated all of his other senses.

As the curved edge of the blade bit into his clenched hand that stopped it from reaching his face, blood gushed down Wolf's arm until his fist was drenched in red...but he didn't wince. Droplets pelted his cheeks, their red dots only making Wolf appear more demonic.

_KRRRRSHHH!_

More chunks of debris began to rain down all around them, the roaring fires growing taller. Smoke began to crawl in and engulf the two of them, but Wolf's seemingly-glowing eyes kept his face visible.

Drakon tried to wrench the Claw further, but Wolf's hand jammed its progression above him. "What're you-?"

"NO!" Wolf screamed, his face quivering and teeth clenched. _"Never again...never again, _NEVER AGAIN..."

"What?" Drakon muttered, his eyebrows furrowed.

His huge purple eyes grew bigger, and the black pupils grew smaller. "I'm not going to let you do it...you won't do it to me again, _ever again..._you're not going to put me through that again...just like HE did, and FRAME ME AGAIN! IT WAS _HIS _FAULT, _HIS FAULT..._HE _MADE _ME LIKE THIS!"

Drakon widened his eyes when he saw tears spring from both the the eye that was open and underneath the eyelid that was shut.

"I WON'T!" His eyes burning past Drakon. "HE RUINED EVERYTHING, HE_TOOK _EVERYTHING! _But you won't take my other one...I won't let you. _I WON'T LET YOU-_I WON'T!"_

_Krrr-_PRRAAAASHHH!

A shower of hot coals from the raging inferno above them scattered on the ground near Wolf, causing embers to fly past his face.

_The canine's already crazy... _Drakon thought. He gripped the handle of the Claw with both hands, and started to drive it downward.

Wolf grunted in pain, the red streaming down his already-searing hand as he kept the quivering Clawpoint at bay. Amidst his scattered thoughts and rage, he knew he wouldn't be able to withstand the SharpClaw's strength forever. While his teeth were clenched rigidly, he let his eye wander to a pile of glowing coals that lay a few inches away from him. They curled smoke and sizzled, causing his fur to bristle uncomfortably and his eye to water. More coals continued to rain down, as spark-drizzled reminders that his time was running out...and this place was already crumbling.

And then...pressured by his tense surroundings and struggle to keep the blade away his face... Wolf did the craziest, stupidest, and most insane thing he had done...or at least, _one _of the craziest and stupidest things.

Latching his free, aching arm out, he reached out-while already letting his bleeding hand weaken and give in to the pressing drive of the Claw-and curled his fingers around the coal.

_SSSSSSSS._

"Hrrr-AAAARRRGGHHH!"

Wolf groaned through his clenched teeth, the searing burn of the coal scalding and bubbling the flesh on his palm, the pain seeming to seep to the bone. Burns pulsed and seared from the agonized folds of his clenched hand, scrunching his eyes shut as pain-driven tears dribbled down his face. If his legs weren't bolted down by the SharpClaw's legs, he'd have room to squirm and writhe while holding onto the heated rock.

Steam and flame started to waft between his burnt fingers, Wolf yelled as he smashed the lit coal against Drakon's face.

"GAAARGGGHHH!"

Drakon roared as the black and ember-orange rock collided with his battered face, shattering into a spray of fiery fragments and showering sparks. The coal's scalding surface tore at the punched-in side of his face, causing him to stagger off of Wolf and drop the claw in favor of clutching his face with both hands.

The second that the SharpClaw's bone-crushing weight was off of him, Wolf rolled over and shoved his hand in his mouth, sucking on his hand with a muffled moan of relief. Pulling his scalded hand out and whirling around on his back quickly, he didn't waste any time in snatching his Claw off the ground, wincing as he curled his bloody fingers around its leather-bound grip.

Looking groggily at the rapidly-falling architecture around him, his fur bristled cautiously at the flaming hunks of rock that rained from above. He stabbed his Claw into the ground and hoisted his shoulder up achingly, knowing he had to get away from this place as soon as possible...

Drakon lowered his hands from the smoking patch of smoldering scales on his face, his eyes glowering between the cracks of his fingers. His eyes darted across the stone floor before fixing on his discarded machete.

_That insolent, wretched, loathsome little _SHIT! _I shouldn't have wasted time attempting to break him...I should've skewered him where he crawled!_

Ripping his machete out of its plunged state in the ground, he curled his lip.

_Whatever...I can still make him suffer a good death...it's not like the bastard can even move in the state he's- _

Ffft.

Drakon stopped, his eyes huge at the sound of movement. He slowly turned his head...

_No..._

_There's-there's no way-_

He turned his head fully...and his heart stopped.

Claw plunged in the ground to support his staggering weight, Wolf leaned shaking, punctured arm, already on his knees when he couldn't even fully raise himself off his back before. The fur on his forehead hung over his face in uneven, matted, unkept bangs, covering a fraction of his eyes as he panted in heavy wheezes. He coughed hoarsely, his bruised ribs lining his battered stomach, clenching his teeth as blood and saliva ran down the sides of his mouth. Pressing both bleeding and scorched hands against the plunged handle of his Claw, he shakily forced his back into a straightened position. One of his blistered foot slid out, allowing his bludgeoned legs to help him rise to his feet.

Drakon continued to watch, jaw dropped and eye twitching in maddened, and insanely-terrified disbelief.

_WHAT?!_

Wolf stood for a moment, his back hunched over weakly, fur spiked in weak clumps. Blood fell in flecks to the ground around his feet, trickling from the brutal hole in his shoulder. The tattered bandages on his arms, legs and shoulders fluttered like ruined banners, and one his ears was lowered in exhaustion. He swerved his weary head up, ears clogged with the muffled sound of his heavy panting. Slowly, he raised his head out of his aching bow and fixed his faltering, but nonetheless-burning glare in Drakon's direction. As the crackling fires made his shadow dance across the floor, he gave a breath of rasping exhaustion. No matter how much stamina he forced into his stabbed arm, the bleeding, bludgeoned, unmoving limb bound in infected bandages continued to sway uselessly by his side.

He had to get up...he had to keep going. He wasn't about to pine on his knees over a punctured arm. So what if it wouldn't move? He still had one left...and both his legs.

Kicking whatever dry stamina he had left into his crumpled legs, he took a shaking step forward...and then another. At a shaking but steady pace, he staggered forward with a slight limp. No...not staggered..._walked. _

Drakon couldn't believe it. He had beaten the canine to the point of madness...reduced him to a skeletal wreck, and painted the masonry of the crumbling Temple with his blood...and yet, in midst of all his pain and weariness, he was not only _still standing..._but also, _walking._

He couldn't move. Despite being surrounded by walls of whirling flame, his blood seemed to turn colder. His mind was distorted and twisted with fear. It wasn't fear of Wolf...it was fear stemmed from being confoundedly confused. Confidence had always flowed through the SharpClaw like air with any other slave...but that was because he knew what to expect from any other slave, knowing what they were. But he had _no _idea what Wolf was...

_W-What the hell is this feeling?_

_It's not fear...it CAN'T be fear...I CAN'T BE AFRAID..._

_I have the advantage...I'm stronger, superior, and I'm unscathed..._

_And he's just one slave...one warm-blooded, crippled, staggering, exhausted, ripped-apart slave!_

_S-SO...Why...WHY THE HELL DO I FEEL AFRAID OF HIM?! _

"This-this isn't possible!" Drakon hissed, his mouth shaking and his eyes massive with rage. "You should be BROKEN! INSANE! You can barely breathe...you're about to collapse in a pool of your own blood...the pain from all your wounds alone should be enough to render you paralyzed...and you gripped a blade and flaming coal with your bare hands!" He pointed a shaking claw at Wolf, both horrified and enraged. "No slave can endure that! _No one _can! How can you endure enough pain that shoves your body to its limits, _and still force yourself to stand and_ WALK?! WHAT ARE YOU?!"

Wolf, one purple eye gleaming in the firelight while the other was shut tight, emitted a low growl between the cracks of his gleaming teeth.

Drakon ripped his machete out and gripped it with both hands, fear fueling his rage. "ANSWER ME!"

_Fffaaaat!_

Wolf kicked his feet forward, creating a blood trail as he converted his steady walk into a sprint, with his back low and Claw out. He clutched the bandages latched around his limp arm by his teeth, carrying the burden in his mouth so it wouldn't get in the way. But that didn't stop his muffled growls to pour over the cloth in his teeth.

The Head Scourge barely had enough time to counter the attack. Paranoid reflexes jerked his arm to swing up in front of his face.

KRRRAAANNGGG!

Wolf's blade smashed against the machete, sparks erupting from the colliding edges and illuminating his narrowed-eyed face and Drakon's wide-eyed one.

_FRAAASSHHH!_

Right as their blades met, fire exploded all around them, the roaring flames rising from all sides of the narrow walkway they were on, and building up dangerously in the distance behind Drakon. Huge clumps of charred stone hurled all around them like raining boulders, falling inches away from them.

They were too close to the destruction. Drakon's eyes darted around the raging fiery walls as they trapped them within the walkway, suddenly wary of their hazardous surroundings. But Wolf didn't look the least bit bothered, not even stopping to acknowledge the raging flames that engulfed the edge and could burn him alive if he even slipped to the side.

_Krrr-_rring!

Ripping his blade away from Drakon's, he dove forward without warning and whirled his Claw in all directions.

_Whrrshh-_KRRING!

KRR-_CLANG!_

Shhrr-_RRRING!_

The strikes came all at once and so fast that even Drakon's keen, reptilian eyes couldn't catch the sight of them mashing against his machete, which he desperately flung in front of himself at all angles in an attempt to block them. The Claw's slashes gleamed and spun at the SharpClaw's face at blurring speed, until they transformed into flashing spirals of glinting steel flashing all around Wolf's glowering face.

Drakon's heart sped as he tried to keep each strike at bay, staggering back as Wolf pressed forward mercilessly. In the midst of all the thoughtless blocking, he couldn't believe he was being driven back. It wasn't the strength of the strikes that pushed his blocks away...if it was a contest of strength, he'd definitely win. But the slashes came and went far too brief for Drakon to even feel their vibration or see their sparks fly, striking and drawing back like mosquito bites.

But Wolf knew what he was doing, even if Drakon didn't. In the wake of fighting Drakon for so long, he had finally figured out why he was losing...why Drakon could predict every block...

The answer was his speed. The Head Scourge was smart enough to know that the only thing that could beat a massive SharpClaw like him was a blazing speed...but he was also smart enough to get used to his opponent's speed. That allowed him to predict Wolf's strikes before they came...and catch them with his bare hands, just like he did before.

That's why now, with Wolf changing the speed of his arm rapidly at an unpredictable rate...no longer burdened with the weighed-down and predictable burden of both hands gripping the Claw...he finally had the advantage.

FRAAASSHHHH!

As the two of them fought viciously across the thin, stone remnants of the floor, the fires around them whirled and coiled, dangerously close to their feet and inches away from wrapping their blazing grips around their bare feet. Chunks of fiery rock pelted the ground all around them, flying inches away from both their faces.

Drakon's confidence began to wear thin as he dreaded the thought of a misstep and losing himself to the flames around him, his blocks becoming less and less precise with paranoia. He hoped that the canine would show some drop in speed or rage in reaction to the destruction on their backs...maybe give him enough time to finish him off and escape the hellish destruction...

But Wolf continued to attack relentlessly, without a flinch in his expression or eyes from the flaming rocks that hurled themselves inches in front of his face and body. Nothing seemed to frighten him, his maddened determination seeming to cloud any judgment of caution or fear in his head.

The Head Scourge's anxiety built up too far as he was pushed back further, stealing a fearful glance at the rising fires around them. They began to enter the weaker side of the walkway, bricks already cracking under the weight of their feet-

"ENOUGH!" He bellowed over the quaking destruction. _"If you push us further into the flame, _THEN YOU'LL KILL US _BOTH!_ YOU WON'T BE THE CAUSE OF MY END, CANINE!"

He stomped his scaly foot on the ground and reinforced his stance, attempting to drive Wolf off with his machete.

_WHRRRSHHH!_

Suddenly, amidst all of the falling debris that rained down between them, a particularly large, flaming rock hurled down between them. Time seemed to move viscously at that moment, the hunk of rock dividing the two opponents in mid-air, blocking their views of each other's faces.

As the rock fell between them, Drakon stabbed his machete forward as it fell, preparing to drive it between Wolf's eyes. The edge of his blade grazed the top of the stone and causing sparks to coil off its charred surface.

_SHRRRING-_SSHHHHH!

There was a brief glint of steel and then a thunderous crunching sound, as Wolf swung his blade with enough force that it shattered the rock between them, sending ember-ridden fragments of black rock slowly scattering everywhere. Cutting through the rock to the other side, the Claw cleaved its way to the side rammed Drakon's machete aside, the point dragging across Drakon's face.

_"GERRAAAAHHHHH!"_

The SharpClaw shriek sent the sluggish pace of the moment back into normal time, the rocks exploding in all directions and blood flying from the side of Drakon's face. He flung a hand to the long, trailing cut from the corner of his mouth to the center of his cheek, like an extended, hideous smile scrawled in black blood.

While Drakon's guard was down to grasp the stinging wound on his face, Wolf spat his limp arm out of his mouth and bolted forward. Grabbing his limp arm and jutting his shoulder out, he rammed himself into Drakon's stomach. The entirety of his aching body shook upon colliding with the iron build of the SharpClaw, but it was enough to get his feet to claw at the ground before toppling back in an unbalanced fall.

**CRAAAASSSHHHHH!**

The second Drakon's bulky, massive body hit the ground with a shaking thud, with Wolf on top of him, the weakened walkway gave in to the impact. The deteriorating fixings that held the cracking bricks together crumbled apart as the floor lurched downwards and flames shot up where they ate at the bottom of the arch-ways. Splitting and falling into the smoke-covered abyss below, the floor shifted and broke apart like fissures of an earthquake, sending Drakon and Wolf down with it.

The two of them fall, still locked in a tight tackle, attacking each other blindly through the disorienting rush of their fall. Wolf punched and clawed at the SharpClaw's armored stomach, while Drakon thrashed at Wolf's fur and ripped at his bandages.

_THUD!_

The fall ended quicker than either of them expected, the second floor of the Temple hitting their bodies like hard, stony walls smashing against their weary bones. The sudden impact of hitting the floor separated both Drakon and Wolf, the solid surface of the brick-lined floor sending them in spiraling heaps. Fiery rocks and remnants of the shattered walkway smashed down on the ground with them, bellowing sparks and throwing up muddled clouds of dust.

All was silent, leaving only the boiling heat of the oven-like surroundings and searing aching to fill up the stillness of the moment.

The whistling air from the rapid fall still ringing in his ears, Wolf groaned as he felt his sore body outline itself against the rough, flat, scraping surface of the ground underneath him. His face seemed scrunched against the masonry, and raising his dazed head was asking too much of bent neck. The second he lurched his body into moving, he winced at a sharp pain at his legs. For a sickeningly-dreading moment, he wondered if he had a broken leg to accompany his limp arm. But luckily, it was just a scrape to his ankle from the fall, an open, rather large that still stung horribly, but didn't restrict his movement.

_KRNNCHHH._

Wolf's ears perked at the grinding shift of rocks nearby. He cranked his stiff neck higher to see a mountain of scattered rubble a few feet away, small rocks dribbling off of it as the top moved unevenly.

SCRAANNCHHH!

A massive, black, scaly hand shot from inside the rubble, its clawed fingers slamming like anchors onto the ground. The rocks fell over one another and trickled off a massive, dust-matted body, clouds of disturbed ash rushing as the figure swept the debris off of him. Drakon drew himself out of the rubble foot by foot, covered in a new patch of bruises and cuts he had obtained by the heap of rocks falling on him. He panted slowly, the scales on his face caked with ash and blood. His eyes darted around murderously, now in a real rage, before he spotted Wolf a few feet in front of him.

Wolf's blood pounded frantically in his ears, determined to get on his feet before the SharpClaw could take advantage of him-

Then, a sudden, jerking yank seized his arm and pulled him back down, causing him to stagger back and fall on his aching back again. He whirled his head from side to side in panic, to find that the cluster of bandage-strands bound to his right arm-his only moving one-were stuck under a huge fragment of bricks from the debris that had fallen down with him.

He yanked and ripped his arm away as much as he could, until the bandages started to tighten and cut around his sweaty skin...but he couldn't get it free. The bandages were wrapped too tightly to his arm to untie...and forced down to the ground by the huge, cumbersome rock.

Drakon gave a deranged smile at the sight of Wolf struggling like a fox in a trap, snatching up the Adder Tongues from the ground and starting to stomp forward.

_NO!_

Wolf wriggled and ripped his stuck arm from the weight of the rock that held it down, his legs kicking helplessly as he tried to get free before Drakon could reach him. Sweat poured down his neck as he got closer...

_Come on, COME ON-_

_Wait! Where's my-?!_

His eyes shot around desperately, looking for his Claw. His insides exploded with relieved joy at the sight of it-_just out of his reach. _His heart plummeted miserably, before racing frantically as Drakon drew closer.

"So, canine...we're back where we started..."

Wolf wrenched his shoulder with clenched teeth, desperately trying to wring his bandages enough to get them to tear. Then, he stopped, as his eyes wandered past his Claw to something behind it...

It was a machine, bolted to the wall, made up of a wall of turning gears and cranks...with a huge, spiked cylinder chained above it. Heaps of rocks were lined up in front of it, but it wasn't debris...it was fresh, uncharred, and dusty...placed there from earlier, during the Temple's construction, to put into the machine...

A rock grinder.

His eyes widened, his breathing tense at the sudden opportunity that had revealed itself to him.

"You on the ground and me standing above..." Drakon continued, coiling the Adder Tongues and letting them drag across the floor and have sparks pour off of their jagged barbs. "Prepared to deal the rightful torture upon you..." His eyes gleamed with insane determination.

Wolf extended his searingly-sore neck slightly, gnawing at the bandages with his canine teeth.

"But you aren't as talkative or arrogant as you were then, are you? Go ahead. Spew some more bullshit about you being unbreakable or invincible. See if your words will save you."

Wolf sank his jagged tooth into the bandage, not managing to cut the thick cloth, but weaken it.

Drakon's footsteps rumbled closer, his pace quickening. "Well?! Where is your defiance and unyielding crap now?! Say something! Tell me!"

He yanked at the bandages tightly, his nerves and pounding blood flow screaming for the cloth to finally tear off-

"SAY SOMETHING!" Drakon hurled his whip-lashes above his head. _"Load your bleeding mouth with hopeless taunts while I still allow it to move! Or have my beatings finally ripped the last of your worthless voice from your weak lungs?!"_

SNAKKK!

Wolf ripped his arm free from the severed bandages and leapt to his feet, jumping back as the metal barbs smashed against the spot where he was bound and helpless before.

He snatched his Claw from the ground, and turned to face Drakon, before-

_Krr-_KLLNG-KLNNG!

The Head Scourge snarled as he swung the Adder Tongues in a whirling movement, catching Wolf off guard so that he could only parry the blow on reflex, not accuracy. The lashes latched their clinking barbs around the blade like metallic scorpion tails, and Drakon twisted his wrist and jerked it back, tearing the Claw from Wolf's unprepared hand.

CLANG!

The Claw was flung behind them to land on the floor with a noisy clatter. Wolf, unarmed and vulnerable, curled his good hand into a fist and attempted to aim a desperate punch at the SharpClaw's face. But Drakon whirled his lashes back and shot his hand out, grabbing Wolf's limp arm and wrenching it back.

"GAAARRGGGHHH!"

Wolf yelled through clenched teeth as the piercing hole in his shoulder opened wider, Drakon's barbarous grip pulling his arm so far that his bones started to make sick, popping noises.

Drakon raised his whips, his maddened face reverting back to its calm, confident state.

"Tch. It seems our battle...and where we stand above another as species...was already decided when you were first dragged in here. I was a fool to even consider you the likes of a common man."

With a lunge and a flash of his jagged teeth, Drakon whirled his whips downwards, the barbs flying down like the talons of a striking bird of prey.

_**KRSSHH-**_**THNNNNKKKKK!**

Drakon froze in the middle of his triumphant snarl, his eyes widening.

Right as the Adder Tongues came swinging down, Wolf had wrenched his only functioning arm out the SharpClaw's grip and flung it over his face. He caught the blow, but it wasn't a harmless coil like last time. The lashes had wrapped their metallic, chain-like chords around his wrist, embedding the jagged barbs into his exposed skin. The curved, fang-like points drove themselves underneath the soft portion of his skin, ripping at it so that the raw wound became murky and borderless as the blood gushed out.

Wolf retracted his scream into a guttural groan locked in clenched teeth. The immense blood loss from the punctured hole in his arm was enough to condemn his body to a pale shaking state of blood loss, and now this had made him fall to his knees…still able to move his arm, but unable to feel it.

This was it…it was all the pain his body could take.

But in the midst of his weakened agony, he managed to drag the lashes down with his hand and yank Drakon down to his level, so that they were face-to-face.

At this point, Wolf didn't look too fearsome. His face was pale and drained, giving him a sunken and small look. But his eyes-attempting to avoid contact with the wound to contain his nausea-still fluttered open, with a feeble flame of defiance in their purple gaze.

His lips moved slightly, his voice just above a weak, raspy murmur.

"…Has it ever crossed you 'superior' mind…that maybe your beatings and tortures haven't weakened me?"

"What?" Drakon muttered.

"I-I…I came here…with years of endurance…to wounds, to suffering, to electricity, and even these damn suns…and I still made it through. But you…" He stopped his legs from bending fully, and attempted to rise. "You peeled the flesh off my back…you made me sting my throat with constant screaming…and by doing so, you've made me endure more."

He bared his blood-flecked teeth, clutching the Adder Tongues tighter.

"By exposing me to enough pain that would cripple a man…you drove the limits of my endurance further. You strengthened my ability to endure pain…that's the only reason I've taken the wounds you've forced on my body, and can still walk….the reason a blade to my hand feels like a splinter, and the burn of a coal feels like a sting of a bee…"

Drakon's eyes widened with rage, disbelief, and realization.

"_You're torture hasn't weakened me Drakon…." _Wolf straightened his shaking back and legs, voice gradually growing louder with his feeble strength. "It's made me _stronger…_in your repetitive attempts to break me you've created your own DEMISE!"

_Kerr-_WHRRSHHTTTT!

Wolf tore his hand out of the biting grip of the Adder Tongues, and shot it out to grab the crimson Centurion's sash that hung on Drakon's arm.

The Head Scourge roared and swung Wolf against the rock grinder by his limp arm. Wincing but still gripping the sash tied around the SharpClaw's arm, Wolf kicked the lever to the rock grinder and shoved the sash under the massive rolling cylinder.

"_NO! _NOO-_AAAARGGHHH!"_

Wolf swung his staggering body out of the way as Drakon was pulled against his will by the trailing sash tightened on his arm. He dug his clawed feet into the ground, but the powerful rock crusher lured it in by force, pulling his hand into the tight spot between the conveyer belt and the crusher.

_KKRRRUUUUUUNNNNNNCCHHHHHHHH_-TTTTTTTTTTTTTCCCHHHHHHHH!

"_**GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA RRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!"**_

Black blood splattered all over the rolling cylinder as it crushed Drakon's hand that was caught underneath. He grinding his jagged teeth, he pushed and shoved against the machine in futile attempts to wrench his hand out. But as his hand disappeared under the machine, his arm was sucked in as well. He screamed and howled in blood-tingling shrieks of agony, until there was a sick, crunching noise as his arm was completely flattened. Sweat began to wash down his shining scales, his tongue flapping in his gurgling mouth. His whole face was shaking, puffing and sweating, with his slitted eyes bulging out of their sockets. The reptile's tail swung back and forth in shaking paralysis, the scales on his face losing cover as his face and stomach stretched and sunk from his immense screaming and panting.

_SHHHRRRRK-KRRK- KRRK- KRRK- KRRK-!_

Suddenly, the rock grinder started to jerk and stutter, the bone attached to his shoulder jamming the machine and making it creak into a slow halt. The gears shook and quaked over one another under strain, until they stopped moving completely. The SharpClaw's black blood poured from under the cylinder like water from a faucet, splattering at his feet and making a horrible, inky stain on the battered pavement.

Drakon shivered and wheezed, his entire arm crushed under the weight of the crusher. He sat there on his knees with his tail flicking occasionally, eyes twitching, his body bound to the machine that bolted him to the grinder by his shoulder. He couldn't move, he couldn't get up….all he could do was groan and snarl.

He turned his head rigidly to Wolf, who got to his feet weakly. The SharpClaw's face was a fixed, quivering, almost swelling look of livid rage, twisted and veined by the intense pain from his crushed arm. His cut mouth extended the length in which he bared his huge, reptilian fangs, the bleeding corner twitching uncontrollably.

"YOU-CHEATING, WRETCHED, _LOATHSOME, SNIVELING LITTLE FUCKING __**SHIT!" **_He roared, his eyes engulfed in livid fury and bulging with agony. "MY ARM-YOU-_YOU-_A WEAK LITTLE INSECT LIKE _YOU-I WILL _NEVER _BE DISGRACED BY A LOW-LIFE WARM -BLOOD-_I'M NOT SO EASILY- NOT-"

Wolf raised his head slightly, eyes glinting scornfully.

"Not what?" His voice, despite its weaken rasp, radiating with contempt. "Not used to skulking on your knees like one of your own slaves? Tell me, how does it feel, to be reduced to what you've created for years...? Do you feel frail? Helpless? Weak, like a child..." In spite of his overwhelming weariness, his raging anger made him clench his bloody fist. _"Like an defenseless infant, murdered without a chance to protect itself?! _Now you know..._now _you know, the fear and pain that the child you slaughtered in cold blood felt like..."

Drakon's split lip curled into a snarl. "I WON'T BE LECTURED BY-"

_"No, _YOU WILL!" Wolf shouted. "You will never rise in confidence or stand above others in authority, _never again! _Too long, you've smiled down at ragged filth drowning in their own agony...too long, you've escaped the sins that even scum rotting in hell wouldn't commit. You will wallow in that spot, Drakon...you will suffer years of honorless torture that you've inflicted on others...you'll feel it all in that one wound, and you will feel it slowly. Now, Scourge of Scourges, you've suffered every punishment a slave has ever experienced in this wretched place..." Then his expression slackened slightly, eyes narrowed. "Well, not _every _punishment..."

His purple eye traveled over the blood-splattered bricks to the black-metal lashes, gleaming wickedly as they lay discarded near the fire.

He walked over to them...and picked them up.

_Clink-clink._

Drakon's eyes widened suddenly as the chains dangled in front of his face, his own barbs clinking on one another, flecked with crimson from earlier. As they swayed horridly in front of his widened slitted eyes, he could almost hear the shrieking begging and spine-tingling screams of every victim who lost their skin...and their sanity...to these whips.

He didn't speak. His throat had gotten extremely dry...for once, he felt a very warm-blooded tingle up his back and down his spine.

Wolf held the accursed whips in his hands, his purple eyes wandering over the nightmarish barbs that his very skin numbed at the sight of. They had occupied so much space in his nightmares, in the corner of his darkest fears...

He felt filthy and corroded with innocent blood just by holding them, knowing what kind of sadistic, cowardly vermin they were designed for.

Wolf turned his eyes to Drakon, gripping the whips readily.

He deserved it. He deserved to be driven beyond the border of sanity with these...it was the least he had earned for everything he'd done. Every hot-blooded, vengeful, loathing feeling of hatred returned to Wolf as he stared down at the face that had tormented him. Every feeling of anger that came with every strike on that fateful day when he was whipped...every burning promise that he'd make Drakon pay a thousand times...every fiber of fury, every fragment of anguish from seeing him kill that child...every scornful wince whenever he jeered at him, humiliated him, called him weak and false and fake...

The lashes made tinkling noises in Wolf's shaking grip, as he raised them above his head. Drakon shut his eyes cowardly, sweat dripping down his neck.

Every scalding feeling of pulsing anger and every hardship he that he had faced in this nightmarish place had led up to this moment. The moment where he could get even...

Where he could watch _him _cower and cringe in pain...

Slowly, his hand lowered.

_...and become a cowardly torturer. _He thought. _Just like him._

WHRRSHHH!

With a exhausted breath but without a second thought, Wolf flung the disgusting whips as far as he could, until they flew in the air and faded behind the rising fires, probably landing somewhere deep below them...and hopefully, burning up with this place when the time came.

Drakon's fearful expression faded melted into a look of relief. Then, slowly, it warped into an arrogant, almost jeering look.

_"Ha..._I knew you wouldn't do it. It seems I was right about you, even in the end. You just can't stomach inflicting pain on someone else unless it's essential to your survival. You're a fake...always ready to talk, but too afraid to dominate your opponent's will through agony. Nothing but-"

_Swa-shing!_

Drakon stopped mid-sentence. Wolf, saying nothing, drew his unsheathed-clawed hand back.

**Shwa-SHLLRRRTH!**

There was a sickening sound of flesh tearing apart, as Wolf sliced his claws against Drakon's face...on the swollen side, where he had punched him before. The SharpClaw screamed in livid pain as the claws tore clean through his scaly cheek, so deep that it almost but into bone.

Drakon panted heavily in his kneeling state, dripping blood trailing the four deep, raw, fresh gashes etched into his face by the claw-marks. His reptilian eyes were massive, not in fear or anger, but just in startled shock of how out of nowhere that strike seemed.

Wolf ripped his claw away, swatting the air in a repulsed way to get the black blood off of them. Then, he dropped to his knee, talking at Drakon's level rather than above him, with his voice barely above an exhausted rasp.

"No, Drakon. You're wrong...more than you know." His voice and eyes were rather unstirred, in contrast to the heated rage they were usually in. "You've called me a fake on more occasions than I care to count...and I almost believed you too. You once said that all I do is load my mouth with claims of strength and resistance, and prove to be nothing after the strength was drained from my blood, and the skin ripped from my back. You said once that under all the layers of delusion...my strength, my weapons, my hot-blooded taunting...after everything was peeled back, that I was pathetic, low, blind, insignificant, and without any unique strength or skill as a warrior at all."

Then, in a blinding movement, Wolf grabbed his collar and pulled him closer so that their eyes clashed with each other.

"And yet, _you _are on the ground in defeat..._you _wallow in the shame of insignificance..._you _wasted your time basking in your own arrogance, talking about how superior SharpClaw are to Lylatians...and in the end, you're terrified of being beaten by your own whips, because you can't take the pain. Well, I stand before you now...weak, helpless, bloodied, beaten...a staggering shell of my healthy state. I'm weak enough to collapse with even the slightest injury. But even in the state I am now, I and every other measly insect bound by chains in this place stand ten times stronger than you'll ever be..." He bared his reddened teeth menacingly. _"You're _the fake, Drakon. You're weak, spineless, cowardly, hypocritical, without skill, without rank, without honor, and without any notion of what a real warrior is. I may be a murderer, traitor, collaborator, weakling or non-heroic bystander...but _nothing _will make me as low as you...no matter how many times my body suffers the burden of shackles or the bite of a whip. The only thing you're good for is smirking at the pain of someone weaker than you...there isn't a strand of a real combatant's prowess in you."

Drakon wrenched himself from Wolf's grip, eye twitching lividly beneath his scarred tissue.

_"You vile bastard..._you dare insult me with accusations of dishonor when you yourself clawed my face while I was on my knees?!"

"You've got your barbs, I've got mine." Wolf held up his claws, before curling his hand into a fist. "Besides, I'm not one to subject a man to pain on his knees...which is why you're a perfect exception, since you aren't a man, just pitiful SharpClaw filth. Well...to be exact, you're the _second _pig who's squealed because a claw-swipe to the face."

"RRRGGHHH!"

Drakon reached out with his free hand, uselessly ripping at Wolf from to far of a distance and restrained by the rock-grinder that held his shredded other arm in place. Spitting enraged blood and cursing furiously, he smashed his fist against the ground.

"FINE! Go ahead...finish me off, canine!" He spat contemptuously. "If you're so powerful, if you think you can surpass the ruthlessness of SharpClaw, then running me through should be easy work for you!"

Wolf raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Finish you off?"

"Don't play stupid with me...I know why you really came." The SharpClaw's voice rose to a malevolent hiss. "You came to avenge that stupid girl and her worthless little brat, along with every other slave I've killed up till now. That's what all the other slaves wanted most...to pay me back for squashing their loved ones like roaches. You warm-bloods think alike...and that misplaced, sickening, sentimental instinct is the reason you're here as well, isn't it?"

Wolf was silent for a very long time, just staring at Drakon like he had spat in his face. He couldn't believe it.

"After all the torture you've made me suffer, after the countless hours I've crossed blades with you in these fires...you _still _have no idea why I'm here." He scowled weakly. "You think I'm here to avenge the dead? You think your punishment has anything to do with how many you've killed?"

Drakon's spiteful smile faded into a bewildered stare.

Wolf stood up, plucking his plunged Claw from the ground. "I don't care much about the taking of lives...and if I did, I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Death is just another obstacle of the living...the enemy we fight to reward ourselves with survival. It finds all of us in the end...it's just a matter of postponing it. It's not my place with interfering with the balance of the weak and the strong...those who scavenge, fight, kill, or endure are allowed to live...and those who fail die." He glanced at his own reflection in his blood-splattered blade. "It's the enemy I'm wary of most in battle...but I know I'm nothing special, and I'll meet it one day...even if I won't like it. Hell, I wouldn't even have minded if you had managed to kill me."

_Clink._

He clenched the handle, the steel brimming. His eyes flashed angrily, the firelight dancing in their purple surface.

"But you...you don't me dead. You don't want anyone you imprison dead...you want them _broken." _He turned around, his face creasing into a mask of concrete fury. "You want to see me live, so I can watch my freedom wither and die in front of me as you take it away. You don't get a sick pleasure from just pain, Drakon...you get it from the sorrow and humiliation of enslavement..." His voice rose to a vicious growl. _"And that makes me sick more than anything else in this damn galaxy! _The fact that you think freedom is like just some insignificant toy you pluck from a whining child, when it's everything that a person has left!"

He clutched his wrist, where the imprinted numbers had left their mark.

"The choice to live, to die, to cause harm, the intervene, to do nothing...you robbed these people of it, with a legion of cowards and a set of whips. So when I set foot in this hell, and saw enslavement everywhere I walked...I vowed under my breath that I'd see every one of you festering SharpClaw bastards pay for what you'd done, until I'd paint the desert black with all of your innards. It wasn't sentimentality or some shit heroism that created the urge to liberate these people...it was hatred, and years of experience as a prisoner to someone else's will...and it was enough to help me pile these grounds with SharpClaw corpses for that sole purpose. All except you, Drakon..." He pointed a clawed finger at him. "You won't die the honorable death by a blade...you will linger behind, bound to the ground like slaves you've spat on...without the freedom to escape or even kill yourself. As you suffer slowly, and you'll know that my free will...much like my remaining eye...is not yours to take or touch. Not for you, God, Satan or anyone else."

Drakon stared at him for a long time, his enraged mind processing everything.

"So that's it?! You'll just leave me here to die?!"

Wolf turned and started to limp away.

The SharpClaw wriggled and ripped himself as far as he could, only managing to move his body slightly from his restricted spot.

"_No…no, no, _NO! You aren't going to walk away the better warrior and leave me behind like this…GET BACK HERE! YOU LOATHSOME PINING MUTT!"

Wolf kept walking, to weary give him the benefit of a taunt.

Drakon's eyes twitched, clawing at his shoulder desperately as the Temple floor shook with the rumbling debris.

"YOU THINK THAT KILLING ME WILL RELIEVE YOU OF YOUR SHACKLES, CANINE?! _You will walk away from this wreckage…and _NOTHING _will change! _You will remain a slave of this place, and the scars, reflexes and instinctive servitude you've obtained will follow and die with you!"

A jerk of pained realization and uneasiness tugged on Wolf's insides. But he kept walking.

"_You'll remain a slave for eternity…_and whatever freedom you've gained is meaningless! You have NOTHING!" Painfully, he arched forward, screaming scornfully. "I'll die here…but I'll die as Drakon, the Head Scourge of the SharpClaw Slaveyard. But you'll die as NOTHING!"

Wolf stopped walking.

Eyes glinting greedily, Drakon seized the advantage. "You don't have the freedoms of a common man, _let alone a slave! _The other slaves have something waiting for them, something to escape to….but you have none of that! When you die, you'll perish unmourned and forgotten, the death of a slave! You claim to be free, and yet you don't even have the luxuries of a common man! _You have no allies, loved ones, strength, reputation, identity…._YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE THE LUXURY OF A NAME!" His spiteful laugh echoed against the rumbling debris that would soon claim his life. "SLAVERY IS THE BURDEN OF THE UNNAMED AND UNLOVED! THAT'S THE ONLY LIFE YOU'RE SUITED FOR!"

"_SHUT UP!"_

Wolf whirled around, Claw raised and teeth bared. The SharpClaw's words dug deep into his scarred body and mind, digging out horrible truths that he wanted to forget. But he wouldn't let his last cruel words torment him…

"Maybe it's true, and I don't have anything...not even a sensible cause, outside of blind vengeance..." He looked up, his voice raising to a vibrating, furious tremor. "But I'm not a common man. _The flesh, blood, and endurance I've sustained up to this point is enough to prove that, and reveal every word out of your putrid, shit-filled mouth as a _LIE!" Wolf spat. "After drowning in his own sweat and madness in a desolate hell of a desert, common man would give up and die...but I kept walking. When umatched by legions of enemies and covered in wounds, a common man would submit to pain and defeat..." He raised his bleeding hand and clenched it fiercely. "...but I find badges of endurance in my scars, and keep fighting, regardless of the pain. And when..."

Then, he stopped slightly, his eyes faltering. His voice lowered to a tone of guilt and regret, Leon's face appearing in his mind.

"And when a common man would find himself in the worst of odds, he falls short of his courage, cringes, and accepts his own weakness..." _A common fool...like I have been..._ He thought. Then, he looked up. "..._but I will _NEVER _back down and stop marching forward, no matter _HOW _hopeless or meaningless the odds or cause may be! _And even if it's taken me a child's death, a friend's scolding, and a girl's defiance to make me remember those things..._THEY WILL NEVER CHANGE!"_

In the midst of his aching shape, he managed to stand tall. He wouldn't hide from it anymore...he was tired of lying.

_"I may have nothing to fight for, and no one to die for..._but I still have breath in my lungs, a blade in my hand, an eye left to keep, and another day to survive the next..._but above all, I have what I've clung to since I arrived here..._MY IDENTITY AS A _FREE _MAN!"

The rising tremor of his voice vibrated the falling walls.

"I _HAVE _AN IDENTITY!" Wolf shouted over the destruction. "_I'M THE LAST MERCENARY OF LYLAT! I AM THE ONLY SURPASSER OF STAR FOX! __**I AM WOLF O'DONNELL OF STAR WOLF!" **_

Drakon's smile disappeared. His eyes grew huge at the the name he had heard amongst the warm-bloods.

Wolf tried to turn with his back still straight, but winced as he tried to do so. He slunk back into his hunched, aching, limping state.

"Now...you can spend whatever time you have left before you burn and rot away deciding for yourself whether or not that's true. No one else will believe me...I don't expect you to."

PRRAAAAASSHHH!

The debris started to rain overhead, pelting the ground and raising the scorching heat within the walls. Wolf staggered away from the falling stone, clutching the wounds on his stomach.

As the canine's silhouette disappeared behind a cloud of smoke, Drakon didn't even call a last taunt after him. As the flaming rocks came down and buried him beneath their ashen heaps, he couldn't help but wonder...

Was it true?

Was this starving, ragged, whipped, scrawny, sunken canine really the one that all warm-bloods regarded with fear and disgust...?

But it was just a legend...he died, or was supposed to be non-existent...

So what apparition did he fight just now...if not the real one...?

_A few minutes later, within the collapsing Temple..._

Wolf hadn't made it two floors to the exit before he collapsed from exhaustion.

His body was too crippled from the aching wounds, his limbs sore from shedding physical strife on a larger opponent.

As his face hit the floor and his vision blurred, the inferno behind him began to explode and writhe wildly, shedding sparks and illuminating his face orange.

The area around him started to become hazy from gathering smoke, the intense carbon dioxide making his stinging throat cough, and his pink eyes to water.

He couldn't get to his feet...he could barely see...

_Sh-shit..._

_The fire's gotten too damn strong...!_

_"Haaarrchhh-_kaak-ukaak-"

Wolf flung a bleeding hand over his eyes and mouth, coughing hoarsely, sweat pouring down his hot, uncomfortable back-

_RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRR!  
_Suddenly, a new piercing sound rushed past the rumbling debris...the vibrating, ear-splitting sound of a strained motor.

Wolf squinted through the cracks of his fingers, confused amidst his coughing.

A streaming white light shone on the front of something vibrating fiercely and moving swiftly towards him, a tall, slender figure riding atop of it.

His knees gave in and made him collapse again, ash diving up his nostrils and eyes and making him cough some more.

"WOLF!"

Leon's frantic voice managed to rise above the pulsing sound of the speeder bike he was riding, gripping the handlebars and making it skid to the side. Leaping off the hastily-parked bike, he grabbed Wolf by the arms and scruff and pushed him onto the backseat.

KRRRSSSHHH!

The weakening walls rumbled dangerously behind them, but Leon didn't waste any time. He jumped on top of the bike, with a groaning Wolf slumped against his back, and wrenched at the ignition thrusters on the handlebars.

_BOOOSHHH!_

The spiraling boosters on the back of the speeder ignited blue, humming and sending the speeder forward in a burst of speed. The air rushing around them seemed to keep Wolf from slipping into unconsciousness, along with the violent shaking of the seat.

Leon grunted through clenched teeth as he steered the speeder with violent and lurching turns, evading huge fragments of flaming stone and metal. Any lesser Lylatian would have given into the hot atmosphere, but his cold blood and keen eyes made him immune to the unbearable conditions.

As the speeder hovered violently over unstable stone floor and falling bricks, Leon's eyes trailed the rickety path down to a broken off ledge at the end, surrounded by columns of fire.

Not hesitating to find an alternate route, he sped forward, the sound of crumbling debris crushing the ground behind him.

_VVVVVVVRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTT!_

The speeder zoomed off the ledge and out of the Temple, sparks and and smoke coiling after them as they emerged from the flaming chaos. The blinding sunlight and merciless desert heat greeted Wolf and Leon's weary bodies, along with a spine-jerking RUMP! of the speeder landing on the ground. The sudden rattle of the speeder hitting the ground shot a wave of pain through Wolf's already-aching body, but his thick fur seemed to recoil in relief from being out oif the hot, stinging air of that burning place.

Leon looked back and watched the last of the Temple burn away from a distance, the remaining SharpClaw seeming like small black dots as they fled the Slave Yard walls. The walls came together and fell apart like cardboard weakening from water, the flames towering higher and chiseling through the curling black smoke.

_RRRT!_

He grinded his foot on the breaks, the speeder lurched forward and came to a dead stop,

For a moment, all was quiet. The loud and chaotic atmosphere had faded away, calmed by the sound of both Leon and Wolf panting, the engine of the speeder vibrating, and the desert sand rustling at their feet.

All was quiet. It was all over.

But before the peaceful atmosphere of the desert could settle in, Leon turned around furiously, grabbed Wolf by the collar, and rapped him hard on the head.

SLAM!

_"Gargh!" _Wolf grunted, pushing him away reproachfully. "What're you-?!"

"YOU _IDIOT! You stupid idiot!" _Leon yelled, his electric-blue eyes teeming with angry relief. "I _told _you not to stay in there for too long, I _trusted _you when you said you'd only be there for _ten stinking minutes-_AND YOU TOOK THE FIGHT DEEPER IN THE FIRE?! _What the hell were you thinking?! _ARE YOU SO MUCH OF A SOLO ARTIST THAT YOU-"

He stopped in mid-sentence, glancing at Wolf's wounds for the first time.

"Oh, Jesus, _Wolf-_what happened to your hands-?" His eyes grew huge at the bloody hole in his arm. _"_And _shit, _your _arm..._how bad was the fight?"

"Bad," Wolf croaked weakly. _"Really _bad. That SharpClaw had too much of an advantage...in size and strength...he was way worse than the others. He wasn't above the typical flaws, like ignorance and rage, but I still hope that I won't have to fight someone like him any time soon." He seethed through his teeth as he massaged his shoulder wound. "I don't think I'm cut out for it."

Leon raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I didn't think that I'd ever hear you admit something like that...but hopefully, there aren't a lot of SharpClaw like him where we're headed."

Wolf looked up. "'Where we're headed'? Where's that?"

"To that city where the other slaves are headed to," Leon nodded towards. "That's where they were before they were sentenced to slavehood. It's a SharpClaw city, but the population's mixed enough for us to get lost in. It'd be best for us to lay low when we get there, so we can recuperate, heal up, and-"

He stopped and turned to Wolf, who was facing the ground.

"What's wrong? You aren't saying much?"

Wolf cleared his throat and looked up sullenly.

"Nothing, it's just-there's something I need to tell you before we move on. And it's-it's just," He rubbed his head, knowing how terrible he was at this. "I'm sorry...for everything. I've been stubborn, obnoxious, self-pitying, and cowardly...and worse, I didn't even confide my discouragement into the only friend I have left."

Leon raised a hand. "Look, Wolf, it's alright. You don't have to-"

"No, it's not alright, Leon, just-" He held up a weary hand, and sighed. "Just let me say it. Acting the way I have-well, it's not really a first for me. But this time, it was worse. I had been so frustrated and anguished with the loss of my Inner Power and the defeats I was dealing with, that I...well, I got selfish, and worse, it made me unappreciative of you. All this time, I've been too busy moping and feeling sorry for myself that I..." He looked down guiltily. "That I've forgotten how you've stood by me all these years, all this time...suffering the same hardships and wounds, _without _Inner Power, dealing with my stupidity and demands without question..."

His voice shook unstably, his throat heavy with emotional guilt. Leon's eyes were large, taken aback at how serious Wolf was.

Taking a deep breath and looking up, Wolf continued. "I've forgotten...that I wouldn't want to be here, enduring these fights and combating these struggles with anyone less than the man I've known the longest...and the only friend I have. So I promise...I'll make things up like I said I would. I'll make up for being such a terrible Leader, for lacking the wisdom, courage, and necessary guidance." He lowered his head. "I just hope you can forgive me...for making you put up with all this."

Leon looked at him for a long time. Then, his scowl lifted, his eyes stopped appearing cold...and he placed a warm hand on Wolf's shoulder.

Wolf looked up in surprise.

"You don't have to make anything up to me, Wolf. You already have."

"I have?" Wolf blinked. "But-when?"

"Right when you swallowed your fear just now...when you cast off your discouragement and stood up to Drakon, like Riley told me you did...this entire time, you've been making it up." He smiled. "Since we've gotten here, you've been showing all that wisdom and courage you've been talking about...the kind I knew you've had all along. You've gone back to being the Leader that inspired me to follow you as a part of Star Wolf in the first place...and you've now inspired me to keep going." His electric-blue eyes softened sympathetically. "Look, Wolf...I was never mad at you. I was terrified. I was so fearful that you had finally lost your reason to keep going...and it was painful to watch you like that. You don't know how helpless that makes me feel as a friend...it's like watching you wriggle in pain behind glass. And I can't tell you how happy it's made me that you're back to normal...and how brave you've acted. The way you've confessed and admitted to your mistakes, the way you did just now..." He smiled affectionately. "...it's ten times harder and more courageous than diving into a fire to rescue a girl."

Wolf's smiling mouth opened, but he couldn't say anything. Everything Leon had said...it was worth every struggle and whip-lash he had recieved. He had gotten more than his confidence back...he had gotten his friend back.

All he could do was smile sheepishly. "I guess I'm glad you haven't given up on me yet...after how much of a dumbass I've been."

"C'mon, Wolf...you know me better than that..."

Leon turned around and kicked at the gas pedal, revving the speeder up.

"You can give up on yourself as many times as you want...but I won't give up on you even once."

Wolf smiled...again, yearning to say something back...but just resolved to remaining silent.

"Alright, now that all that sentimental crap's over," Leon said, stiffening his voice. "I say we get moving. We got ourselves a ride, fresh supplies, plenty of water, no chains, and enough desert for our hearts' content. What's the next move?"

For a moment, Wolf looked puzzled for why he was asking him that...until he realized he was waiting for an order.

Wolf looked over to the horizon, his eyes comforted with the empty, free desert hills than he had ever been before. The lines in the sand from where the hover-barrier of passing speeders had tread gave him a sense of a new path. Then, he looked down, and saw a fragment of red cloth on his bandages. He plucked it off and looked at it, realizing that it must've been part of Drakon's sash, probably torn off from where he had shoved it into the rock-grinder.

Shifting his limp arm over the seat, he wrapped it around the side of his face, making a hasty, but somewhat triumphant new eye-patch with it. He tied it firmly, and put some confident tension in his voice.

"We'll head for this Catalaya place. We'll lay low, keep covered, rest and heal up for a bit...I think that's what we need most right now. Once we've recovered, we'll scour the area for information...see what we can find out about these SharpClaw...maybe run into Riley while we're at it. But our top priority is to find a vehicle...ship, shuttle, airship...any way to get off this planet."

"And your Inner Power?"

Wolf looked at him. "What?"

"Don't forget," Leon added, as he primed the ignition. "We gotta find some way to get your Inner Power back while we're at it."

Wolf smiled, a small sense of hope tugging at his mind, as he looked at the horizon.

"Right. And get my Inner Power back."

_RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!_

The blue speed thrusters on the back of the speeder hummed and glowed as Leon revved it up, and they shot forward, kicking up sand and speeding steadily towards the rolling desert hills, the twin suns shining above them.

_A few hours later, back at the SharpClaw Slave Yard..._

The SharpClaw Army arrived to a site of ashes, shattered stone, and groaning SharpClaw Elites.

The Legionaries sent from the palace turned stones over and poked at the ashes with their tall, spiked Halberds, their plated armor clanking as they towered over the wounded survivors of the uprising.

Both Elites and Legionaries cringed at the shouts in the distance, as a tall SharpClaw continued to yell at one of the Elites.

"Stop stuttering and blathering, and _answer the damn question!" _The SharpClaw howled. "Who lit the beacon? Who sent for us to come here and give aid! Answer me, _now!"_

The Elite on the floor, with a face wrapped in bandages, flung his arms up defensively. "I _told _you, I don't know _who _lit up the beacon! We were on the ground fighting the slaves when it happened!"

"So you expect me to believe that a mob of feeble, miniscule little warm-bloods with pick-axes and shovels overwhelmed a bunch of SharpClaw?!" The SharpClaw spat. "Do you think General Talon will even let you keep the skin on your back with such a bullshit excuse?!"

"Centurion Ryuudas!"

The Centurion turned at the call of a Legionary behind him.

"What is it? Any progress?"

The SharpClaw Legionary heaved his halberd on his shoulder. "We've searched the remnants of the Temple. We found no traces or remains of Head Scourge Drakon. But what we found beneath the severed columns are enough to confirm his death."

He dropped a shredded line of barbed metal, its spiked chords charred and ashen from the fire.

The Centurion nudged the burnt Adder Tongues with his clawed feet.

"So it's true...the Head Scourge _is _dead. _And _his army is crippled..._and _the Temple's destroyed..._and _the slaves are gone..." He cursed under his breath. "General Talon is _not _going to like this. Does anyone have the casualty count?"

A copper-colored Legionary raised his pike.

"We've examined all the bodies, Centurion. The count comes down to 75 slaves dead, and 274 SharpClaw dead. And, uh...there's something over here we think you ought to see."

The Centurion's reptilian eyes widened, before narrowing at the bandaged Elite on the ground.

"You! Come with me, now!"

The Elite hobbled behind them fearfully, as the Centurion leaned over to the Legionary and hissed under his breath as they walked.

_"Almost three hundred dead? _How could slaves kill so many in a short period of time, unless..." His eyes darted around suspiciously. "Maybe the TRU had something to do with this. They've been awfully quiet since the battle on the Goras' quarry."

"I don't think so, sir. It's been less than a year since that incident...there's no way they could've staged another attack that quickly. But we have a suspicion that, um...well..."

He stopped and pointed up ahead.

"You better see for yourself."

The Centurion turned confusedly, until his mouth opened slightly. Handing his scimitar to the Legionary, he walked over to a darkened spot on the ground. Muttering to himself, he kneeled over and touched the spot on the ground.

In front of him, etched like a swollen bruise in the sand, was a charred, worn, concave crater in the ground, with fragments of sand chiseled and burnt like from a meteor strike. The ground felt pulsed and burnt in from the effect of a shockwave, and the sand around it was littered with SharpClaw footprints...along with smaller, padded foot-prints as well.

"What the hell...is this...?" The Centurion murmured under his breath.

"None of us had a clue, at first," The Legionary continued. "But we think...we _think _that maybe...it's got something to do with that...Inner Power that Talon was always talking about."

"Impossible," The Centurion said. "There hasn't been a trace of Inner Power since that old wretch Sauru disappeared more than a century ago...if there was any Power left, it must've died off with him. But..." He ran his claws against the ashes, thinking hard. "...with the way General Talon takes an interest in Inner Power, I think it's best that we tell him about this. But if a slave _did _do this...who was it...?"

"I-It was that canine!"

The Centurion stood and whirled his head around. "What canine?"

The SharpClaw Elite with a bandaged face stuttered in terror. "I-I was one of the few sent to go and kill him when the revolt started...but I was one of the few who survived."

"What do you mean, 'survived'?" The Centurion asked sharply. "He was just a warm-blood. How many could he have killed?"

_"Dozens," _The Elite muttered, lips trembling. "Dozens of SharpClaw. He just kept killing them...swatting them like flies, fighting on par with them, slaughtering them mercilessly..." His eyes became huge as he recalled it. "He fought...just like a SharpClaw."

The Legionaries looked at each other. The Centurion narrowed his eyes.

"Who was this canine? What kind of dog was he? What was his name?"

"He-wasn't a dog. He was too big, his ears were too long-he must've been a different breed. But I don't know what his name was," He added hurriedly, afraid that the Centurion would think he was lying. "He claimed that he didn't have one. But he-_he didn't-" _He swallowed fearfully, recalling the entire battle. "He didn't fight like any warm-blood I had ever seen. He moved too unnaturally...wielding a blade that looked like a RedEye Claw...and moved rapidly on his feet. It was like...his feet were too swift for mortal ground, and his body itself became the wind...we kept on losing sight of him in the smoke...sometimes confusing the canine himself _for _the smoke, since he had fur as grey as the ash...the only time we could spot him was when he was up close...close enough to see that demonic, shining, horrible, purple eye of his and whenever he attacked.."

He shuddered, clutching his head with shaking hands.

"H-He...he would swing his blade and slash SharpClaw into shreds...cutting them down to size like children. Sometimes, he'd spar with Elites with his bare hands...he'd rip their faces open, and pummel the flesh underneath until his face was painted black with their blood-"

The other Legionaries' eyes widened, a few of them shifting their feet uncomfortably.

"And-whenever we'd get cut, we'd stagger back, or go slower while recovering from the pain...but _he..._" His eyes started to bulge in terror. "He wouldn't slow down at all. We'd cut him...stab him with our spears...bruise him...claw him...strike him with our arrows...but he wouldn't lose speed..._he just kept getting faster. _It-i-it was like-like he couldn't _feel _the wounds...he couldn't feel pain. He just kept on killing...covered in SharpClaw and his own blood...roaring and baring his teeth..." He pointed a shaky finger to the crater. "He wasn't a warm-blood, I'm telling you! He couldn't feel pain...his feet swerved to quickly against the ground...he wasn't human, or SharpClaw...not a spirit nor a demon...not the day nor the night...neither living nor dead..." His eyes bulged as he uttered through trembling lips. "H-He was like a phantom of the ashes...like a Jyrukahaad!"

The Legionaries' dropped their astonished looks and started to snicker.

The Centurion scowled. "Don't talk stupid, man. Jyrukahaaden, demons and spirits are just myths to keep hatchling SharpClaw up at night. The fumes from the fire must have manipulated your mind."

"I'm not insane, I _saw _him!" The Elite wailed with huge eyes. "I saw him, I fought him! He was here...and he wasn't human!"

One of the Legionaries stopped laughing, looking at the SharpClaw Centurion.

"He might be babbling about the phantom sir...but we _did _find a set of SharpClaw corpses a few yards from the crater...with claw-wounds like he described. If there _was _a canine, he was responsible for a lot of deaths."

The Centurion turned. "How many corpses did you find with those marks?"

"About thirty, sir."

All the Legionaries stopped laughing immediately. _Thirty _SharpClaw, dead at the hands of _one _warm-blood?

Maybe there was some truth to the mad Elite's words...

The Centurion examined the crater, scraping some of the reddened sand with his claws.

"Yes, well..." He said tartly. "Whoever this phantom friend of ours is, he can still bleed. He's left quite a blood trail...probably headed to Catalaya. Lieutenant!" He barked suddenly.

A Legionary rushed up to him. "Sir!"

The Centurion stood, pointing to the outskirts of the desert. "After you and your men are done examining the ruins, head to the Palace and tell General Talon about everything we've discovered here. The rest of you, head to your speeders and mount up! Head to the inner section of the city and start putting up warrants for this canine's capture! Look up any leads and get information from any mercenaries...find out if he has any ties with the TRU or anyone else. Scour any areas of the city that he might choose to hide in."

A Legionary handed him his scimitar. "Should we seal the gates to the outer entrances of the city...you know in case, he tries to escape?"

The Centurion stood, examining something he had found near the crater.

"There's no reason for that...he has nowhere else to run. That city is the only source of food, water, and civilization on the face of this entire planet. He wouldn't dare risk heading out into the desert...and take his chances facing Death's cloak. But we have to hurry...if it's true, he _does _have the Inner Power...then General Talon will want him alive."

He held out his hand, examining what he had found...a small strand of discarded fur...

"And if it's a chase he wants, then we'll give him the only kind of chase a SharpClaw provides to its prey..."

…One short, blood-stained strand of shining grey fur. His yellow reptilian eyes glinted, smiling to show his jagged, nightmarish, gleaming fangs.

"...a _hunt."_

_End of Chapter_


	17. Chapter 17

A quick message for you all:

Sorry about the delays with the last set of chapters…I wasn't really planning to dwell on the Slave Yard portion of this story for that long.

But I can safely say that I'm relieved to have gotten this far. All of my efforts have been set to reach this point in the story, since a lot will happen.

Enjoy!

_Chapter 17: The Desert Blossom and the Cactus Flower_

_Catalaya City, 5 ALW (HMD Period)_

Throughout the entirety of Titania's desolate wastes, only one spot seemed to teem with the most life. Where the rest of the barren surface continued to sway its sandy landscape under the blazing heat of the suns, one place seemed to defy it with cool air.

Cast down below a veil of cloudy mists, the faint lines of jaded roofs and plated pinnacles poked out through the soaring heights of the city. As the night parted and the dawn arose, the mist dissolved to expose the massive colossus of buildings below.

The city itself stood as a figure of stone-chiseled elegance above the green marshes and palm-dotted oasis, in contrast to the lifeless, sandy plains that held it in the palm of the desert's hand. Huge, stone walls towered ominously over the humbled ground, dotted with terraces and arched battlements. But even their massive hold was not enough to conceal the hundreds upon hundreds of spiraling towers and rooftops that rose above it. Smoke drifted from massive pipes and chimneys above the architecture, the gliding Temenegru birds disappearing behind their coiling clumps.

In front of the city's gigantic, iron-bound, creaking main gate was a collection of small, miserable-looking mud houses, scattered around the city's gates, but just far enough to be excluded from all the bustling life within. Toppled over and roofed with crinkled and faded cardboard, the small group of shacks remained undisturbed, except for the occasional groan from behind the cloth doors. These were the homes of the slaves that toiled under the heat at the numerous architectural projects that surrounded the city.

Planted around the paved road that led into the city, almost standing as a warning to all newcomers, was a set of tilted poles...with strings of skeletal hands wreathed around them. Feline claws, avian talons, reptilian nails...rattled against one another in the wind. This was an obvious attempt of the SharpClaw to warn all new arrivals before they entered through the city gates...

Theft, disobedience, and impudence would not go unpunished within these walls...not with the SharpClaw in control.

Past the massive gates and walls lay the immense city of Catalaya.

Adobe houses, wooden balconies, jaded domes, oriental-tiled rooftops, and ivory palaces rose and fell as far as the eye could see, spreading its reach across the zig-zagging paved streets and spiraling stairways. Walls divided different sections of the city into various districts, lined with speeder tracks for SharpClaw vessels. From afar, the city's color seemed to decrease as the architecture descended, the simple houses making up the humble grays and browns on the bottom while the jade palaces and rooftop gardens adorned the city heights with luscious green, gold, red and white...an indication of the hierarchy that dictated the dwellers of the city.

But high above all the other buildings, glaring down at the humbled architecture with ivory walls, golden towers and colossally-large gates, was a banner-strewn and elaborately-deorated fortress. It sat in the very center of the city, and towered dominantly over even the highest buildings around it.

It was the SharpClaw Palace...the resting house of Catalya's ruler, General Talon.

For anyone new to the city, it was truly a sight to behold...a sight that even the Inquisitor-controlled Corneria City had yet to match. Such a place, even if it was under SharpClaw rule, couldn't be denied a wondrous stare and a breath of disbelief.

That was, of course, assuming that a breath could be heard in this massive place. In fact, it was probable that no one would able to even hear themselves _think _in this environment.

The entire city was shaking and echo-filled from the bustling havoc that reaped the streets, particularity in the Market Square. People of every race, of every kind were moving about through the immensely-crowded streets, moving in every direction with different purposes and agendas in mind. The crowd's size was so massive that there wasn't even an inch of the paved ground that was visible...if one looked down, all they'd see were the rapidly moving shapes of people's feet: sandals, boots, bandaged heels and blistered bare feet scurrying and stomping in all directions.

Felines, canines, reptiles, amphibians, avian, rodents and marsupials of every size and age roamed the streets in the muffled roar of voices, the raging humidity only adding to the heat and confusion. Some were in faded army uniform, others in casual dress, some trudging in clunky flight suits, withered rags, flapping coats and even a few desert robes. Desert Raiders from the Far East moved through the crowd like rats, their pointed Fennec ears poking out of their wrappings.

Bundle-clad mothers dragging grubby, crying children peered over the crowds in search of a specific market stand or a child they had misplaced. Some of the women carried food, while their children fished into their mothers' baskets and ate the food.

Cripples leaning on crutches or limp limbs sat hopelessly on the side of the streets, not even attempting to limp their way through this hectic crowd...at least not during the day. In this bustling atmosphere, relying on the courtesy of strangers to wait for you wasn't a wise choice.

Servants and slaves sprinted back and forth, some carrying huge buckets at the ends of a large stick. Every time water sloshed out at even the slightest mist-step, they would wince at the thought of the punishment they would receive once they reached their destination.

Giant, colorful merchant stands were set up all around the streets, their wares displaying clay pots, pans, onions, heaps of bread, mountains of cheese, barrels of wine, clusters of garlic, herbs, spices, meats, knives, teas, cloths cheaply-crafted "artifacts", and dozens of multi-colored, fruits, cloths, and fish. Imported beasts from distant regions of the desert snarled and squawked in their cages. Venders stood from behind their stands, their smiles on the bypassers but their eyes on their pockets, as they yelled and called out for people to stop by. Some offered the best seasoning in the city, while others claimed to have vials of bewitched substances or elixirs of youth. Customers and venders were locked in a heated argument, shouting for a demand for the money given or a lowering of the cost paid. Workers tapped and clacked frantically at abacuses in their hand, eyes darting to the pile of coins dropped in front of them. And although the shopkeepers smiled and gestured courteously at bypassers, they kept a wary hand on the short knives tucked in their belts to claim the hands of all who attempted to steal.

Clanking pots and angry shouts echoed from behind the doors of the various restaurants that surrounded the market complex, the cracks in the kitchen doors letting out wafts of smoke and delicious aromas of the sizzling ramen and spicy curry being prepared within...a gruesome torture for the hungry-onlooker, to be sure. Giant plumes of steam erupted from the chimneys of huge bathhouses where towel-carrying attendants rushed back and forth.

Bandits and thieves slunk off into shady alley-ways, whispering to walls and giving secret knocks...and then disappearing through secret doors. Men huddled around trash heaps, gossiping and arguing with one another.

Cooks chopped meat. Blacksmiths made clanging noises and created sparks as they worked.

Drunks staggered and wallowed in a disoriented stupor, groaning, singing and insulting the ground they sat on.

Beggars lifted their bowls with mild attempts to accept offerings, promising good fortune and blessings on those who were generous.

Ragged, poor minstrels strummed on harps and guitars as they sat on the side of the road, singing of bygone days and forgotten heroes...of a time that no longer existed.

As cities went, it was the perfect setting. There was no good, evil, cowardly, brave or moral. Out here, all that existed was the next item to be bought, the next profit to be made...and the next place to go to.

But every now and then, this suitable atmosphere was broken in an instant, as giant drums echoed from above the city walls.

_BOOM! BOOM!_

Everyone stopped what they were doing and moved aside as a line of SharpClaw Legionaries marched down the street. Their raptor-like feet scraped against the cobblestone ground, armor clanking, and pikes gleaming. They wore their fine sashes and jeweled arm-bands openly, without even the slightest fear of being robbed. Women beckoned their children back, and civilians cowered with fearful views, while the more courageous shot the SharpClaw spiteful glares.

But the Legionaries weren't their usual, brutal selves today…they didn't sneer at the beggars whimpering on the pavement, or turn stands over to get a free "discount" on meats or goods. Their reptilian eyes darted back and forth through the crowds, arching their necks and gripping their weapons tensely.

Anyone watching could tell from experience…they were looking for someone.

After the Legionaries gave one suspicious look around, they continued walking until they disappeared down the street. The crowds refilled the briefly-emptied streets and went about their business, pushing carts and arguing like nothing had happened.

Of course, by now, with the SharpClaw providing the convenient distraction, no one had seen a long-fingered pair of hands snatch a set of clothes hanging on a laundry line between two of the adobe houses.

As sound and busy atmosphere drowned out all suspicion, Leon dropped back down in the abandoned alley way, relieved that no one had seen him…but not entirely surprised by it. He dropped the bundle of ragged clothes on the ground.

"Alright. These were the best ones I could find…not to mention the only ones that could fit you. I know you keep saying you've shrunk since you've been here, but seriously..."

Wolf stepped out of the shade and rummaged through the pile, looking at the grubby shirt and pants without much enthusiasm.

"They'll do for now, I guess. They're bound to be better than those rags from the Slave Yard." His snout wrinkled and his fur spiked as he leaned forward and gave them a cautious sniff. "You found these on a _clean _laundry line?"

"Yeah, well…they probably smell better than we do," Leon said regretfully, slipping on his new shirt. "When was the last time _we _bathed since coming here?"

Wolf buttoned down a ragged long coat with a bit of nostalgic appreciation. "You can thank that day-long trek through the desert for that…no one told me we had to walk the rest of the way to this city on foot."

"Hey, why are you talking like it's _my _fault that the speeder bike ran out of fuel?" Leon asked in a somewhat annoyed tone.

Wolf sighed and leaned back against the alley wall. "I'm not, I'm not. It wasn't not your fault…"

In truth, Wolf hated running around like this. Stealing rags, fleeing like rats, scavenging for food….it wasn't anything like the old days, when they were pilots. Back then, the only obstacles they dodged were capture and laser-fire…not starvation. Not to mention that no one in this city recognized him. True, he never had a good reputation wherever he went back when he was a pilot, but receiving a fearful grimace or a spiteful glare was better than being dismissed as common street vermin.

But regardless, he didn't voice these complaints to Leon. He knew a Leader should never whine in front of his men about such common things, even when the situation was this bad.

Besides, he didn't want Leon to think he was still mopey and discouraged. He had to maintain a streak of confidence, for Leon's sake.

A disgruntled Leon hung his head. "Sorry I couldn't find better clothes."

Wolf sat up, making his voice more up-front and authoritative. "No, don't worry…they're fine, at least they fit," he reassured him. "We should count our blessings that we've made it this far…and plan the next move."

The thought of moving forward seemed to motivate Leon.

"What do you think we should? Ask around, look for some transportation off this place?"

"I don't think so…Riley said that the SharpClaw had made this place a quarantine planet. While that doesn't rule out the existence of transport in this place, we can't waste time and effort looking around blindly in a strange city." He rubbed his chin. "Let's just find some food and shelter for now. We have to keep a low profile in this place."

Leon nodded. "Yeah…if we're caught, then we'll be right back where we started. These SharpClaw are scouring the place for us…not that we're anything special…lots of slaves escaped."

Wolf peered out the alley, scanning the passing crowds. "I wish we knew this city better, though. If we act out of place or take the wrong turn, they're gonna know we're off-worlders with just a glance. We have to blend in…"

"You think maybe we should look for Riley?" Leon suggested. "By the way he talked, he's been here for years. He must know this city front and back…maybe even help us leave."

Wolf shook his head. "I don't think we should risk looking too hard in a place like this…it'll be like looking for a ship in the Meteo Belt. Right now, we should concentrate on finding food."

_Raaawwooo!_

There was an abrupt, gurgling sound from Wolf's stomach.

Leon raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Are you saying that because we need food, or just because you're hungry?"

"We need provisions!" Wolf insisted, looking around embarrassedly. "And yes, so what if I'm hungry? I should be, after wandering this Goddamn place for so long!"

Leon laughed. "Yeah, okay…I'm hungry too. What have we got in the matter of money?"

Wolf emptied his pockets, dumping a few crinkled wrappers and scrunched-up bills out. "Not much. Just a few Lylatines…and I don't think they use those here. We'll need some of the local currency."

Leon grumbled as he went through his pockets too. "I don't have anything either. I wonder if-Hey, wait!" His eyes lit up suddenly, rummaging through his jacket. He pulled out a wad of badges with a stone in the middle. "I almost forgot. I meant to give you this earlier."

Wolf held out his hand quizzically, not recognizing the heap of belongings as Leon dropped them in his palm. After turning the odd blue stone in the middle for a moment, he recognized it as the sapphire he always carried.

"Oh, yeah, this….where'd you find it? I got it taken from me when I was captured."

"Riley had it in his pockets. Must've taken it off of one of the SharpClaw he took out when he was going through their bodies. I would've just asked him for it, but, well…" He pointed at the badges. "I'd have to explain why some of these had 'Venomian Army, 300th Squadron' written on them…"

Wolf smiled wryly. "Yeah I see your point-wait, you went through his pockets? What else did you find?"

He, of course, didn't question _why _Leon was pickpocketing Riley…that was normal for him.

Leon shrugged. "Nothing that can feed us…so I let him keep most of it. Just some darts, a picture of him and some other kid…and this." He held up a small book. "It's a dictionary that translates English to SharpClaw language. Might help us read some of the signs out here." He tossed it to Wolf. "You take it. You're better at fast translating than I am."

Wolf flipped through it and then pocketed it. "Thanks, but we're going to need more that to feed ourselves. We should look around…find some way to get a hold of some money."

Leon smiled mischievously at the bypassers' pockets. "Or 'receive' it, from generous donors." He turned to Wolf. "We might look suspicious if we travel together, though."

Wolf nodded. "You're right….we should split up, cover more ground." Old battle tactics were coming back to him. He looked down at the sapphire with some interest. "You think that, maybe…we could get some money from this? You know, exchange it?"

Leon looked at him strangely. "Exchange _that? _Are you sure? I mean…" He folded his arms. "It's not my business, but you _are _pretty attached to that. You've been carrying it forever, or at least since…" He stopped, suddenly looking uncomfortable. "You're just attached to it, that's all."

Wolf blinked. "Why would I be attached to it? It's just a stone."

Now Leon looked really surprised. "But you've had it since-" He looked down uncomfortably again. "Well-you know…the…the _Cerinian _incident. You never told me much about what happened, but….I know it affected you…_a lot. _And that stone had a lot to do with it."

Wolf didn't know what Leon was talking about. Well, he did…_sort of. _A part of his stomach tugged sickeningly out of instinct, almost telling him that he _should _feel bad about Cerinia. Now that he thought about it, something _did _happen there…didn't it?

But….what was it? Wolf couldn't remember…except that it had something to do with the sapphire…

A scary realization hit him.

_Oh crap…_

_That's ANOTHER thing I can't remember…_

_What's wrong with me? I can't remember any of that..._

_I can't have amnesia…I remember SOME things…_

_But why can't I remember all of them…?_

He was starting to think that the Adder Tongues must've done something to him….that, or maybe that weird thing with his Inner Power, aboard the _Anatarres…_

"Wolf?"

Leon's voice made Wolf jump, yanking him down out of thought and back into reality.

"Y-Yeah," Wolf said quickly. "You're right. I'm not exchanging it." He pocketed the sapphire quickly. "Anyway, um…you just look around, and I'll meet you in a bit. Don't go too far. We can't lose each other in this place, or else we'll be in deeper shit."

Leon nodded. "Right. I'll meet you at that Grocer Pig's stand over there in two hours. That's two hours, got it?"

Wolf nodded and stepped out, the rush of the crowd filling his ears.

"And, Wolf…"

He turned, still bothered by his thoughts and somewhat impatient. "What?"

"Don't get into ANYTHING until I catch up with you later," Leon said, a hint of concern in his voice. "Got it? You haven't fully healed…and I won't be there to help if you get in a fight with the locals or SharpClaw. And don't try to steal anything either…" He pointed an expert finger at him. "I know it might be tempting as you get hungrier, but trust me….I know you, Wolf, and you can't steal anything without being seen to save your own life. It isn't your thing."

"Okay, okay," Wolf said, a little annoyed. "You be careful too. I'll meet up with you later."

"By the way, Wolf…"

Wolf rolled his eyes in exasperation. _"What?"_

Leon looked around cautiously, and then leaned forward, lowering his voice. "Should I keep a lookout for any information that, you know…could help you with your Inner Power?"

Wolf's irritated look faded. "Well…I mean….no. Not right now, just…concentrate on getting food first. That's your first priority." He was about to walk off, but the uneasy feeling from earlier irked him to look back. "But…if you hear anything…let me know, alright?"

Leon smiled knowingly. "I will. Now get going…and stay out of trouble."

Wolf rolled his eyes before heading in the opposite direction. "Yes, mother."

_About half an hour later…_

By the time the twin suns had set slightly to indicate the coming noon, Leon was practically rich.

Through the engagement of conversation, small talk, and bargaining with some of the local travelers in the city, he had managed to gain a good handful of copper, silver, and gold coins, as well as a map of some kind, a studded pocket watch, and a tablet that provided some kind of rank written in the SharpClaw language.

But the problem was…virtually _none _of these things were edible, which made them worthless in Leon's hungry eyes. Not to mention that he couldn't fathom the value of these strange coins, and didn't want to risk being swindled upon paying the wrong amount to the local venders. And he wasn't about to stop and ask someone how the currency worked….whoever he'd ask would probably just take the money and run off.

The more frustrated he got, the more hopeless attempts at food he conjured up. And the more thought about food, the more upset his stomach got.

Tapping at the watch with a bit of interest, he walked through the crowds as inconspicuously as possible, imitating every step and trying not to look like some confused off-worlder. He tried to take his mind off of his growling stomach, and let his eyes wander over the walls that lined the street, decorated with large and fantastic carvings of SharpClaw warriors and alabaster deities.

_Have to admit, _He thought. _Whoever this General Talon is, he might be a ruthless bastard in the way he rules, but excellent taste in the way he designs this city._

_I wish Corneria City looked as grand as this…and as clean, for that matter…_

Then, as he was imagining a colossal stone carving of his own face on a wall of that size on Corneria or Katina (particularily one highlighting his greatest assassinations), he spotted a group of men surrounding something and talking excitedly.

Sighing with a defeated sense that he wasn't going to feed himself any time soon, he walked towards the crowd. He peered a bit closer, seeing what all the excitement was about.

The group stood around a tall, wooden post with a billboard bolted to it. On the billboard were flapping pieces of paper that had been nailed there. Some were yellowed and torn from sitting there for so long, while others were fresh and white from being nailed there recently. All of the text was written in the strange, curvy SharpClaw writing, but under each description, along with an inked picture, was the only thing Leon could recognize…

Sets of numbers ranging from 200,000 to 300,000,000, each with the SharpClaw currency symbol stamped in front of it.

Leon's eyes widened in realization, as he stood there struck with excitement, disbelief…and confusion.

_Those are amounts of money being offered as rewards…_

_Then that must mean….these are bounties…?!_

His heart pounded, his mind racing. There were bounty hunters in this city? REAL ones?!

_Wait a minute…this can't be right…._

_The Inquisitor's forces exterminated the last of the Lylat mercenaries years ago….they're all dead…_

_But then….who are these bounties meant for…?_

_And why are the SharpClaw of all people posting them…? Are there actually mercenaries and bounty hunters here….?_

_None of this makes any sense…_

He looked at some of the ink pictures, but none of them were people he recognized. There was a lot of talk and arguing about one bounty in particular, the whitest scrap that had been nailed the most recently. There was no picture provided, but the description was highlighted in red and stamped with the SharpClaw Insignia. The price at the bottom was 10,000,000…the largest on the board.

The men around it talked excitedly.

"10 million? For just one man?"

"That's impossible! Who the hell is it?"

"I dunno…someone called the Jyrukahaad…like the phantom. What is that, some kind of alias?"

"Beats me. What kind of person would be worth 10 million?! _No one's _ever been worth that much!"

"Apparently someone that the SharpClaw can't catch. I'll bet the Fortuna Pyros will get him first!"

"The Pyros? Nah, the Sector Y Aces will get him!"

Leon retreated quietly, not recognizing any of the names that they were yelling at each other in argument. They sounded like the names of gangs, the type made up of bounty hunters...but that was assuming that there _were _bounty hunters at all.

Pondering on this as he walked along, his nose caught a very strong scent.

It wasn't the aroma of food being cooked, or the smell of garbage rotting in an alley way. It was thick, sweetened, and hung in the air long enough to cause people to cough as they inhaled it.

Years of dabbling in the black market was enough to make Leon recognize the smell: it was flavored tobacco. The thick puffs of smoke crept through the gaps between a door made up of a bead-curtain, hanging over the doorway of a rather fancy-looking building.

Curious, he swept the beads aside and stepped in.

Any other person would have gagged and almost suffocated upon stepping inside, since the entire room was thick and foggy from a massive layer of smoke. Even the servants and attendants covered their mouths sickly, eyes pink and watery from the stuffy environment.

But it wasn't the smoke that bothered Leon-he had worked and sold enough drugs to make him withstand this kind of environment, or even enjoy it. It was the customers in the back.

A group of burly, armored, exhausted-looking SharpClaw, sat on velvet cushions and pillows in a reserved section of the room. They were talking lazily and smoking hookah through long stem-pipes attached to a tall, golden arghile stand in the middle of the room. They looked a lot like dragons, blowing fumes of smoke from their mouths and reptilian nostrils while lounging around. Terrified attendant-girls stood nearby, holding trays of wine with shaking hands.

This must've been some kind of relaxation or leisure chamber, because their armor was slackened and their scimitars were unbuckled and lying against the wall.

As Leon watched them talk, he managed snag a few sentences from the laughing and drawling.

"-and I've never seen General Talon in such a obsessed fuss-"

"-I'm telling you, if I hear one more word about this so-called 'Jyrukahaad'-and his supposed Inner Power-"

Leon froze as he heard the familiar word. Suddenly, he became more interested in the conversation than the smoke. He was about to step forward when the manager-a stout and nervous-looking rabbit-blocked him.

"Er-can I help you, sir?" he asked timidly.

Leon looked past him, his eyes locked on the SharpClaw in the back."Yes, uh, the day's work has been long and hard...I'm in the mood for a comfortable seat and something to smoke, if you don't mind."

"I'm afraid we're-um-closed, for right now, sir," The manager said, with a nervous glance at the SharpClaw. "Our smoking room is reserved, so if you'd-"

"Oh, of course, I understand," Leon replied, slipping a hand into his pocket and pulling out some coins. "I wasn't going to go in without paying."

"It's, um-well, it's not a matter of _money," _the rabbit stuttered. "Look, I-I think it's best if you left, sir-"

One of the SharpClaw, apparently irritated by the noise, threw down his pipe.

"What is it _now?" _He spat impatiently, eyeing Leon. "You, commoner! _Get out! _This is a reserved room, SharpClaw only, not for any of you beggar filth! Out!"

"But we're all good reptiles here, aren't we?" Leon cooed tartly, placing the money in the astonished rabbit's hand and walking past him. "Surely you wouldn't deny a fellow cold-blood the pleasure of a nice smoke and a pleasant chat, would you?"

"You ain't a true cold-blood like us, you wretched Didn't you hear me tell you to _get the hell out?_" The SharpClaw growled, causing a few of the attendant-girls to cower. He turned to a fat orange SharpClaw sitting next to him. "Malshara, get this stupid ass-clown out, he's annoying me!"

The fat SharpClaw groaned, chewing disgrunteldly on his pipe. "Meh, give it a rest, will ya, Jalraan? Talon's had me all chasing his runaway slaves all day, and I can barely feel the scales on my feet. Just let him linger, and he'll leave...it's not like he can handle a smoke anyway." He sat up slightly, calling out to Leon lazily. "You hear that, lizard? This isn't your common weed. This is Mu'assel tobacco…to strong for those puny little lungs of yours to handle."

Leon raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I'll be the judge of that."

The other SharpClaw sat up abruptly, reaching for their scimitars with low growling as Leon strode over. Picking up a discarded pipe, he put it to his lips, and inhaled deeply. The Legionaries and servants alike watched with wide-eyed amazement, as the strange chameleon kept the pipe to his mouth for almost a minute, before blowing out a perfect ring of scented smoke.

"Hmmm…" He murmured, sniffing the smoke in detailed examination. "Well, you're right, it _is _Mu'sassel…marinated pretty well, it would seem. Judging by the strong scent, I'd say it's grown locally…on one of the local moons, I'd say? The molasses it's been mixed with is a bit old, though….and the coals inside the arghile haven't been changed yet, its worn the smoke down a bit. Still, not bad…not bad at all…"

The SharpClaw looked at each other in surprise. The main one who had been complaining shrugged with raised eyebrows.

"Alright, lizard...fair enough, you can sit down. If you know your tobacco that well…and can handle that kind of smoke, than you're more or less a true cold-blood. Good for you...for a moment I thought you were some common filth."

"If every other man in this streets could handle a fine fume such as this, there wouldn't be any left for the real reptilian superiors who appreciate it...such as myself." He blew another puff of smoke, before crossing his legs on the cushion and squatting down. "But please...the troubles of a humble chameleon pale to those of such able SharpClaw, who break their backs to keep order in a city like this. Come, explain to me why you're so exhausted...share your woes with a fellow reptile and settle over some fine tobacco."

The amount of flattery and false sympathy that rolled off his slick tongue was enough to make _him _sick...but years of bargaining and smooth-talking had made him perfect it.

The SharpClaw sat back with an irritated puff. "None of us here are exhausted…exhaustion is a burden for warm-bloods, not SharpClaw. I just wish Drakon would lay off the escape already."

"Yeah, so what if a few slaves escape, how's that a problem?" Another Legionary piped up. "Slaves escape all the time. Probably some more TRU involvement…"

Leon nodded, pretending to sympathize even though he didn't know what "TRU" was. "Oh, yes…I've heard a great deal about that."

"But he's not fussing over the TRU," The first SharpClaw insisted. "It's a slave in particular that escaped. One with Inner Power, too…"

Leon's eyes lit up, but continued to smoke calmly. _Well, Wolf…it seems your reputation has spread farther than you thought…._ "You don't say?"

"Yeah," The orange SharpClaw said, suddenly sounding uneasy. "Killed himself thirty or forty SharpClaw…_and _Drakon as well. Or at least, that's what I heard."

"Oh, Drakon?" Leon said, twirling his pipe lazily. "I heard he was just some cowardly fool, too stupid to be amongst other SharpClaw. He had it coming."

The SharpClaw looked at him for a moment. Suddenly, as Leon blew a wavering puff of smoke, he wondered fearfully if he had stepped out of bounds with that last comment.

Then, they all laughed heartily.

"Ha! Yeah, you're right!" The orange SharpClaw laughed. "He was weak, a stain on the proud image of Talon's Army…even the most common of men could see that!"

Leon blew out some smoke in relief, trying to fuel his voice with confidence.

"Yes, I know. But more about this slave…why does Talon care if he has Inner Power or not?"

"Well, I don't expect a commoner like you to know why," The first SharpClaw said. "But all SharpClaw that serve the General know about his obsession with it. He's been fascinated since he heard the story back on our home planet on Khiryuraan. And every minute since he heard someone possessing it is on Titania, he's ordered legion after legion to find him."

Leon bit his pipe inquisitively. "But what does he plan to do with the slave once he finds him?"

The SharpClaw shrugged. "Who knows? No one can predict what goes on in that diabolical mind of his. He's the best strategist in the history of the SharpClaw…but there are times where I doubt his sanity."

Another SharpClaw sitting next to him sat up abruptly. "You dare talk ill about our Lord behind his back? That's treason!"

The first SharpClaw turned angrily. "It wasn't an insult! There's nothing wrong with abandoning reason. They say General Claw himself was as mad and unbalanced as the rolling dunes."

"Yes, yes," Leon said, impatiently trying to go back the original topic. "But if Drakon's obsessed with Inner Power, does that mean someone here _had _Inner Power."

"Only one person," The SharpClaw said. "His name was Sauru. He's more of a myth now, then anything else…he knew more about Inner Power than probably anyone in this galaxy."

The other SharpClaw had stopped smoking and had become silent. Apparently, this was a very tense topic.

Leon looked around them. "Who was he? Where is he now?"

The SharpClaw looked at him sharply. "I think you're asking too many questions about something that doesn't concern you. That's SharpClaw information, not permitted to be shared with the likes of common vermin like you." His reptilian eyes narrowed. "I think we've spent enough time here lounging. We'd better head back to our post."

"No, no…don't leave on _my _behalf." Leon stood, puffing a last ring of smoke before standing up. "I'll leave you gentleman. It's been a very…ah…_useful _chat. Enjoy the rest of the hookah."

And without another word, Leon walked away, slipping through the bead-curtain and out into the brightly-lit outside streets.

The SharpClaw exhaled more smoke, grumbling angrily.

"Nosy bastard. The next time he comes in here, I'll cut his tail off for impudence. Then he'll think twice about bringing up heretics and enemies of the SharpClaw Army."

The orange Legionary glanced at the sun-dial outside. "I think Talon's gonna have all of _our _tails if we don't head back soon. Let's get going."

As they stood and buckled on their scimitars, the manager took a ginger step forward, hand outstretched.

"Erm-I don't mean to sound persistent, but the fee is still 10 gold pieces-"

"Hmm?" The SharpClaw Leader grunted. "Oh. Alright, then-"

He reached into his pocket, claws groping for his money pouch. Then, he ripped at it frantically, searching all his pockets.

"My money! The pouch of coins, it's gone! _It's all gone!"_

"Oh, relax, you faker," The orange one groaned. _"I'll _pay for it, just drop the act."

But when he reached for his money, he began to look around frantically too.

"Wait, _my money's gone, too!"_

"Mine too!"

"MINE TOO!"

They all looked at each other…and then at the bead-curtain door.

There was a clamor of sprinting footsteps and a drawing of swords, the manager cowered behind his counter and the attendant-girls screamed in terror, their voices drowned out by the simultaneous, enraged SharpClaw growls.

"_**THAT FUCKING LIZARD!"**_

_Meanwhile, a few blocks down the street…_

Wolf hadn't found anything.

He hadn't stolen anything, eaten anything, or gained anything. The only thing that he had maintained over the past hour was a ragingly-hungry stomach, and uneasy thoughts.

His feet seemed to walk forward automatically, slipping through the crowds, but his mind was somewhere else. He kept thinking about that sapphire in his pocket…and how he had felt when Leon had asked him about it.

An urge provoked him to take it out and look at it, but he was sure some thief would steal it easily in the heat of the crowd.

Wolf quickened his pace, unsuccessfully trying to sprint past open restaurants before their torturous aromas could reach his nose. He was being stupid….why _couldn't _he exchange the sapphire? He couldn't even remember why he was holding onto it.

A side of him yelled at his conscience to march up to a restaurant, slam the stupid jewel on a counter and give himself the meal his poor stomach deserved. But an even louder part of him screamed not to….reminding him that there was a massive, powerful, heart-wrenching reason to hold onto it.

_But WHAT?! _He yelled at himself. _WHAT'S so important about it?!_

For a moment, he was lost in thought…and was almost close to recalling something, when-

SMASH!

He looked around angrily, ready to hit whatever made that noise when he was so close. But then, he saw a group of flustered-looking SharpClaw, swords drawn and heads bobbing up and down as they peered through the crowds. Some unfortunate merchant was sobbingly sweeping up the remnants of a vase they had knocked over with their giant feet.

Wolf's quarrelsome instincts evaporated the minute he saw them.

_Oh, not them-SHIT!_

On the verge of a paranoid misstep, he turned staggeringly and attempted to rush through the crowd. His mind was racing, already feeling the soreness of his bandaged wounds sting-

**SLAM!**

With his eyes still on the SharpClaw searching the crowds behind him, Wolf felt his body ram into something warm but uncomfortable. Feet twisting forward and losing balance, he fell on top of it with a grunt.

"_Mrrmph!"_

He felt his face collide with the ground, but felt the rough, unforgiving edge of the pavement rake his forehead inside of the usual layer of sand.

Cursing under his breath, he was about to hoist himself up when he heard a clattering of armor and the scraping of claws against pavement behind him. He froze, face still on the ground, and waited as the sound disappeared, leaving a faint echo of their angry conversation behind them.

"THAT LITTLE _SHIT!_ Find that lizard!"

"_I'll have his hands for this!"_

Wolf brushed dust off of his face. _Leon…I bet everything I've got that it was him…_

_And by everything, I mean absolutely nothing. _He thought glumly.

He looked down and saw a bunch of vegetables, fruit and bead scattered around his hands. His eyes traced the trail of food-with the urge to grab all of it-to a person sitting across from him with a basket on their head. There was something red trickling from under the basket and down the stranger's stomach….

_What the f-?! WHAT DID I DO?!_

"I'm sorry, I'm _really _sorry-I was just, I didn't-" Wolf started frantically.

But the stranger pulled the basket off, and wiped off what was left of a splattered tomato on her face, spluttering and coughing. She licked the area around her mouth, and then spat it out with a crinkled expression of disgust.

"Ugh-" She smacked her mouth in a very canine way. "That merchant told me that these tomatoes were _ripe-" _She wiped dust with her hand, shielding her face from sight. "Well, you won't catch _me _buying anything from that dung heap again."

"Um…" Wolf blinked confusedly, picking up food delicately. "I'm sorry about your…uh…groceries…"

"Oh, don't be!" The girl said cheerfully, looking down and sweeping up the food after blowing on each item. "It happens all the time. It should all be good as long as I-"

She looked up, and her smile faded. Wolf's eyes widened as the dust from her white-furred face was blown away, and her childish facial features became recognizable…along with her bushy white ears, teeming blue eyes, and prominent red bow.

Fay's ears perked up excitedly, her eyes become huge.

"It's YOU!" She exclaimed loudly. "I mean-" She lowered her voice, looking around cautiously. "It's you! You're the one who helped me back at the Slave Yard!" She squinted, looking at him hardly. "But you don't look as scary now…"

Wolf raised his eyebrows. "…Fay?"

"It's YOU!" She exclaimed loudly. "I mean-" She lowered her voice, looking around cautiously. "It's you! You're the one who helped me back at the Slave Yard!" She squinted, looking at him hardly. "But you don't look as scary now…"

Wolf blinked and looked at his filthy clothes and ratty fur. "Um…alright. Wait...what are you doing here? Out in the open, I mean? Shouldn't you be hiding?"

"Hiding? Why?" Fay cocked her head.

"You escaped from the Slave Yard, like me. Shouldn't you be a little more cautious, since this is a SharpClaw city?"

"Oh, they won't look for me, especially in a city like this," Fay said with a wave of leisure."These SharpClaw never kept count of the slaves that escaped, let alone remember _who _escaped. They're not exactly organized."

"But what happened to you after the fire?" Wolf asked.

Fay's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Everyone was looking for you! Riley told me you were important to find! And when we went to look for you, that man and woman….Jenna and something…? Whatever I don't remember-but, they said you had gone back to get something-and after that, we didn't know what happened to you!"

Fay looked at him quizzically for a moment, and then her eyes lit up. "Oh, you mean when I went back after I had gotten Jenna and Clark to the gate! Oh, well, you don't have to worry about it. It turns out I hadn't left anything behind! I had what I needed on me the whole time!"

Wolf stared at her. "So…you were _fine? _What happened to you after that?"

Fay thought for a moment. "I left with everyone else out the main gate."

Wolf couldn't believe it. He looked at her, with his mouth wide open, eye on the verge of twitching.

"So you had me look for you in a blazing fire and almost had me killed when you were safe the whole time?!" Wolf yelled. _"Why didn't you-_WHAT?!"

Fay cocked her head. "You were looking for me in a fire? But why on earth would I be there?"

"_Because that's where Riley and everyone else were!" _Wolf yelled in exasperation. "Where else WOULD you be?!"

Fay's eyes wavered, her voice suddenly becoming timid. "Oh..." She looked down sullenly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you in danger...or to have you worry about me. That was a terrible way to repay you for...what you did for me..."

Wolf's irritated expression faltered, and suddenly he started to feel bad for yelling at her. It was too odd seeing someone as cheerful as Fay with such a sad expression.

He let out a resigned sigh, and then folded his arms. "Alright, alright...I didn't mean that. At least you're safe. Besides, you don't have to repay me for what happened earlier."

Fay looked up suddenly. "Oh, yeah, that reminds me! Where's your friend, the lizard? He was suffering from severe malaria when I last saw him...is he feeling better?"

"You mean Leo-er," Wolf coughed loudly, heart leaping at the mistake he almost made. "...Vincent? Yeah, he's fine. He recovered a few days ago..."

Fay smiled warmly, looking relieved. "Thank goodness...this whole time, I've been worrying if that antibiotic I gave him worked. I hope I didn't choose the wrong one..." Her eyes became big and worried. "There weren't any side effects, were there?!"

"No, no, he's fine," Wolf said, a little confused why she was fussing over someone she barely knew. "He's back to his old self, thanks to you. We're both grateful." He half-smiled.

"Both?" Fay blinked, but then looked at the bandages on Wolf's arm. "Oh, yeah, right! Oh well, you don't have to thank me..." She smiled cheerfully. "I didn't knock a SharpClaw back ten yards with just my fist like _you _did. If anything, _I _should be thanking you!" Then, she stopped talking abruptly, eyes blank. "Wait...wait a minute. I think I forgot something."

She started past Wolf, expressionless and tapping her foot as if trying to remember something.

Wolf looked around, and then looked at Fay strangely.

"Um...Fay?"

She stood there for about a minute, zoning out and murmuring anxiously. Then her eyes lit up. "Oh, that's right! I forgot to properly introduce myself! _That's _what I forgot!"

Wolf raised his eyebrows. _What...?_

_What the hell was that? It took her THAT long to realize that?_

_How the hell does this girl function…?_

"We've never actually met formally, have we?" Fay laughed. "Well, after all we've both been through, that can't be helped." She smiled, and then spoke abruptly. "Oh, but...it's not that I think we _have _been through a lot...together I mean. You're just a stranger. I don't know you."

"Oh," Wolf said awkwardly. "Okay."

"Not that I think you're strange, or anything!...I just don't tell my name to people I'm not friends with. Not that I _wouldn't _make friends with you!" She said suddenly, almost alertly. "I'm not mean, or anything...I just met you. We can still be friends. Not that I'm asking for friends, like I'm desperate...I'm not! I have plenty of friends. Not that I'm bragging, or anything! I'm-I just-I-oh, no..." She rubbed her temples, looking flustered and embarrassed.

Wolf didn't know how to respond. Every time this strange spaniel would get alert and start another sentence with "Not that I", her eyes would become big and her ears would perk up anxiously in a canine way, like she was afraid she was offending him. She was too nice for her own good. He had to keep himself from laughing by just looking at her.

"Never mind," She decided. "I'm probably confusing you." She held out her hand prominently. "My name's Fay Weldon."

Somewhat hesitant, Wolf reached out and shook it. His hand was so much bigger than her smaller ones. It might've been his imagination, but he thought he could feel a set of cuts and burns on her hand. He wondered for a moment how she must've gotten them, but then realized...after spending only a few minutes with her...that there was probably a series of clumsy or awkward stories behind them.

"I'm Maxwell..." He said, shaking her hand firmly. "Maxwell...uh..." He thought for a moment. _Shit, what was that last name I came up with?! _"Andrew. Maxwell Andrew."

"Pleased to meet you, Maxwell," Fay said, flexing her fingers after having them crushed by Wolf in a bone-crushing hand-shake, but not revealing a wince through her cheerful smile. "So, what brings you and your friend to Catalaya? Are you both off-worlders, like the other slaves?"

"Why does everybody keep calling us that?" Wolf asked quizzically. "Technically, everyone here's an off-worlder. I mean, no one's _really _native to this planet, right?" He was a little fed up with being called that, feeling labeled with some kind of disorder with that name.

"Some people are," Fay said. "Besides the Fennec Raiders, that is...they've always been here. No, some Lylatians have been here so long that they've bred children who've grown up here. Half of the population consists of off-worlders and their brood. Some off-worlders have lived here for years."

"Were _you_ born here?" Wolf asked.

"Oh, no, of course not!" Fay answered automatically, almost laughing at that suggestion. "I was born on Corneria, and brought here when-well, it's a long story. And it's mostly my own fault." She looked down guiltily.

"Yeah, I can sympathize with you there," Wolf said. "But life here can't be all that bad for you. You're not a slave right now...and life seems to move on in a city like this," he added, glancing at the crowd behind them.

"Oh, yes, I know...the city itself isn't a bad place. I think it's actually quite lovely, especially with the buildings and houses. It's just... " She looked around distantly.

"The SharpClaw," Wolf bitterly answered for her.

"Yes. They've been ruling here for so long...longer than I've ever been around. It's terrible what they've done here, especially to the slaves." She clasped her hands, eyes darting worriedly past the city walls. "And there are still more of them...at other sites, getting the same treatment. I've tried helping as much of them as I can, but..." She looked down.

"You were helping a lot of them inside the Slave Yard," Wolf suggested, trying to cheer her up.

Fay shook her head. "That wasn't by my design. I was taken there by accident...I was captured while helping some of the slaves out in the slums beyond the city walls. And I made everyone I know worry...and Riley was sent to find me." She bit her lip, eyes saddened. "It was my own fault. I don't _mean _to be a burden, I try to help as many people as I can, but..." She looked down. "I can't heal everyone in this city."

Wolf looked down at this young girl, who in appearance and stature paled next to his tall, dark, foreboding figure. Somehow, even though they looked and acted nothing alike, he could relate to her. He thought about how many people he himself hadtried to help...and how many times he got hurt or discouraged because he was just one man. Fay knew what that felt like.

"Why do you-I mean," Wolf cleared his throat, trying not to show any sign of sentimentality. "It's not really any of my business. But why _do _you care about all these people?"

Fay looked up. "What?"

"There must be thousands of people in this city…and there's only one of you. You can't seriously hope to waste every ounce of energy you have to help them. You'll wear yourself out…for something unnecessary. So, why bother?"

Fay's eyes became frantic, as if contemplating the absurdity of that question. "'Why both'-? Because they're _people! _Those poor, pathetic animals were once _people! _What would you have me do? Just stand by and do nothing? I thought someone like you would understand that!" She looked at him crossly.

"In a place and time like this, that's the only option," Wolf said. "It may be the right thing to help people…but it's sure as hell not the smart thing." He folded his arms skeptically. "And I'm not one to value sentimentality over survival."

Fay raised her eyebrows. "That didn't stop you from helping me…and standing up for that woman. That may not be sentimentality…" She smiled. "But where I'm from, most people would consider that heroic."

Wolf's expression became cold. "That was different. That was only a few slaves in a confined little camp…with _no one _standing up for them. And it wasn't _heroic," _he added in annoyance. "This is a _city…_the population of an entire planet. It's not just up to me, you, and a few gutsy uprisers. More people can stand up for the weak…and I won't have to intervene."

Fay sighed sadly. "I really wish that were the case. You'd be surprised that the morality in this desert is even rarer than water…and still manages to be just as barren."

Wolf raised his eyebrows. That was actually a smart analogy for someone like her.

She looked back at him. "But there _is _a worth in it, if you help others. Isn't it worth the feeling that you've helped someone get a better life enough, or the gratitude they give you?"

In an instant, Wolf's expression became icy, and he turned. "I'm not the kind that gets that much gratitude."

Fay looked down with a shy glance and an optimistic tone. "But I thanked you, didn't I? That has to count for something."

Wolf didn't turn. "You wouldn't…if you knew…"

"Knew what?" Fay cocked her head.

Wolf sighed. He knew that she was worrying for him…again, proving his idea of unnecessary kindness…but he couldn't tell her. She'd run and tell someone…

No, wait. He remembered that he didn't exist…

So instead she'd laugh at him. Wolf didn't know what was worse.

Fay walked up next to him, looking at what he was looking at.

"Still, I can't blame you for not wanting to help. With the way that dreadful General Talon rules this place, the only thing _anybody _cares about is either making a profit or getting off the planet. And, well…getting off the planet is close to impossible, and the only profit that can be made is through lying and stealing."

Wolf glanced at a golden statue of a tall, menacing-looking SharpClaw in the middle of the Market Square, wielding a shield and trident while he glared down at the passing people.

"Yeah, he looks menacing enough." Wolf looked hard at the statue. "He must be quite the narcissistic bastard if he likes to litter the place with statues of himself."

"Hmm?" Fay looked at the statue with a confused perk of the ears, and then laughed. "Oh, no…_that's _not General Talon. That's a statue of the first-generation General, Claw. No, no…Talon wouldn't provide the people with an image of his own face. He's too deceptive."

Wolf blinked at the statue. "So, how do you know what he looks like?"

"I don't know what he looks like," Fay said with a shrug. "I've never seen him. No one has."

"What?" Wolf looked at her oddly. "Well, then how do you know he's here?"

Fay looked grimly at the palace in the distance. "Oh, he's here alright. He may not be visible to the common people, but he has enough of a presence to remind them of their place. His proclamations are heard by all who dwell here, and his soldiers punish everyone who defies him. It's barbaric. And it's not like anyone can leave this city and escape…we're in a desert. There's nowhere to run…and no way to leave."

Wolf shoved his hands into his pockets in a disgruntled manner. "Well, that's just great. That was the one priority my friend and I had…we just want to leave this place."

Fay smiled sadly. "Then I'm afraid you and your friend will have to wait a bit longer. If you _do _find a way off this planet, don't hesitate to bring me with you."

Wolf laughed. "Yeah, sure… As soon as I find a way to scrape by in a place like this first."

Fay looked at him. "What do you mean? Don't you have a place to stay?"

Wolf's smile faded. "Oh, well-no, that's not what I-"

"You _don't?!" _Fay cried in alarm. "Oh, then you should come with me! I know a place where you can stay! I can make arrangements for you and your friend-"

For a moment, that seemed like a good option to Wolf…a great one, even. A place to sleep, probably something to eat…

It would be the first strike of good luck all day…

But he couldn't.

He liked Fay and all, but…he still didn't know her. After everything that happened to him so far, he wasn't used to anyone extending a warm hand of friendship to him. He couldn't put his trust in a stranger yet…especially without consulting Leon. And plus, while Fay herself was….simple-minded, was the best way Wolf could put it….he couldn't count on anyone else being the same. He couldn't keep that identity of his a secret around smarter people…he didn't know what they'd do if they found out…

"No-uh, I mean-it's alright," Wolf forced out. "I already have a place to stay-we both do. It's a place near, uh…the river. It's good of you to offer, though."

Fay looked at him for a long time. For a moment, she didn't look like that cheerful, air-headed girl…her eyes had become narrowed and sharp. She seemed to know perfectly well that he was being dishonest.

"Alright, then," She said cheerfully, her eyes reverting to their bright, innocent form. "If you say so."

Feeling uneasy, Wolf decided to steer the conversation out of suspicious waters.

"So, um…these SharpClaw…" He started in a very unsubtle and forced manner. "Are they native to this planet, or did they come from somewhere else?"

"Oh, of course not!" Fay said, waving that possibility aside. "They're not from the Lylat System. In fact, I'm not sure _where _they come from…no one seems to know. I mean, I've asked Sauru, but he-"

In an instant, she stopped. Her hand flew over her mouth, which let out a small mix between a gasp and a squeak. Her blue eyes widened and twitched in frantic terror, and her fur bristled and spiked fearfully.

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong?"

Fay's blue eyes seemed to shiver and quake in terror, her hand shaking over her mouth as petrified gasps of breath snuck through the cracks between her fingers.

"_Oh no…oh no…no!" _Her eyes darted to the people walking around her, and she whirled her head around, like a startled animal that had just heard a predator. "I shouldn't have-_no, _I'm so STUPID-Oh, God…I hope no one heard that-"

Wolf looked around at the seemingly-horrible threat that he couldn't see.

"Why? Who's Sauru?"

"_Shhh!" _Fay hissed, slapping a small hand over Wolf's mouth. Wolf flinched, taken off guard with the sudden movement. _"Don't say that-! Don't say that name!" _She looked around hurriedly, breath chopped and color drained from her face. "God, I hope nobody heard you…or _me." _She clapped a hand on her forehead, cursing herself angrily. "I'm such and _idiot-_they're all going to kill me when I get back-"

"_Ghet vack where?" _Wolf said under the muffled hand, swiping it off in irritation. "Who's 'they'?"

Fay looked around again, and then looked back at Wolf with a frantic expression.

"I'm sorry! I have to go…_now," _She said quickly. "Please-just, forget what you've just heard-don't repeat it to _anyone-_please, I'm begging you! Promise me you won't!" She clasped his hand, her eyes teeming fearfully.

Wolf looked at her strangely, wincing at how tightly she clenched his hand. She had a surprisingly strong grip for someone so small.

"I-wha-?"

"Please, just forget about it!" Fay swept up her basket and looked around again, letting go of Wolf. "In fact, just forget about _me…_just…just…_oh…." _

She turned, gave Wolf one last pained look…looking so worried and short of breath….and then took off into the crowd.

"Wha-? HEY!" He called out into the mass of people. "Fay! _Fay!"_

His eyes desperately scanned the bobbing heads and passing faces of the crowd, but her white ears and red bow were nowhere in sight.

_What the hell was that? _He thought. _Did _I _do something…?_

_Or…maybe _she _did…_

_What got her so worried…?_

He continued to look for her, wondering why she had gotten so flustered. He guessed that it had something to do with that name she had said…what was it? Sauru. That's it…Sauru. Even in Wolf's head, it sounded odd.

But why was it so important…? The way she looked around, she seemed afraid that someone had heard her say it aloud, like it was confidential, or something-

"Hey, WOLF!"

His trail of thought came to an abrupt halt, as he turned to see Leon behind him.

"_There _you are! Jesus Christ, where the _hell_ have you been?!" Leon said irritably._ "_I said in front of the Grocer Pig Stand, in _two _hours! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Wolf blinked, and then looked at the massive sun-dial above the city. "Oh, yeah…I'm sorry, I forgot."

Leon folded his arms reproachfully. "What kept you, anyway?"

"What? Oh, nothing, just-" He glanced back again. "Just-I thought I ran into someone from the Slave Yard."

"Really?" Leon asked interestedly. "Who? Anyone we know?"

Wolf looked back for a moment.

"…No. Just a stranger, forget it. Anyway, uh…where were you?"

"Me? Oh…" Leon's eyes shifted to the side, as if recalling something unpleasant. "Well, uh…I met some interesting people, and well…" He scratched his head sheepishly. "…let's just say we're both a couple of coins richer now, but it was at the expense of some trouble."

Wolf raised an eyebrow. "What trouble?"

"Never mind, it's a long story. But guess what?" His eyes lit up mischievously. "I uncovered something really good…right after I outran the SharpClaw, I-"

"Wait, _SharpClaw?" _Wolf repeated. "What did you-?"

"Again, long story, don't feel on retelling," Leon said firmly. "Anyway, after I got away, I took some money and went scoping in an alley for some information…and you'll never guess what I found!"

"What'd you find?"

Leon's grin widened. "It's a surprise. It's something that'll remind you how essential I am to Star Wolf. You'll love it…but we can't go to it now."

"We can't?" Wolf asked. "Why not?"

"Because, uh…" Leon looked around quickly, and then lowered his voice. "It's the kind of place that we need to visit later, at night…where we can slip by without being followed. C'mon, we can lay low in an alley and wait for dark. We can count the spoils in the mean time…"

As Leon pulled him through the crowded streets, his mind was less on the surprise and more on Fay…

Something about that look she gave him before she left made him feel uneasy. He was so curious about that name she had uttered…but after the way she had acted and how desperate she sounded, he wasn't going to repeat what he had heard.

But what was so important about it…? It must've been something vital. But then, he lowered his eyelids skeptically, remembering that the holder of this "top-secret" information was that ditzy girl from earlier. He didn't even know if he could trust her.

But still…

After everything they had been through in the Slave Yard, she the only person he and Leon could trust in this city.

Wolf had a feeling he'd see that bizarre girl again…or at least, he hoped he would

_A couple of hours later…_

When night had finally fallen, the townspeople lit the rounder, paper lamps that hung above the city streets.

The city was quieter and less busy now. The twin moons shone above the tired workers who pushed their carts home, or retreated to the lit-up bars and bath houses that lined the street corners. Venders packed up their shops, and beggars walked off, grumbling at their empty offering cups.

Meanwhile, with one last cautious look around, Leon pushed over the round manhole cover that led to the sewers and slipped down. Wolf crouched over the dark hole, wrinkling his nose skeptically.

Leon's hand popped out of the hole, beckoning hurriedly.

"Come on!"

Wolf eyed the hole for a moment, and then put his feet through. "This thing you found better be worth it, Leon." He wasn't in a particularly good mood….he _still _hadn't eaten yet, and his stomach still pined relentlessly.

He slid through the edge, the twinkling light of the paper lamps fading into bleak darkness.

SPLASH!

Wolf felt his feet collide with the ground, upsetting a stream of foul water running across the floor. Wrinkling his nose in the dark, he looked around.

_Pff- tcchh!_

There was a spark and a dim stream of light from Leon's hand, as he held a small cigarette lighter above the both of them.

"Would you mind being a little quieter? Everything that crawls down here will hear you with those big feet splashing around."

Wolf swatted at a fly buzzing near his ear. "What's with all this sneaking around, anyway? What're you afraid of?"

"I told you," Leon said, waving the lighter around to illuminate a path. "I don't want anybody following us."

"Yeah, well, nobody with a functioning nose will follow us down here," Wolf said, covering his nose as the rancid stenches grew stronger. "Could you stop being so secretive and just tell me where you're taking us?"

"All good things to those who wait," Leon sang, his sleezy voice echoing through the sewer tunnels.

He examined the ground, and then walked forward, dipping his thin feet lightly across the wet ground.

_Splash. Splash._

Leon looked back. "Be quieter."

_Splash._

"Quiter."

SPLASH.

Leon whirled around in irritation. _"What part of 'be quiet' don't you understand? _Are you-"

"That wasn't me." Wolf pointed at the scummy water. "I stepped on something."

Leon looked over the water quizzically, running his hand through it for a moment. Then, he froze, as if his fingers had brushed against something. He groped through the water and pulled out a huge wet mass, dragging it out and heaving it against the wall.

Both of them recoiled with a slight gag, as they realized that it was a dripping, freshly-killed corpse of a Kite, eyes and beak wide open. He was clad in a torn jacket, and his arm was wrapped in a sash with some kind of strange sign on it.

Wolf turned the bird's head to the side, feeling the neck. "This guy's only been dead for a few hours. He's still warm."

"Yeah…someone must've disposed of him down here, poor sap. Probably thought no one would find him here. Here, hold this," Leon said, handing Wolf the lighter and rummaging through the pockets. "Let's see what our friend here has to offer."

"Should we?" Wolf said hesitantly. "I mean-he's only been dead for a while. Isn't that…some kind of desecration?"

Leon shook his head. "Now's not the time to be patriotic, Wolf. You think the next guy who finds him is gonna be as morally conscious? Besides…" He drew out a few coins. "The dead don't need money where they're goin'….just a nice resume."

Wolf held the lighter higher over the body. He spotted flecks of red on the Kite's undershirt…steam rising from the spot, like a burn.

"Wait a minute!" He stopped Leon's hand, and leaned forward. "What's this…?"

He pushed the folds of his jacket back, and exposed a raw, red wound under his neck. He traced his claws over the mark, poking at the flesh around the wound, which was apparently burnt.

In the dim light, Wolf's eyes widened.

"This man was killed by a blaster-shot."

"What?" Leon looked at the wound, surprised at any anatomic knowledge that Wolf had. "How do you know?"

"Look at this…" Wolf pointed at the wound. "See how deep the wound goes? Only one weapon does that kind of damage….one _blaster. _The 'Spiralshot' VI-62…a Macbethan pistol."

Leon glanced at the mark. "A Spiralshot? But those were illegalized years ago…only headhunters and mercs used them…"

Then, they both looked at each other, thinking the same thing.

"You don't think…?" Leon started.

"No," Wolf said quickly. "Definitely not. If there were bounty hunters on this planet…we'd know. Wouldn't we?"

Leon thought about those posters he saw everyone gathered around earlier. "I guess…"

"Well, bounty hunters or not, this proves that there _are _blasters in this city." Wolf stood back and handed the lighter to Leon. "Even if they aren't worn where we can see them. But Riley said that the SharpClaw didn't permit technology to be used by anyone here…so then, what does _this _mean?" He looked at the Kite.

"I don't know…" Leon looked around at the dripping tunnels. "We should get out of here. Come on, this way!"

Wolf gave the corpse another unsure look, before turning and walking off.

They walked a few more echoing steps before he began to feel uneasy. The presence of that body made him wonder if whoever had killed him was still down here. He wasn't afraid of meeting them…but even with Leon's lighter, he could barely see down here…and there wasn't a lot of room to thrash about in the tight sewer walls.

"How do you know where you're going down here? There must be dozens of tunnels!"

"Oh, I left myself a few clues here and there on my way back when I arrived the first time," Leon assured him. "Chipped the wall with my knife, moved a stone for a marker, things like that. But don't worry…as a reptile, I know my way through a sewer."

"You mean as a drug-dealer, you know your way through a sewer," Wolf muttered.

Leon stopped abruptly, and rapped on the wall with his fingers until he heard the bricks made a different sound.

"Here we are…"

Rubbing his hands together, he pressed them against the wall and heaved it to the side, exposing a sliding mechanism built on the edges of the bricks. Rocks and dust coiled off the edges as Leon pushed the hidden door open.

Wolf folded his arms. _"Now_ where are you taking us? How did you even find this?"

Leon looked back. "I did a little digging while I was up in the alley…asking around, having a handful of coins for any information I could get about leaving the planet. Then, some toothless old vole told me about how had seen some wrecked ship in the sewers. So I came down here, and I gave it a look…"

A shadow passed over his back as he climbed up the stairs behind the forced-open door. Wolf followed him.

"And? Did you find it?"

Leon smiled in the firelight, before clicking the lighter off. "No. But given our more current situation, I found something _better…"_

He pushed open a door above the final step, letting in a stream of light from the outside.

Wolf squinted, the darkness of the sewers rendering his eyes unprepared for sudden exposure to light.

The place they had entered wasn't outside…it was a huge room, and a rather stuffy one, at that. The room was cast to a shade of orange from a fire peeping from the confines of a large stove in the corner. The illuminated walls were thick adobe ones, indicating that it must've been a room inside one of the hundreds of houses in the cityscape…but there weren't any windows, and since the entrance was from the sewer, it must've been underground.

But none of these things were occurring to Wolf, since his eyes were locked on the one thing that consistently littered and filled the room to the brim.

The room was lined and covered with tons and tons of food. Most of it was kept in large, lidless crates that were stacked up against each other, reaching the ceiling and dividing the room into halls of nailed wood. Strings of sausages and ham hung from hooks above the crates, and massive wheels of cheese leaned against the wall. Barrels of water, beer, and wine were roped in the corner, under bags of rice and buckets of preserved milk. Baskets covered in cloth failed to conceive the food they covered, boasting large loaves and baguettes of bread, carrots, onions, radishes, tomatoes, apples, cherries, peaches, grapes, apricots, nuts, and other things.

"Wha-aa-wha—wha-?"

Wolf continued to stare at the food, stomach gurgling uncontrollably and mouth watering. He could feel his knees buckle, eyes growing bigger the more he looked at the room.

"See?" Leon said, grinning as he relished the look on Wolf's face. "It's a food storage room…one, big-ass, all-you-can-eat pantry. Or better yet, all-_we-_can-eat."

"Leon, you brilliant, scheming psychopath, you!" Wolf grabbed Leon and embraced him into a bone-crushing hug. "I swear if I wasn't a wolf and you weren't a lizard, we'd be brothers by now!"

"_Gaarcchhh!" _Leon gasped, patting Wolf's back with a free, twisted hand. _"That's nice-_now, LET GO, or I won't be ANYTHING-in the next few seconds-_acchhh!"_

_Clump!_

Wolf dropped Leon abruptly and sprinted over to the crates like a hyperactive child on Christmas morning, while Leon massaged his chest and struggled to regain lost air.

Leon looked up as Wolf tore open a crate. "Hey! Don't finish everything, you fat glutton!"

Through a mouthful of cheese, apples and bread, Wolf said something like: "Hi've bheen shtaving por days! Hi have ha right do bhe ha glutton!"

For the next five minutes, the two of them laughed, ate, and argued, happier than they had been in days.

"Hey, don't finish all the carrots!"

"Have you tried the chicken platter? It's amazing."

"There was _chicken? _WHERE?"

"Mmmph…this cheese is perfection, especially with the celery…Wolf, you have to taste this!"

"Keep your cheese, I'm sticking to my meat…"

"Ha! After that hug, you should lay off as much meat as possible, or you'll _kill _me next time!"

But soon, after the joyous atmosphere wore off, and Wolf's stomach was calm and content enough to allow concentrated thought to flow again, Wolf glanced at the crates piled up around them. A strange insignia was inked on each crate, of a hand—strangled by twisted barbed wire roped around the wrist-defiantly clutching an army knife.

He didn't recognize it, but the sight of it aroused a sudden air of caution.

"Hey, Leon…" He said slowly, putting aside what was probably the fifth apple core. "Who do you suppose all this food belongs to?"

"Mmm?" Leon swallowed some bread and brushed some crumbs off his face in a care-free way. "Oh, probably no one important. Judging by how many starving people I saw out in the city, it probably doesn't belong to any common people…it's probably hidden down here for the sake of security."

Wolf looked at his half-eaten cheese doubtfully. "But…should we be eating it? It could belong to someone who needs it…"

Leon looked at him strangely. "When did _you _get all empathic, all of a sudden?"

"I'm not being empathic!" Wolf said with a scowl. "I just don't want to get into a new mess for breaking into someone else's pantry. I don't need a new set of shackles…" He rubbed his wrists in disgruntled memory.

"Look, chances are that the SharpClaw own this place…trust me, they've got a palace, guards, and luxuries like wine and hookah. And the rest of the people here would probably kill to get inside! And stop worrying about someone finding us here. Have you _seen _the dust on these crates? No one must come down here for days…no one will catch us." Leon sat back and munched on more bread. "Now stop worrying…and be grateful you have food."

"Well, it doesn't hurt to be cautious," Wolf grumbled.

Leon stopped eating for a moment. "Oh, yeah…I was so caught up with bringing you here that I forgot to tell you. While I was out observing our SharpClaw friends…I heard them mention something about Inner Power."

_WHAT?!_

Wolf coughed some cheese out, his breath shortened into a gasp. _"_The _SharpClaw _know about Inner Power? When did you hear this?"

"Just a few hours ago…and I think it's worse than that." Leon folded his arms. "I think they know that you have Inner Power…or, had."

Wolf's blood ran cold. He didn't expect this at all…

"How…how do they know?"

"I'm not sure…" Leon said. "They must've found some proof. But how could that be? You yourself said there was no way for you to use it since it stopped working, right?"

Wolf thought for a moment, thinking about that weird impact that occurred when he punched Drakon back in the Slave Yard. But he killed most of the SharpClaw who saw it happen, so there shouldn't have been witnesses to live and tell the tale.

_No, think…_

_It created a crater in the ground…so, was _that_ the proof? _

Wolf didn't feel comfortable discussing this, afraid that he had put the both of them in danger…_again._

"I, uh…I dunno. But, still-how do they know what Inner Power is? I thought the SharpClaw were…sort of primitive."

"Well, they know, the General knows, and hell, the whole civilization knows about it. But that's not all!" Leon said excitedly. "They said that they knew someone who _had _Inner Power, who was around here once!"

Wolf looked up. "Someone else? Who?"

"Well, I don't know _who…_per say… they say he disappeared, or something."

Wolf's heart sank. Disappointment dug into his chest like a rusty nail.

"I know the name, though," Leon piped up. "They said his name was Sauru. Odd name, huh?"

Wolf's eyes and fur perked up at the name, remembering it instantly. The vivid image of Fay's startled face came into his head.

"_I'm sorry! I have to go…now. Please-just, forget what you've just heard-don't repeat it to anyone!"_

He stood up instantly. "I know that name! Fay mentioned it when I saw her today!"

"What, that girl? _Fay?" _Leon blinked. "You saw her today? Where?"

"Never mind that, wait-just-she mentioned that name, Sauru," Wolf continued quickly."She said something about asking or talking to him-so she must know him!"

Leon cocked his head. "But the SharpClaw said he's missing….was that a lie?"

"Maybe…or maybe not…" Wolf said, pacing in deep thought. "Maybe they just don't know where he is…and Fay does! And remember, Riley said something about her being part of that organization of his…"

"Yeah…" Leon's eyes lit up. "I remember that! And if Fay's part of that organization… do you think this Sauru person's apart of it too?"

"I don't know…_shit…" _Wolf rubbed his forehead, cursing his own stupidity. "I should have asked her more about that when I saw her today. But she's still around here, in the city…" His eyes were fixed with excited determination. "We need to find her. Or at least, we should find more about this organization of hers! If we find them, we can find this Sauru…and find out what he knows about Inner Power!"

"I don't know, Wolf…" Leon said. "We just escaped the clutches of the SharpClaw…I don't think we should be handing out our trust to a new bunch of people. I mean, what if they're hostile, or dangerous? You're still recovering from the _last _battle…you can't handle anything severe."

Wolf folded his arms skeptically. "Come on, Leon…what else on this planet could be as hostile and ferocious as the SharpClaw?"

_**BAAAM!**_

Almost on cue, the door behind them smashed open to reveal the thunderous sound of sprinting footsteps. In the paranoid rush of the moment, three masked figures surrounded both Wolf and Leon, shouting at the same time. Both Wolf and Leon jumped to their feet, hands already reaching for their coats, only to find themselves face-to-face with the ominous barrels of machine guns.

At the end of one of them, the loud, commanding, and pissed-off voice of a female yelled out: _"Both of you, _on your knees and hands where I can see 'em, NOW! Or I'll splatter your worthless asses all over the wall!"

Wolf and Leon, both equally weirded out and intimidated by the female of the group, slowly dropped to their knees and gingerly rose their hand.

Whoever these strangers were, they obviously weren't commoners. They weren't dressed in ragged clothes or beggar's garb…but in camo pants, bandoliers, boots, and jackets. All three of them had rifles thrust threateningly forward, and had their mouths covered in sashes…even though their ears were enough to distinguish their races.

Two of them were obviously canines, but the one in the middle—the female—had tall, black, double-pierced, pointed ears. A Feline maybe? It was also hard to believe that she was a female…her crinkled and dirty pants, combat boots, and choppy furcut gave her a tough and masculine demeanor. Her figure and stomach was lined, tough, and muscular…and her biceps were toned and looked strong enough to snap a man's neck like a dead twig.

Wolf's eyebrows lowered with newfound caution. He had to regard her as a threat…even if she was a woman. He and Leon knew the procedure…avoid eye contact, and avoid speaking unless spoken to.

Her indigo eyes flashed warningly, her voice echoing harshly from behind the cloth.

"Now, keep on your knees…unless you want them riddled with laser blasts." Her eyes narrowed down the sights of her AK blaster rifle. "I don't know how you found out about this place, or how you got in…but I _will _find out."

One of the canines lowered his rifle slightly. "Yeah, how did they get in here? I thought that kid said the traps would work-"

"Shut up, Nigel," The female snapped. "Now's not the time. The fact is that some thieves _did _get into our storage, regardless of the traps by our 'Lieutenant of Cornerian Mobile Corps.' What good is a thief if he can't even prevent other thieves from getting in? But that's what we get for trusting our security to a man." She straightened herself up. "A woman would never make that kind of mistake."

The canine on the side rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh, sure."

She shot him a fierce glare.

"What? I was agreeing with you!" The canine said fearfully, throwing his hands up.

Leon licked his lips and ventured a small comment, attempting to smooth-talk his way through. "Uh, correction-we aren't thieves. We're just…travelers, starving and desperate…look for something to eat-"

"_What?!" _The female looked behind them, spotting the upturned baskets and crumbs. She clenched her rifle murderously. "You fat, gluttonous _pigs! _How much did you eat? You dare-you know who this food is meant to feed? It's for hungrier people, more desperate people, not _your_ greedy asses!"

One of the canines raised his rifle sternly. "What do you have to say for yourselves?"

Leon paused for a moment. "Well, uh…whoever supplies this place has great taste in food, I'll give them that."

_Smakk!_

Wolf aimed a kick at Leon's foot before stepping forward slightly. The three strangers rose their rifles.

"We're sorry. We didn't know this place belonged to anyone important…we were just hungry from traveling. Neither of us are thieves," He paused and glanced at Leon. "Or not professionally, at least."

The female narrowed her eyes. "You're lying. A common traveler couldn't find his way, much less navigate through the sewers. So I'll give you another chance to tell me what you are. Bounty hunters? Assassins? Spies for the SharpClaw?"

Wolf bared his teeth. "I'm not affiliated with that barbarous filth, feline," He spat. "I can promise you that. We aren't even armed."

"Oh yeah?" One of the canine's hand shot forward and fished Leon's switch-blade from his coat pocket. "Then what's this stickin' out of your friend's pocket like a tumor?"

"HEY!" Leon's eyes flashed angrily, his voice suddenly ironing. "That knife's not some manufactured shit for your grubby fingers, that's a custom-made Surethean handle!" He paused, and let his voice revert back to its timid state. "But, it's for defense only."

"Look," Wolf said impatiently. "However we appear, neither of us had dishonorable intentions. We won't disturb this place again if you let my friend and I go in peace."

"Ha! You think I'm just going to let you both go after all that you've seen?" The Feline scoffed. "Just the _knowledge _you have of this place is enough for us to eliminate you as an enemy. Who the hell did you _think _this food belonged to?"

"I don't know!" Wolf said defensively "…the SharpClaw?"

The three armed figures said nothing for a moment. Their skeptical expressions faded, exchanging puzzled looks.

Wolf's eyes darted between them. "What?"

"You think…that the SharpClaw own this storage room?" One of the canines said.

Wolf hesitated. "Yes. Why?"

The Feline's eyes narrowed. "The SharpClaw don't eat common food…it's too 'low' for the likes of them."

"Yeah," The other canine said. "They only eat things like PukPuk Eggs and Goras Meat. Our food is just fattening trash for them." He lowered his rifle slightly. "Everyone in Catalaya knows that. Maybe these guys _are _off-worlders."

Wolf let out a breath of relief. Now, they had proof of their integrity.

But the Feline didn't look too convinced. Her fingers drummed against the handle of her camo-painted AK, eyes set in thought.

"Even if they _are _off-worlders," she said sternly, gripping her rifle as if she didn't have a choice. "And they _did _stumble upon this place without knowing about us, they still know about the place itself. They know its location…and others can retrieve that information now. They're a danger to us."

"But we swear we won't tell anyone!" Wolf protested angrily. "What else do you want from us? A Goddamn blood oath?!"

"It's not you I doubt!" The Feline said, her eyes uneasy. "It's your will. You may not know this since you're off-worlders, but the SharpClaw scour this city for even the smallest scrap of information about us. They'll stop at nothing to get at least a lead…and if they find you, they'll torture you and interrogate you for whatever information you have." She leveled her rifle forcefully. "You'll give in and sell us out…whether you want to or not."

Leon's eyes wandered around as the conversation ensued, the gears in his head churning rapidly. Clearly, there wasn't any reasoning with these people…whether they were trustworthy or not. There wasn't time to hesitate…they had to engage them.

Wolf lowered his hands, and clenched them into tight fists.

"Listen feline, I don't know _what _the SharpClaw want with you…and I don't care. I'm not one to rat out information to people I hate…" His eyes gleamed. _"Or _submit to torture."

Keeping his hands in the air still, Leon traced the toe of his boot over the ground while everyone's attention was on Wolf. It brushed against a tomato that lay scattered with the rest of the food…

The Feline gripped her AK. "I'm afraid I don't have a choice." She raised it. "I'm sorry. You'll have to-"

_FWSSHH!_

In a bolting movement, Leon slid the tomato on the side of his boot and kicked it up to his hand, before flinging it at one of the canines' faces.

SPLAT!

"_Gargh!" _The canine flailed his rifle around blindly, swiping at the red substance smeared over his eyes.

Wolf blinked at the abruptness of whatever Leon was doing, who quickly yelled at him before sprinting away. _"Split up, man, _GO!"

Processing the new plan in a heartbeat without time to question it, Wolf whirled around and bolted behind the wall of crates.

"HEY!"

The Feline shoved the blinded canine out of the way, firing at Wolf's trailing coat desperately as it disappeared behind him in the shadows of the crate complex.

_VRATTATTATTATTA-!_

The orange blaster-shots hammered against the crates, pulsing the wood and sending smoking splinters all over the ground.

Both Wolf and Leon were gone.

The masked canines hauled their rifles up, prepared to sprint after Wolf. But the Feline grabbed their shoulders and dragged them back.

"NO!" She urged hastily. "Get the lizard…I'll take this one."

"Damn it, _my eyes…" _The canine rubbed his face furiously. "I'm going to KILL that scaly son of a bitch!"

Rushing past them and reloading her AK hastily, she pointed it at the cracks between the walls and cracks of the walls of crates around her. She heard the sound of the canine's footsteps a few aisles away, shouting and firing their SMG's at even the slightest sign of movement.

The hazy lamps that hung on wires on the ceiling swung above her, but didn't provide a ton of light. Cursing under her breath, she flicked on the laser-sighting on her AK. A red dot shone and wobbled over the surface of the crates.

She stepped over food scattered on the ground, her indigo eyes scanning the crates.

The red dot from her sights moved over the crates…and although she kept her face forward, her eyes traveled to the top of the crate piles. She knew that the canine thief must be up there, since that would be the most logical place to hide…and wherever he was, he was watching her.

She had to fool him into coming down.

The Feline stepped over the scattered carrots, placing each step delicately and quietly-while her ears were fixed on the smallest of noises…

But she had her eyes on the crate-tops for so long, that she didn't see the purple eye blink in the slim, shadowy gap between two piles of crates on her left….

_SWATTTCH!_

Wolf's shadowy figure leapt out at the Feline, grabbing the barrel of her blaster rifle in an attempt to wrench it out of her hands.

They both wrestled for the rifle, grunting and heaving weight against each other. The Feline's hand slipped constantly, pulling the trigger by accident and firing at the lights above them. Wolf thought he'd have the advantage in strength, but the Feline wrenched at the rifle with such ferocity that he felt like he was trying to net down a wriggling shark.

_VRATTATTATTA!_

The lights shattered and caused sparks to rain down around them, casting them both in spark-illuminated shadows.

Finally, Wolf twisted the rifle with his huge clawed hands, yanking it out of the Feline's grip and kicking her aside.

"_Huagh!" _

The Feline rolled aside expertly, leaping to her feet, drawing a long survival knife with a serrated spine from her boot.

But Wolf was too quick. He flipped the AK and raised blazingly-fast, the barrel inches from the feline's face.

The Feline froze, crouched on the ground in a very cat-like way and held her knife close to her face, the cloth on her mouth expanding as she breathed heavily.

For a few moments, Wolf kept the barrel point-blank at the Feline's face, while her indigo eyes cautiously watched his finger hover around the trigger-

_Clack._

He jerked the laser-ammo magazine out, and tossed it and the rifle separately. As he turned to walk away, the Feline stood with furrowed eyebrows.

"What are you playing at?" She demanded in a quarrelsome voice.

"I fight a lot of opponents," Wolf answered. "But a woman won't be one of them."

But apparently, that was the worst answer he could have given. His ears perked at the sound of fast feet behind him, before a large, muscled arm latched around his neck. Caught by surprise and gasping for air, Wolf elbowed behind him fiercely-but the Feline swung him around and jabbed her knee into his face.

SLAM!

Wolf's vision blackened and blurred as the immensity of the blow rattled his skull. Then, taking advantage of his stunned state, the Feline snatched him painfully by the ears, balled her other hand into a fist, and-

_SPLTRCCHH!_

"MFFF!"

Wolf's head went numb as he felt a hot, cracking sensation down his snout, tasting thick blood before staggering against a crate.

_WHAT THE-?_

_DID __**SHE**__ DO THAT-?!_

The Feline's furious face came into focus.

"Don't you _dare _look down on me, you mangy asswipe!" She spat. "You won't fight a woman? Then you'll have to settle for being killed by one!"

She dashed forward, jabbing her combat knife straight for Wolf's eyes. His fur spiked startledly and he stepped to the side rapidly.

Spitting blood and filled with rage, Wolf snarled and hurled a punch at her-but her hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, crushing it in her iron grip. Wincing slightly, he stomped forward and threw his weight on top of her, slamming her back on a crate and forcing her to release his wrist and drop her knife.

The Feline's eyes flashed angrily, ripping her hands free and raising them up into fists like a boxer.

"_HUAGH!"_

SLAM!

_KRRT!_

WHAM!

The punches flew like shotgun blasts against Wolf, who barely blocked them with startled reflex on his forearms and wrists. He flinched as her fists hammered into his wrists.

_Jesus Christ…this girl's flinging these punches so effortlessly…._

…_and it feels like she's gonna snap my damn wrists in half…_

_Her hands…SHIT…._

_What does she do in her spare time, hurl asteroids?!_

_What did I say to make her so-?!_

"HARGH!"

He growled and swung his hands up, knocking the Feline's hands out of the way long enough for him to ram his shoulder into hers and force her back.

The Feline staggered back, before snatching her knife up from the ground.

Wolf swiped blood from his snout through heavy panting, glaring at the Feline. "Fine. I didn't want to have to kill you, Feline…but since you're a threat to me, as well as my friend…" SHING! He drew his Claw. "Then I'll take your life here and now."

"_I'm _the threat? You're on _our _territory, thief," The Feline hissed. "All I'm doing is protecting my allies…"

"All I'm doing is protecting _mine."_

"Really?" The Feline mocked scornfully. "With bloody nose and shit combat skills, how can you even protect yourself? You're a _nobody._"

CLANG!

He dove forward, swinging his curved blade down on her spiny one. The strike locked the edge of the Claw between the rivets of the combat knife, causing the two opponents to grind their blades against each other and let sparks coil off of them.

The Feline struggled under Wolf's pressing weight, until she jerked her knife back and let him release it all abruptly. He lost balance for only a second, but she sprang forward fast enough to take advantage of it, clamping her hands together and ramming her elbow into his stomach. He gagged and staggered back, but looked up in time to see her fist flying at him throw a hand up to block it.

_CLRNCH._

Wolf winced slightly as her brick-like fist smashed into his palm, but his iron fingers tightened and crushed her hand into a tight hold inches from his face. He clenched his teeth as she fought fiercely to rip her hand from his grip, but her face scrunched up and sweated as she withstood the pain of Wolf's bone-crushing grip.

Something bordering between a growl and a roar seethed through Wolf's teeth. He wouldn't have his fighting skills questioned by some prudish amateur.

He was the Leader of a Star Pilot Team…He had been praised once…feared once.

He could stand being kicked around like a sack of flour at the hands of the SharpClaw….but this? This was just a common person…a warm-blooded Lylatian, someone he'd never lose to. Who was _she _to question his fighting abilities?!

If she only _knew _who he was….

"I've killed enemies more powerful and less uptight than you," He said in a menacing voice. "I've killed more men than you've met in your whole life…Cornerians, Venomians, _and _SharpClaw...enough to cover every grain of sand in this desert! You're pissed off that _I _looked down on _you? _I should kill a worthless nobody like you for looking down on me!"

For a moment, Wolf saw the first startled look in her aggressive indigo eyes. He could tell by how they widened for a moment that she was indeed somewhat afraid of his frightening strength.

"HUAGH!"

He grabbed her wrist with both hands and swung her against the crate wall. She thrashed violently as he swung her past him, but grunted as the crate struck the back of her head. As he raised his hand into a fist, she dove forward before the aggressive swing could brush the fur on her cheek.

_CRASH!_

Wolf's fist smashed through the wooden surface of the crate. He tore his hand out, causing shattered splinters to spill out.

The Feline snatched her knife from the ground and swiped at him, before grabbing the handle with both hands and swinging the pommel into Wolf's stomach.

"_KAACCHH!"_

Wolf spluttered as the butt of the knife hammered into his already-sore stomach, knocked back on staggering feet. He almost collapsed on the crate behind him, but he jabbed his determined heel into the ground shaking himself out of the daze.

He straightened himself up, cracked his neck from side to side, and was about to confront her again, when-

"_Argh!"_

He winced slightly, realizing how much that last attack had strained the bandaged wounds on his back, the sting rattling down his arms. Leon was right…they hadn't fully healed yet.

He narrowed his eyes. Drakon was dead, and the scars he left behind were _still _a burden.

_Just shrug it off… _He told himself firmly. _If you want to avoid damage, finish the fight quickly!_

The Feline kicked Wolf's blade behind her, and thrashed the knife at his face.

_Swa-_SHING!

Wolf unsheathed the claws fast enough to fling them in front of his face. The knife's grating edge rattled against his claws for a moment, before he swiped them aside.

CLANG!

Sparks flashed from Wolf's claws as he struck the blade away, lashing out with enough reach to graze one of them against her shoulder.

"Gargh!"

She jumped back, seething slightly at the surprisingly large cut that the mere graze of Wolf's claw had produced. She clutched the scratch and narrowed her eyes at him.

Wolf flicked the blood from his claws, and then flourished them in front of him with a low and revving growl, daring her to make the next move. Then, without warning he pounced forward.

Shrr-_IIING!_

SHWA-_SHANG!_

KRR-_AAANG!_

Wolf slashed with both sets of claws, their gleaming shapes blurring into a deadly flurry. The Feline parried each strike admirably with her blade, her quick eyes catching the movement of every blow. Their feet moved for them, maneuvering them down the dimly-lit aisle.

"_HRAAAGH!" _Wolf snarled viciously, hammering at the blade in a determined effort to break her block. The sparks flying from each collision illuminated the dark hallway of crates that lined either side of them.

Then, the Feline tore her knife from the attacks raining down on it, and swung it back and plunged straight at Wolf's eyes. Wolf scowled and jumped back.

He rose his hand, prepared to latch at her face. The sudden gleam of the claws above her face made her frantic, and her tensed reflexes provoked her into swinging the knife up protectively.

The feint had worked.

While her knife was raised, Wolf arched his back in a sudden, sleeker, predatorily manner. He had waited the entire fight for this moment, a moment to snatch that knife out of the Feline's iron and unyielding grip. He tore his claws at the Feline's knife in a splitting manner, with enough sudden force to snare the knife out of her unprepared hands.

_Clang!_

The knife fell to the ground with a clatter, but the Feline hadn't been rendered defenseless yet.

Almost prepared, dodged the wake of the deadly claws in a quick dash, edging close enough to Wolf and lightly strike his snout with the side of her hand.

"_Mrrnph!"_

The blow wasn't that hard, but it successfully stirred the blood up in Wolf's bleeding nose. Sudden hot and dizzy pain mulled his sense for a moment, making him hobble and grasp his nose like a wounded animal.

Through blood and fury, he looked up at the Feline. The light chops, the swift punches, the quick punches…they all indicated the same thing: close-quarter combat expertise. This girl _was _trained.

"HAGH!"

He leapt up without warning, curling his hands into fists.

For a second, they just had at it…no weapons, no draw distance….just up-close, unarmed combat.

_**FRATTT!**_

The Feline rapped him between the ears, and aimed a kick at the shins.

**CLRRTCH!**

Wolf caught her leg, pulled it forward like rope and latched his arm around her neck.

_**Fwsshhh!**_

She hurled herself into a back-flip behind him, landing on the palm of her hands and swinging her muscular legs behind her to knock Wolf off his feet.

**CLAMP!**

Wolf already saw it coming and stumbled forward, but not without bringing his hand down into a swift chop.

_SMAKKK!_

"Ugh!"

Wolf's hand smashed down on her shoulder like a guillotine, knocking her back-first on the ground. He drew himself up and raised his foot, prepared to bring it down on her face.

But however swift Wolf thought himself to be, the nimble Feline was far quicker.

She curled into a rapid combat roll and dove between his legs-uncurling, snatching her knife from the ground, and rising all in one blazing movement-and slashed at Wolf's back.

SLRTTCCCHHH!

"_GAAAURGH!"_

The knife's keen point tore straight through his coat and bandages, the saw-like edge tearing a layer into his skin. Wolf, caught in a scream and a groan, writhed as the agony poured from out of the raw wound in his back. His feet wobbled as he collapsed against the crate behind him. The cut didn't feel that deep, but for some reason the pain seemed much worse…like the synonymous stings of a dozen wasps on an open cut rimmed with salt.

"_Haagh…haargh…."_

He panted hoarsely, his shoulders shaking as he placed a ginger hand on the stinging spot on his back.

"_Agh!"_

His knees became weak as the mere touch seemed to agitate the wound that seemed to sickeningly-wet for such a small cut. It was opening…rapidly… the white-hot pain ripped at his skull, preventing him from thinking…

Wolf's skin tingled in realization, remembering where he had felt this pain before.

_Sh—Shit…_

_She opened up…one of the scars…_

_One that wasn't fully healed yet…_

He collapsed to his knees, starting to pale and wheeze from the intense loss of blood. He shut his eyes tightly as he felt the sickening feeling of flesh tearing apart like wet cardboard as movement strained the open wound, the hot, sticky blood pouring down the inside of his coat.

The Feline stood over him with her knife in hand, the triumph of the battle rendering her unaware of the damp spot on Wolf's back. For all she knew, he was just wounded slightly.

"Tell me, thief…did those enemies of yours teach you how to fight so poorly? Look at you! Your stance, grip, and footing are pathetic…you can't control your strength…you're a mess. Imbalanced."

In the midst of his pained panting, Wolf glowered up at her and reached for his Claw angrily. She folded her arms.

"You should just throw down your weapon so that you can die without humiliating yourself some more. I don't like seeing someone in such-"

"_HAAAGH!"_

The Feline raised her knife in sudden caution, but only to realize that Wolf wasn't charging forward….

…he had crumpled to the ground like a nauseous wreck.

Blood started to pour from his sleeves and coat, damp red patches sprouting from different spots on the brown leather. He coughed and gagged helplessly, sprawled in a state of bleeding pain. The intensity of the pain wanted to make him squirm in the crimson pool, but he was too weak and drained to scream.

The Feline's eyes grew huge. She dropped the knife and fell to her knees, examining Wolf with frantic confusion.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed from a few yards away. The two canines approached, both sweating and breathing heavily.

"We couldn't find the lizard…he could be anywhere in this-"

Their looks changed when they saw Wolf, eyes drawing from the blood to the Feline that stood over him.

"You got him!" One of them said. But his look faded into uneasiness. "Jeez…how bad did you kill him…?"

"_Shut up!" _The Feline yelled in hurried anxiety, yanking at Wolf's coat and dragging him up. "I didn't do this, you moron! This guy's been beaten…bad. I must've hit him in a wound or scarred-up spot. There's no way I did this with a knife…"

_Rrrip!_

Wrinkling her nose, she peeled off a damp layer of the coat. As she looked down at the mess of scars below…one of them bleeding horribly…her face was even more drained than Wolf's. But her eyes weren't filled with fearful shock…but fearful recognition.

Wolf looked up and groaned weakly.

"S…_stop_…"

She ripped off her face-sash and balled it up against the wound, looking up at the canines. "Go get some medical supplies from the emergency crates, _now!"_

"What?" The canines blinked. "But he's-why're you-?"

"Look at these markings!" The Feline barked hurriedly. "These aren't combat wounds…they're scourging marks. This is that bastard Drakon's work, it _has _to be…but I've never seen anyone with this many cuts…how far did he fucking go…?"

"Wait…this guy's a _slave?"_

The Feline looked up furiously. "Would you idiots go and get the damn supplies like I told you?! _Do it, _or I'll butcher _your _asses!"

The canines didn't stand around to see her back up her words, turning and sprinting out of view.

The Feline pressed the cloth harder, lowering her head towards Wolf's ear.

"Don't worry…no more harm will come to you here. Whatever pain or misunderstanding I've made for you, just forget it right now. I didn't know who you are…or _how _you escaped. But no one will hurt you here, you have my word…as another prisoner of that horrible place."

Wolf raised his cheek from the wet ground, looking up dazedly.

"W-Why are you doing this…? Who are you….?"

The Feline looked down, her face visible without the cloth covering her mouth. Through the blur of pain, he saw black spots speckling her cheeks, and indigo eyes regarding him sternly.

"I'm the Leader of the TRU Organization…Miyu Jaleesa."

_End of Chapter_


	18. Chapter 18

Well…as of now, I'm a year older. Getting' old _

But regardless, now that Miyu's turned up, I assume I have a few questions to answer.

So enjoy…**and PLEASE don't forget to REVIEW!**

_Chapter 18: The T.R.U._

_Catalayan Underground Warehouse, 5 ALW (HMD Period)_

A firm voice and a sudden tightening discomfort were the first things Wolf felt as he came to.

After that, the sudden sickening weakness in his limbs made him feel nauseous. Blinking dazedly, the glare of one of the warehouse lamps shocked his vision back into focus. The hard edge of a crate lined against his back, where it leaned against it.

Wolf looked to the side and saw the Feline from earlier, uncomfortably close on the floor with him, and eyes focused on something on his back.

"_You!"_

FWUMP!

The wooden crate behind him rattled as he shoved her away in frantic aggression, hand raised and claws out. The Feline backed away in alarm.

"You dug into my wounds and crippled me!" He yelled accusingly. "Why didn't you-"

He froze, his hand rummaging towards his belt for his Claw.

"Where's my-?"

CLANG!

The familiar curved blade dropped at Wolf's feet from where the Feline dropped it. He looked at her with confused, but still-narrowed eyes.

"There…you can take it, now will you calm down?" She stood and folded her arms. "For Christ's sake, I wasn't going to steal it. I didn't know how you'd react with me sitting over you, so I held onto it for a while."

Wolf looked at her for a second…and then at the two canines standing in the corner, leaning casually on crates but still with a cautious grip on their rifles. But…if they wanted him dead, they would have killed him by now.

Shooting the Feline a suspicious look, he reached out and took his Claw.

Now that her cloth mask was off and the blur of combat wasn't present, her features had become more distinguishable. Her feline features were more prominent without the confines of a mask, lined with spots and spikey cheek-fur. They, along with her ears, were enough proof that she wasn't a common cat…she had to have been a lynx or a bobcat, or something...in her mid-twenties, at least. Wolf had never met either one, so it wouldn't have made a difference.

She looked like she had walked straight off of one of the countless feminist worker propaganda Wolf had seen during the war. Her tanned muscles, toned chest, powerful thighs and legs all contributed to a no-nonsense athletic prowess….if the painful impact of her fists hadn't been enough, both of which peeked out of fingerless gloves and looked scarred from numerous confrontations. Those would have been enough to establish the very masculine air about her, but her crinkled camo pants and large boots added to it as well. Any minute now, Wolf half-expected her to flex her biceps and say something like "We can do it!" or "It's up to us", or some other equally-forced ad phrase. She wore a battered, rolled-up jacket over a tight, black muscle-shirt, with one of the sleeves torn clean off to expose a muscular arm. On her bare arm was a tattoo of the Cornerian Army Emblem with a dragon wrapped around it and the letters "C.G.T.F." stamped above them. Small piercings lined her tall ears, which towered over her unevenly cut fur that hung in spikey bangs on her forehead.

But despite all of that, she had the potential to look nice. Her eyebrows curved delicately and complimented the exotic nature of her catlike face, along with the tan color of her fur and intricate pattern of spots.

She might have even looked pretty, if only her face wasn't contorted in such a fierce look. Her creased brow locked her slick eyebrows together. Her scowl heightened her cheekbones. Her intimidating demeanor illuminated her jaded indigo eyes with a stinging glare of hot-tempered disdain but also the potential to gleam with mischief and spunk.

It was like her facial structure and attitude were warring for dominance over her appearance.

Wolf blinked for a moment, and noticed that her two canine posse were standing a good yard away…with their rifles shouldered and brushing bandage tissue and blood from their hands.

The sight of medical equipment made his hand crawl up to his back, suddenly remembering the sickening feeling of flesh parting there. But with some groping, he only felt firmly-pressed wrappings of cloth.

_They redressed my wounds. _He narrowed his eyes. _So…was that an act of mercy…or do they need me alive for something?_

But even if his captors didn't intend to kill him…or at least didn't act like it…it didn't hurt to be cautious. He reached out and took his Claw from the Lynx's feet.

"There. Are we calm now?" The Lynx asked in a somewhat mocking voice. "I don't want the useless thing anyway. It's not efficient with combat, least of all attachable to a gun. I won't trade my knife for that crude blade."

Wolf sheathed it. "This 'crude blade' almost tore your neck clean open, feline."

"I'm sure," The Lynx said in an unimpressed voice. "Well, it didn't help you very much. You still hit the ground like a bag of dirt, regardless of how 'deadly' your blade was."

"I hit the ground because my wounds bled open, not because _you _defeated me!" Wolf said heatedly. "I only lose fights to powerful opponents, not arrogant punks like you."

"Yeah?" The Lynx folded her arms mockingly. "Well, if you're so tough, then why do you fight like such a pussy? Your stance and fighting form was weak and broken…a child could've handed your ass to you."

Wolf growled and started to get up, but winced and fell back against the crate at the pain of his strained cuts.

The Lynx's mocking smile faded, and she helped him up.

"Hey, don't move around so much, tough guy. You were in bad shape when I fought you…and now you're in worse."

He cringed away. "I don't need your help."

"Relax, Wolf…they aren't our enemies. We can trust them."

Wolf spun his head around at the sound of Leon's voice, and found him leaning on a crate to his left.

"Leon? What're you-"

"I came out of hiding when I heard you get struck down," He said as-a-matter-of-factly. "I saw them standing over you while you were bleeding, and almost attacked them myself. But after they reasoned with me and asked to help patch you up, I agreed to trust them for the time being."

Wolf rubbed his bandaged back. "Which one of you did the bandages?"

"I did," The Lynx said. "And you're lucky I did them fast enough, otherwise we wouldn't have stopped the bleeding." She looked at him sideways. "Are you prone to excessive bleeding?"

Wolf blinked. "What?"

"I'm just asking. I cut I landed on you wasn't that deep…but you bled way, _way _more than you should have."

"If I am, it's none of your business," Wolf said stiffly, tightening his could around his wounds. "Why'd you redress my wounds anyway?"

The Lynx's facial expression changed to a stern, sincere one.

"Because I didn't realize that I was fighting an escaped slave…especially one inflicted by the pain of the Adder Tongues."

Wolf looked up suddenly. "How do you know that?"

"I think I know the mark of those damn barbs when I see 'em," The Lynx said, pulling up her sleeve to expose a mark on her arm. It was a scar, deep and riveting like Wolf's, but faded and from years past. "That bastard Drakon did the same thing to me back when I was still stuck in that miserable shithole. And anyone who's endured that kind of pain and is still _sane…_" She looked at Wolf. "Then that person doesn't need to be further scarred by anyone…least of all me."

Wolf sat up, suddenly interested. "You were a slave there, too?"

"We all were," One of the canines in the back said. "But we made those SharpClaw pay in the end."

Leon raised his eyebrows. "Did you, now?"

The Lynx cracked her knuckles with a fiendish grin. "Damn right. We escaped and killed dozens of their cold-blooded scumbags…made _them _squirm in agony…and liberated the slaves around us, even if we did have to leave a few behind." Her eyes fell, suddenly looking guilty. "And we've been fighting them ever since."

Wolf looked at each of them, still processing them. "You people fight _SharpClaw? _How?"

"Not just us," The bigger of the two canine said.

"I think we're getting ahead," The Lynx interrupted. "They're off-worlders, so they probably don't know. You probably don't even remember my name from before you passed out," She added, looking at Wolf. "My name's Miyu Jaleesa. Ex-Officer Miyu Jaleesa."

"Ex-Officer?" Leon asked.

Miyu pointed at the "C.G.T.F." emblem tattooed on her arm. "Ex-Officer of the Cornerian Guerilla Tactics Force during the Lylat Wars. But nowadays, I'm just a girl with a gun."

Wolf raised a cautious brow. A member of the Cornerian Army…things wouldn't fare well for him if they found out who he really was. But then the disgruntled remembrance occurred to him that they wouldn't believe the truth anyway…so he just sunk back against the crate.

"And these two guys with me are…" She stopped and turned to the two canines. "Guys, you might as well remove the masks. They aren't a threat to us…or our identities."

They both looked somewhat relieved as they swept off the black cloth from their mouths. One was a sleepy-looking St. Bernard who was at least 6 ½ feet tall, and the other was a muddy Malamute with a pink, furless left ear, and a puckered scowl more sour than Miyu's.

"The sleepy one's Nigel," Miyu introduced them. "He's incompetent and has shit for brains…but you won't find a more loyal comrade anywhere on-planet."

"Thanks, Miyu," The canine Nigel said in a very low voice. "I think you're loyal and incompetent, too."

"The one with a singed-off ear is Duke," She continued. "He might reek of booze, but his detonation skill and a lit fuse are enough to shorten any battle."

"Don't sit there smug like you had nothing to do with my ear, Miyu!" Duke barked. "You're the reason all the fur's singed off."

"Yes, and I'm also the reason the rest of your body's still here…and not riddled with SharpClaw steel after that incident in the Patora Slave Yard." She turned back to Wolf. "We're members of the Underground Resistance here on Titania."

"Resistance?" Wolf echoed. "What resistance?"

"The TRU Organization. Titanian Resistance Unit…opposing force of Lylatians against General Talon's Army… you really haven't heard of us?" Duke asked incredulously.

Wolf and Leon looked at each other with blank expressions.

"Man, you guys _are _off-worlders," Nigel said. "But I guess you'd have to be, if you walked in here and didn't recognize our insignia on all the crates." He pointed at the black-inked symbol of a hand, wrapped in barbed wire and clutching a combat knife, stenciled on each wooden crate.

Leon stifled a laugh. "Yeah, some resistance. You should probably tell your leader to lock up his food in a tighter spot. You know how easy it was to find this place?"

Miyu's ear twitched, an oncoming vex approaching in her face like a storm cloud.

"_I'm _the Leader of the Resistance, as a matter of fact," She fumed. "So if you have any complaints, file them here."

"Wait a minute," Wolf stopped them. _"You _guys are the rebels on this planet? _You _fight the SharpClaw? You must be kidding…"

Miyu put her hands on her hips. "And what's so hard to believe about that?"

"Well, no offense," Wolf retorted. "But you guys seem a bit shabby for a group of resistance fighters."

"Big talk from a punk in rags," Miyu spat back. "You could barely take a fight from me, much less than my men."

"I might be wounded, but I still have enough energy to rip that smirk of your face, feline," He growled warningly, preparing to get up.

"Yeah, alright, I know…you'll make me suffer." She rolled her eyes. "Now sit down before you hurt yourself. I'm sick of wrapping your wounds up."

He sat there, glaring at Miyu as she jabbed the obnoxious truth of the situation in his face, and with a grumble, sat back down.

"What my friend here means, is…" Leon stepped forward. "…we were expecting someone more well-equipped, organized…" He paused as if choosing his words carefully. "…and more, ah….abundant in number."

"We may seem rough and uneven on the surface," Miyu agreed. "But we _are _the resistance. Our group was formed three years ago after the liberation of the First Slave Yard Camp…back before half of the temples and shrines outside the city walls were finished. We fought our way out, and then fled for the city and went into hiding…and have been resisting them ever since."

"So you people actually fight on par with the SharpClaw?" Wolf asked, despite himself.

All three of them were quiet for a moment. Bitter looks were exchanged, as if there was a long, miserable history behind the answer to that question.

"We used to," Miyu said glumly. "We haven't fought them in a long time…not since the failure of our third…and more recent coup d'état."

"Coup d'état?" Wolf echoed.

Miyu paused. "An attack on the Main Forces of the Enemy Army…and their base of operations."

"I know what it means!" Wolf said irritably, but Leon waved him down.

"The losses of that defeat have been so great that we haven't staged another strike since…" Miyu said, grinding her teeth and clenching her fists. "…and we've been forced to endure the shit of losing and living in hiding like cowards."

"Why? How bad did you guys lose?" Leon asked tentatively.

None of the TRU members spoke.

"Let's just say we're half of what we used to be," Duke said bitterly. "And I'll leave it at that."

"And not mostly because of casualties," Nigel added. "Most members quit after that. Man, you should've seen how many of 'em left after tha-"

"Okay, you've made your point," Miyu said in an irritated voice, clenching her fists. "Now do me a favor and shut the hell up."

Wolf waited for the intensity of the conversation to simmer down before he ventured another question. "So if you guys don't fight the SharpClaw...what doyou do?"

"Mostly rescue, take in and harbor refugees," Miyu said. "The people who can't stand up for themselves. And that's a lot of people to take care of, let me tell you…"

"Can't be that bad," Leon shrugged optimistically. "I saw a lot of people at the market today buying things, selling…they all looked well-fed and healthy to me."

"Those are the people who pay the weekly tax that General Talon saps out of the population here in the city," Duke interrupted. "They might be thrown around by the SharpClaw, but they can scrape by. But they aren't the majority…the majority of Lylatians that live here in Catalaya are the street urchins…poor bastards in slums, thinner than twigs, just barely saving enough to fulfill the SharpClaw's demands…or failing, and becoming slaves as a result."

Instantly, the image of the countless frail women, children, and elderly Wolf had seen at the Slave Yard…all those paper-thin wretches in chains….it all made sense now.

"Those are the people who can't pay up?" Wolf exclaimed in shock. "But I saw hundreds…"

"And there are dozens of camps just like that one, off-worlder," Miyu said grimly. "We're lucky to send in an Agent of the TRU every now and then to pass off as a slave to bust out a couple of those helpless people. But we've had to call off some of our recently-placed agents after one of them got trapped within the camp. We only got her out a few days ago…"

Both Wolf and Leon looked up instantly, both of them thinking the same thing.

"It was Fay," Wolf said in realization.

Miyu stared at him, mouth open. "How did you-?"

"She's an agent for you guys…the Resistance!" Leon said, putting it all together. "That's the organization Riley was talking about, the one he's apart of!" He looked at the canines. "You guys know him, right? Riley Gingerback? Short, scruffy fur, nimble hands, big mouth?"

Duke and Nigel looked at each other, rolling their eyes knowingly.

"We know him," They said in unison.

"How do you know about Fay and Riley?" Miyu asked sharply, hand reaching for her AK. "Who told you?"

"Nobody told us, we met them," Wolf said, standing up abruptly. "We met Riley in the Slave Yard, and Fay stitched my wounds up when I got beaten by the Adder Tongues. I owe a lot to both of them…"

"Yeah, and we pitched in when they coordinated that escape!" Leon added. He drew himself up. "I hope they mentioned that. I didn't almost get my ass grilled without the benefit of some credit."

"Wait a minute, Riley's been going on about those two friends of his ever since he got back," Nigel nudged her. "Fay has, too."

"Yeah, I remember…" Miyu stopped them, narrowing her eyes. "Hold on…so that means…"

She looked at Wolf, a look of disbelief erupting from her face.

"That means _you're _the one she was talking about?"

"What do you mean?" Wolf asked.

"Fay told me about a pair of strangers who helped with the liberation effort back at the Slave Yard," Miyu said, her eyes darting back and forth, as if connecting the dots. "She said one of them stood up for a woman and her child, and took a relentless beating from the Adder Tongues for it. Then that person saved her, and then confronted Drakon by himself…"

She looked up at him. Her face suddenly was masked in an expression of both shock, and something else…that might have been fear.

"Was it…_you?"_

All three astonished TRU members looked at Wolf.

But Wolf had hoped that the whole thing about the girl and her baby would have stayed in the Slave Yard…he didn't like being the subject of this 'hero' topic he hated so much.

"I…I don't know what she's talking about," Wolf cleared his throat in denial. "May be Fay's made some kind of mistake."

"Fay doesn't make mistakes," Miyu snapped. "She may be odd on the surface, but she isn't stupid…and neither am I. So I'll ask you again…" She stepped up to his full height, her indigo eyes singeing into him. "Did you fight Drakon…or not?"

Wolf clenched his fists.

"Yeah, fine…I fought Drakon. I defeated him, too."

There was an uneasy silence, before Miyu broke it with a scornful laugh.

"You? Pfft…yeah right." She folded her arms skeptically. "You didn't have the skill or prowess to defeat me, much less kill Drakon."

"I didn't kill him, I defeated him," Wolf repeated. "That bastard was hell-bent on breaking me for the sake of his own, twisted satisfaction…and I turned that on him to let his rage be his death." A cold malice rang in his voice. "So I left him to die crushed under the flaming remains of his own temple…buried clean by his own good work."

Duke whistled. "Damn…"

"So, does that mean that _you're _the Jyrukahaad?" Nigel asked incredulously. "The one the SharpClaw are after?"

Wolf's ear twitched at the sound of the odd word. "The _what?"_

Miyu raised her eyebrows. "You really don't know?"

"Know what?" Wolf asked impatiently.

"A few days ago, General Talon posted a huge bounty on an escaped slave. According to the description, said slave was single-handedly responsible for the deaths of Drakon and about thirty other SharpClaw Elites. Eyewitnesses claim…" Her eyelids lowered skeptically. "…that he moved like smoke, cutting down dozens of SharpClaw twice his size while taking excruciating damage himself. Apparently, he was covered in wounds, including Adder Tongue lashes, and still walking and killing relentlessly. The SharpClaw Army has christened this new abomination Jyrukahaad…" She looked at all of them. "In their native language, it means 'Gray Ghost'."

She kept her eyes locked on Wolf, as Duke, Nigel, and Leon glanced at him, too.

"Me," Wolf murmured. _"I'm _the Gray Ghost?"

"_This guy? _Ha!" Duke scoffed. "You're telling me this scrawny little canine with more medical cloth than skin bested the Head Scourge himself?! I couldn't believe that bullshit if I wanted to!"

The St. Bernard, Nigel, peered down at Wolf with owlish interest. "Hmm…he doesn't look like a ghost. Looks more like one of those Star Wolf impersonators to me."

A hot sting unraveled in Wolf's chest like alcohol to a fire. He wanted to tell the ignorant canine what was glaringly wrong with that statement, but he kept his mouth shut.

"What do you think, Miyu?" Duke turned to her, still looking amused.

But Miyu wasn't scoffing now. Her eyes were locked on Wolf, their indigo stare seeming to knife into his while searching for something…change of breath, unusual eye dilation…some sure sign of dishonesty.

Wolf remained still. He wasn't afraid of her (or at least, not entirely), but something about the way she stared at him made him feel exposed and uneasy.

Then, as if not finding anything, she started to circle him. Her eyes scanned him from head to toe…from his poorly-stitched clothes to his hastily-bandaged hands. Wolf's eyebrows furrowed, feeling uncomfortable-he had been in the desert for days, and had enough birds circle him. But the whole time, Miyu wore a look of dissatisfaction…like there was something she was looking for that she couldn't find on Wolf.

Then her eyes fell on his eyepatch.

_Fwwft!_

Her hand shot out as quick as a snake, snatching the sash from his face.

"HEY!"

Wolf threw an irritated hand on his left eye on instinct.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Crazy bitch!"

He braced himself for the rewarding punch for that insult, but Miyu was too busy examining the red cloth in her hands. Her eyes became huge as her fingers traced the strange golden writing…and the triple-claw ranking symbol on the cloth.

Wolf's anger faltered. _What's she doing…?_

The color from Miyu's face was gone…and it wasn't out of fear. It was out of recognition.

"You fool."

Everyone in the room barely heard Miyu say it…her voice was barely above a whisper.

Nigel leaned forward anxiously. "Miyu-?"

"_Give me one of the lamps! _NOW!" Miyu barked suddenly, making both canines wince.

Without hesitation, Duke ripped an oil lamp from the wall and held it to her. Miyu snatched it and flung the sash down, before smashing the lamp on it.

"_Miyu!" _

The canines backed away in shock, as the flame of the lantern swallowed the sash and reduced it to ashy remains. Miyu stood and furiously stomped the flame out with her boot.

Smoke rose from the charred glass on the floor, acknowledged only with the sound of Miyu breathing heavily, and the shocked silence of everyone else.

Then, as if springing into a new rage, she grabbed Wolf by the collar and slammed him against a crate.

WHAM!

"_Gargh!" _Wolf grunted. _"What the f-?"_

"ARE YOU RETARDED?!" Miyu shouted, her eyes fixed with fury, but her hands shaking. "The ENTIRE SharpClaw Army is scouring the city for you like hunting dogs, and you're parading around with Drakon's scarf ON YOUR _FACE?!" _He edged uncomfortably close to Wolf's face, jabbing a demanding finger at him. "How many SharpClaw have seen you today? _How many?"_

"WOULD YOU CALM DOWN?!" Wolf roared angrily. _"I haven't _MET _any SharpClaw today! _I've only met Fay!"

Miyu froze. Color returned to her face.

"Y-You're sure?" She asked in a dry voice.

"Yes," Wolf said furiously. "Now, _for fuck's sake,_ would you get your claws off of me?"

Miyu released him from her grip, the collar on his jacket in crinkled tatters. She collapsed back against a crate in relief, sliding down to her knees.

Wolf rubbed his neck from where she had stretched the collar of his jacket, before ripping a strip of cloth and fashioning yet another hastily-made eye patch.

Leon looked back at the ashy remains of the scarf, still confused.

"Um, what does it matter if anyone saw him wear it? It's not like anyone in this city would think he was a threat to the SharpClaw by looking at him…he's just a ragged off-worlder to everyone here."

Wolf scowled. "Thanks, Leon."

"That's a SharpClaw Centurion's sash," Miyu said in a scalding voice. "Maybe the merchants and common filth won't be able to recognize it, but even the most empty-skulled SharpClaw knows an officer's mark when he sees it! What if they had found you before we did?"

"Yeah, well, sorry," Wolf uttered, angrily realizing his stupidity. "Some of us haven't been on this planet for very long."

"That's not an excuse," Miyu snapped. She rubbed her temples. "God…I'm just glad we found you first. Just think what would've happened if the SharpClaw found you…"

Then, her fur bristled colorlessly, freezing as she contemplated a new, horrible possibility.

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed.

_Why does she care, all of a sudden? She tried to kill me a second ago…_

The startled-looking Lynx looked at him, breath becoming chopped.

"We need to take you to our headquarters. _Now."_

Duke blinked. "Whoa…_what? _They're off-worlders! Complete strangers! Why should we-"

"Look, they helped Fay and Riley already," She cut in. "I think that's enough of an indicator that they aren't with the SharpClaw. Besides, I think S-" Then she stopped herself in a cautious, restraining manner. "I mean, our Resistance Advisor would be interested in him…especially when he finds out that he's the Grey Ghost."

"Wait, what Advisor?" Wolf asked, exasperated by all this half-hidden information. "What would he want with me?"

"I can't explain everything right now," Miyu said in an urgent voice. "Not in the open. Look…I just need you to come with me. Both of you."

Leon raised a hand. "Hold on, where exactly are these Headquarters?"

"Hidden…away from the SharpClaw's prying eyes. Again, something I can explain later when we we're far away from here."

"And what's in it for us, exactly?"

"Until our Advisor comes to a verdict, you'll stay in our care," Miyu assured him. "You'll be under our protection. You'd have warmth, food, shelter, clothes, whatever we can provide…" She glanced at their rags. "And judging by the look of you both, that's not an offer you should turn down."

Leon looked at Wolf with an impressed nod, looking for approval.

Wolf's eyes narrowed. "And would we be free to leave, should we decide to?"

"No," Miyu said instantly, eyes full of alarm. "I mean-Not for a while…not until our Group Advisor comes to a decision. But even if we did let you go, you wouldn't have much else to go to. Just the city walls, and a desert waiting to devour you outside. You're best option would be to stay with us."

Wolf looked at each TRU member individually. "I'm still not sure. I don't know if I can trust you, yet…"

"Look… 'Grey Ghost', was it? if you could trust Fay and Riley, you can trust me," Miyu said exasperatedly. "I know I set up bad first impression, but if you don't hurry-"

BZZZZ!

Suddenly, the overhead lamps began to dim and flare, the walls all around them humming. The lights flickered on and off, and the wired connections on the walls sizzled slightly. The TRU members remained still with their eyes locked on the light, but Wolf and Leon reached for their weapons cautiously.

Then, the humming stopped…and the lights resumed their hazy, dim glare.

Leon blinked. "What just happened? Was that a power outage, just now?"

Duke reached for his rifle, eyes darting to the door. "That's the SharpClaw draining Catalaya's power lines to fuel their airships. They're about to start their nighttime airborne patrol of the city."

Miyu looked at Wolf desperately.

"We have to go…_now! _Look, you may not trust me, but you have to come with us! You don't know how important you are…and what we would lose if the SharpClaw captured you!"

Wolf gripped his Claw firmly. "Listen, it's nice that you're a resistance and all…Seriously, I'd join any opposition group without hesitation…but I just escaped a slave pit, and I'm not ready to hand out my trust to anyone…" He stepped back. "Regardless of who you claim to-"

_Click._

"Alright, I've had _enough!"_

The other two canines gaped and stared at Miyu, as she pulled her camo-colored AK off her back, pointing it at Wolf.

"_Miyu! _What're you-"

But she raised her rifle. "If I have to drag you back to our hideout _at gunpoint_, then I _will. _I don't care if you _are _the Grey Ghost, or about how many SharpClaw you've killed…if you try to survive in this city against these stronger ones, these Legionaries, _you will die. _And that's something I can't afford…not now…not after…" Her breath became heavy, and she gripped her gun tightly. "…Not after waiting for so long."

Wolf stared at her. _Waiting…_

_Waiting…for what?_

"What are you talking about?"

"I can't explain it now!" Miyu uttered. "Look…you _need_ to come with me. And Goddammit, if you force me to fight you this time and drag you back unconscious, then I won't hesitate to do it!"

Her voice put up a fierce effort to intimidate Wolf, but he sensed something difference in her voice. This time, when she pointed a gun at him…she didn't sound nearly as confident or strong. Her voice was wrought with shaky desperation…almost, an imploring tone. Also, though she tried to conceal it…her fingers trembled around the barrel, and even the slightest movement from Wolf made her grip tighten nervously.

She was afraid…of _him. _But why…? Why now, and not before…?

Wolf looked at her keenly. There was something going on that he didn't know about.

"Do…do you order me to come with you?" He asked. "Or do you _need _me to come?"

Miyu's look faltered in surprise. But then she raised her gun up. "Both. Listen…" She sighed. "I know how you feel…I was a slave once, too. And when I was, I was one longer than anyone usually survived…and I know that feeling of distrust in anything that you don't know. It follows you…just like the scars do."

Wolf looked at her. For once…there wasn't ferocity or spunk in her voice. It was plain…and honest.

"But you _have_ to trust me," She begged. "You don't how important you are to us….how important you could be. Nothing will happen to you under my care…do act of dishonesty or deception." She kept her gun raised with her right hand, but freed her left to raise it up. "You have my word on that."

Wolf looked at her arm, and spotted the Cornerian Emblem tattoo. His face contorted into a scowl.

"I don't trust the word of Cornerians."

The two canines looked at each other.

Miyu put up her rifle. "If that's so…" _Click._ She pointed the barrel to the dragon tattooed around the emblem. "You can trust me, Ghost. I'm Katinese…I only served in the Cornerian Army when the time came for our planet. Believe me, I'm not a patriot."

Wolf raised an eyebrow.

"So you can trust my word just as another Lylatian…and as another slave who hates the SharpClaw as much as you do...and one of the few willing to help you." Her face became shaded in disdain. "Trust me…not all scum in this city are cold-blooded. There's plenty of Lylatians who'd cheat and deceive you. I'm one of the few that doesn't care about money or vice…and more about the freedom of my fellow warm-bloods." She held out a hand towards Wolf. "It's just a matter if those who are suffering next to me…are willing to trust me…and let me help them."

Throughout the war, Wolf had seen plenty of scheming officers and corrupt superiors like Andross, extend their hand in friendship and trust. But the way Miyu did it was different…it confused him. That greedy gleam wasn't in her eyes, that desire to get something out of him. She seemed…earnest, like Peppy Hare had always been when he trained Wolf back at the academy.

Maybe she _did _want to help. But he also could tell that she was afraid of being turned down…like something was at stake.

Wolf took a deep breath. He looked at the flickering lamps, which reminded him that the SharpClaw were near. He rubbed his wounds, which reminded him that he wouldn't get far on his own….

…And then, he glanced at Miyu and her TRU posse, who reminded him that he and Leon weren't alone.

With all those factors in mind, he didn't really have a choice.

"Alright."

Miyu looked surprised, as he shook her scarred hand with his bandaged one.

"I'll go with you to this place, then," He decided. He gripped her hand slightly. "But don't make me regret it, Lynx. Because if you do, I'll make _you _regret that you steadied your hand when you had the chance to kill me." He smiled dangerously. "I won't do the same."

"I'm sure you will," Miyu replied coolly. "That is, if you don't collapse from those wounds before the fight starts. And it's not 'Lynx'…" She gripped his hand back, making him wince. "It's Miyu."

_An hour later…_

The city of Catalaya was a different place at night. The twin sister moons that sat in front of the large, red-flecked gas-filled one, set themselves up above the topmost tower of the SharpClaw Palace.

The massive airships hovered like large, ominous birds above the cityscape, their searchlights shining over the cobblestone streets below.

The city hazed and glittered with thousands of lit windows in the lazy night air. Stray merchants and beggars wandered the less-crowded streets, drinking in the cool atmosphere that had at last escaped the harsh, daytime desert heat. Paper lanterns bobbed on strings, lighting up the massive golden statue of General Claw in the city's main square. Puffs of smoke lingered above bathhouses, while outlined silhouettes drank and bickered from behind yellow-lit paper screen doors. Thieves slunk in and out of the safe shadows of thin alleys. The sloops, junks and other boats creaked near the harbor of the river that split the city.

All of this was visible from the high rooftops of oriental tile houses and adobe brick shops, where Wolf, Leon and the TRU members sprinted quietly.

Miyu backed up against the wall, and motioned for the others to do the same. All of them pressed their spines against the wall. Leon slunk between walls and above rooftops easily…compared to Corneria City, or the Station Sub-levels of Macbeth, this was nothing.

But Wolf was more cautious because he could sense more. He smelled the whiffs of carbon monoxide flooding the air behind the airship engines, and his tall ears heard the pattering of footsteps and indistinct muttering of the civilians down below. Not to mention that struggling to keep his large canine feet on the narrow ledges and thin pathways made him feel like a clumsy wreck.

Miyu held her hand up, indicating to remain still. All of them held their breath, as an airship searchlight illuminated the street below them. Miyu's indigo stare wandered above, following the sound of airship propellers.

Finally, when the sound faltered into the distance, she beckoned them all closer.

They all dropped to their knees and edged closer, lowering their voices.

"It's no good," Miyu cursed. "God _damn _it! These SharpClaw are spending way more time than usual for scanning the streets…and the one day they do, it's the one I have _you _with me!" She looked fumingly at Wolf.

"Why are you acting like it's _my _fault?" Wolf hissed. "Besides, what makes this night any different than any other night you sneak out, anyway? I'm not the only one they're looking for!"

"Actually, you are," Duke cut in. "If the SharpClaw catch any of _us_, it won't matter."

Leon looked at him strangely. "But you're resistance. I thought-"

"That what, they'd catch us and find out we're TRU members?" Miyu retorted. "They may know the TRU exist, but they don't know our faces. We could stroll out in the open if we wanted to."

"I wish you were that casual when you had a mask on your face and a gun at my head," Leon grumbled. "Would you do _that _out in the open?"

Miyu glared at him. "We only did that because we thought someone untrustworthy had broken in. If anyone found those crates, with _our _insignia on it, and then found who we were…we'd be _beyond _fucked."

Wolf nodded. "So you don't have to worry about exposing your face to the SharpClaw."

Miyu looked at him, an uneasy glance about her. "We don't, but you do. The SharpClaw will recognize your face from descriptions when they see you…and I can't risk that happening."

Wolf nodded. "I know, I know."

Miyu gave him another uneasy look, and then continued. That was the third time she had looked at him like that. Ever since they had left the warehouse, she'd show some wary sign of fear or caution around Wolf. She'd grip her rifle every time he'd be the last to walk the ledge, or dart her eyes whenever she saw him look over the edge at the city below.

It made him feel uncomfortable. What was she constantly afraid of? That he was going bump into something and explode, like a time bomb?

"And that reminds me," She started. "I'm going to need you to wear these."

She pulled a pair of steel wrist-cuffs from one of her trip pockets, sliding the safety off the side and letting the electric chord link the cuffs together.

Wolf recoiled instantly.

"Handcuffs? Why?" He demanded. "I thought you said you could trust me!"

"It's not a matter if I trust you," She said firmly. "I can't trust the trouble you might get yourself into. Whatever happens, your only function while we're escorting you is to remain close, follow, and keep your head down. And I can only ensure that by having your hands cuffed and keeping you behind me."

"Why?" Wolf narrowed his eyes. "Why are you telling me this now? What are you afraid'll happen?" He sneered mockingly. "Afraid I'll attack you?"

Miyu scowled. "Don't be a jackass…I'm not threatened by you. I've been trained to handle SharpClaw twice my size and strength. And to be honest, you're just as hotheaded and headstrong as half the punks I put up with on a daily basis."

Nigel shrugged behind her. "Well, you can be hotheaded and stuff pretty often too, Miyu."

"Shut up, Nigel," Miyu snapped.

"Yes, Miyu."

"Besides," Miyu folded her arms. "The enemies I've beaten don't frighten me."

"I told you," Wolf growled. "You-"

"I know, I know, I didn't 'technically' beat you…or something," Miyu muttered. "But the bottom line is that whenever you're provoked, you jump into a fight without thinking."

"What? Bullshit! That isn't true!" Wolf said in denial.

"Really?" Miyu raised her eyebrows. "Then I guess Fay was lying when he told me about how you ran headfirst into a confrontation with Drakon and his entire command of Elites, before your wounds were fully healed yet. Or was that true?"

That made him silent. He immediately slackened his quarrelsome look and lowered his head sheepishly.

"Look, if your hands are bound, the less likely you are to swing them at something. Think of this as test of _my _trust, not yours, Ghost. Alright?" Miyu compromised, handing him the cuffs.

Wolf looked down at the laser-linked cuffs with a disgruntled expression. Yet _another _set of chains.

"Fine." He snapped the first cuff on, before drawing his Claw out. "I suppose you want me unarmed, too?"

"I hadn't thought of that, but now that you mention it…" She tartly plucked it from him and slid it under her belt. "Not that you'll need it. If the worst should happen, those claws should be enough. They almost ripped my face open, as much as I hate to admit it…"

Suddenly, Duke's hand flew to his strapped submachine blaster. "The airships are turning around."

Leon looked up. "What?"

"They're checking this area again." He turned to Nigel and Miyu. "We can't stay in one place for long, Miyu. Do we run through the alleys 'till we reach headquarters?"

Miyu glanced at the streets and then back at the airships, her indigo eyes calculating the possible routes.

"Not this time, boys…it won't do us any good. If we head back in a lot of haste, we're bound to raise an eyebrow or two. We'd better wait somewhere for an hour or two…till these SharpClaw shits stop their little search. Then we can return to base."

"Wait somewhere?" Nigel scratched his head. "I guess. You know someplace where we can avoid the SharpClaw?"

Miyu looked around, her long pierced ears twitching in thought.

"Somewhere to lay low…" She muttered. "Somewhere to stay low…"

Then, her eyes lit up as she spotted one of the brightly-lit ads for a sake shop.

"Hmm…hey, anyone up for a quiet drink?"

_End of Chapter_

By the way, since I can't respond to him via private messaging, I thought I'd tell him here:

To one "Star Wolf 2.0"...thank you for your nice reviews and support. I'm pleased my story appeals to such appreciative readers. But I hope we can chat at some point…I suppose your account limits are still on.

Oh, yeah, and for everyone else…expect an update real soon. I only stopped here because the chapter was biggering out of hand.


	19. Chapter 19

_Chapter 19: Unveiled_

"_The Greedy Goras" Pub _

CRASH!

"BULLSHIT! You're trying to tell me you're not cheating?!"

"Calm the fuck down….it's just a lucky hand. I ain't cheating."

"Yeah, lucky hand my ass, _you lying shit!_ Sounds to me like you've got an extra holocard or two from the deck hidden up your sleeve. We've been at this game of Nexus Hold'em for two hours, and you haven't lost as much as a _cent!"_

"You got the balls to call me a liar _and _a cheater? When I'm done with you, I'll nail 'em to yer ugly face, right after I carve it open!"

_SLAM!_

"HEY!" The bartender barked, slamming his fist on the counter threateningly. "Both of you! Sit down, shut your asses up, or _get out! _You can make all the trouble you want out in the streets, but not in here!"

The two burly thugs slowly sat back down, grumbling as they drowned their faces in more alcohol and cards.

Leon, looking around the quarrelsome, dimly-lit, beer-reeked atmosphere of the pub with raised eyebrows, before looking back at Miyu.

"You come _here _for a quiet drink?"

Miyu shrugged. "Compared to the rest of my day job, this is the quietest atmosphere I can find."

Wolf could barely see with one eye in the pub, because of how dim the place was. Even the flickering oil lamps hanging on rusty hooks on the ceiling didn't help, so dripping candles were planted on each table. The air was hot, and the swaying ceiling fan didn't relieve the stuffiness and discomfort of Wolf's fur. Whatever visible portions of the wall were plastered with newspaper and magazine clippings (most of them depicting bending and arching nude vixens, canines, and felines), along with signs that read: STOW ALL LASER ARMS AND BLASTERS AT THE DOOR.

The pub was backed with dozens of grizzled and weary customers, huddled around candle-lit tables like decaying toadstools. Between low conversation and constant arguing, they took swigs from foaming rusty tankards or murky shot glasses. Some shuffled holocards or shook glyphic dice cubes, their drunken elbows knocking heaps of winnings onto the floor. Most of their faces veiled in the fog of eye-watering smoke that streamed from their cigarettes or scattered ash-trays….there was no high-class hookah here. Some of them had tattoos or scars, while some filed their claws on knives. But they all had one thing in common…the outline of a concealed blaster grip poking from beneath their coats and jackets.

With the layer of smoke in the air limiting visibility, the only indication of their presence was the occasional drunken belch, spit of tobacco, click of a lighter, clink of a glass, or clatter of dice. A rickety jukebox in the corner played Frank Sonata's "Come Fly with Me," which didn't compliment the atmosphere at all.

The second Miyu and the others stepped inside the smoky air of the room, a few faces looked up to greet any newcomers with dimly-lit glowering.

Leon whistled. "You must have quite the day job to come _here _for quiet."

"You don't know the half of it," Miyu muttered.

Wolf said nothing, pretending to glance at one of the magazine clippings of girls on the wall, but discretely snatching a glance at some of the men without them noticing. He eyed their ineffectively-concealed blasters.

_I know these type of thugs when I see 'em…they aren't just men with guns…_

_They're restless…irritated…quarrelsome…_

His cuffed hands sweated at the possibility.

_Could it be…mercenaries? Actual ones…?_

"Is this supposed to be safer than outside?" Wolf murmured to Miyu through the corner of his mouth. "Everyone has a damn gun…"

But Miyu glanced at the tense atmosphere of restless smoke and threatening faces, unimpressed.

"I'd have thought that after sparring with Drakon and his louse, common brutes wouldn't be a challenge. Besides…no one in this city knows you by your face. You're safe here."

"That's not the kind of danger I'm afraid of," Wolf grumbled. He wasn't afraid of any bounty hunter recognizing him as the Grey Ghost…but someone else.

"Trust me, the most dangerous thing in this room is the tequila." Miyu cracked her neck from side to side. "Don't worry your bandaged little head…you're with me."

The Cougar bouncer stopped in front of them, hand outstretched and voice firm.

"Alright, let's have those rifles."

Miyu raised her eyebrows. "'Scuse me?"

"If you drop 'em off now, you'll get 'em when you leave," The Cougar said. "Bar regulations, honey."

The Lynx stretched lazily. "Well…you don't have to worry about that. My friends and I don't have any intentions to murder anybody at this hour."

"But you do intend to drink," The Cougar said stiffly. "So I'll tell you again…give me your weapons, and you'll get them back later. And personally, a nice little dame like you shouldn't even be toting a gun in here, anyway."

The indigo in Miyu's glare gleamed furiously for a moment, prompting Duke and Nigel to finger their rifles in preparation for a fight to spring.

Then, to everyone's surprise, she held her AK out to him.

"Hand over your weapons to him, guys," She said immediately.

Both of them looked at her incredulously. "What?"

"Do it, now."

Still hesitant, they stacked their rifles on her AK, and she held them out for the Cougar to take. But the moment his finger curled around the steel-fitted and custom-detailed surfaces of the barrels, Miyu's hand shot out and gripped his wrist.

"Try your best not to scratch the 'pretty little dame's' rifle, would you?" She said in quite malice. "Or else she'll be the first to wring your neck with her pretty little hands."

The Cougar paled and looked around nervously.

The Bartender, a grubby rabbit chewing on tobacco, laughed from the other side of the room.

"Hey, quit scarin' my bouncer, willya Miyu?" He said . "He's new around here…but I'll make sure he keeps your guns in good shape."

Miyu narrowed her eyes. "I'm sure you will, Patrick …" She muttered under her breath.

"You know him?" Wolf raised his eyebrows. "What, you come here often, or something?"

Miyu took a step forward, her combat boot grinding against the creaking floorboard.

All of the scowling thugs looked up, squinting past the smoke with their eyes trailing the boot and up to its owner. Suddenly, their aggressive expressions vanished and their eyes became huge. Chairs creaked as they scooted closer to their tables, shuffling cards and smoking heavily, in a very inconspicuous effort to avoid eye contact with Miyu.

She cracked her neck from side to side.

"Yes, I come here pretty often." She glanced at her two comrades. "Duke, Nigel… Go ahead and get yourselves some drinks. We're gonna be sitting here a while."

Neither canine said anything.

"But…we aren't allowed to drink on duty," Duke said slowly, trying to sniff out some kind of catch. "The Chief Advisor won't like it."

"Come on, just go ahead and do it," Miyu said impatiently. "It'll be our secret. Now go, before I change my mind."

They blinked in surprise, before looking at each other. Miyu? Offering drinks? They _had _to be dreaming.

"Sweet! Let's go!" Nigel cried happily, sprinting to the bar counter. "I'm getting a Bolse Berry Blitz!"

"Hey, hey, don't order one of those again!" Duke called after him. He ran after him. "You know what happened _last _time!"

Leon watched them run off, before glancing around the place.

Miyu looked at him. "Well? What about you?"

"Meh, not really a big fan of booze," Leon waved dismissively, before walking off. "I'll check out the jukebox…see what they have."

Finally, it was just Wolf and Miyu. It had gotten really quiet. Wolf stood in one spot, with his arms bound uselessly in front of him by the hand-cuffs, making him feel handicapped and awkward. The Lynx strode forward towards the bar counter.

"Well, come on. Do I have to drag you everywhere by that tail of yours? Surely _you _aren't a stranger to a place like this."

It was easy for her to talk…everyone was avoiding her like the plague. But when Wolf walked forward, he could feel the stares of onlookers crawl over him like lice. He was a stranger …anyone in here could tell by a glance. Wolf knew from experience in prison how to deal with unwanted attention:

_Keep your eyes and head lowered, and don't look at anyone…_

He glanced at his handcuffs.

_And if I keep that up, I'll look like an escorted prisoner, or something…_

_Something that isn't worth their time…_

He knew it was a crazy thought, but maybe…amongst actual mercenaries and thugs, he might be recognized. So as he trudged lightly after Miyu, he raised his head occasionally, a small hope creeping from the bottom of his heart for even the slightest reaction…a drawback of realization, a fearful stare, nervous look, anything….

But, no.

No one recognized him.

He was still nobody.

Miyu reached into her pocket, cursing under her breath. "Shit…I'm broke…"

But then, she developed a sly look. She looked in the opposite direction with a straight face, arching forward as if to examine something-with her elbow jutting out as a patron walked by.

_Fwmp._

The customer, a tattooed osprey, brushed Miyu off without looking at her.

"Watch it, dipshit."

WHAM!

Miyu spun around and grabbed him by the collar, hoisting him up so that his feet hung above the ground.

Wolf gaped. "What the hell? MIYU!"

But she stared down at the unfortunate mercenary, looking prepared to murder him on the spot. _"What the hell did you say, _you LOUSE?"

The osprey blinked. "Oh, God-Miyu! I—I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you-"

Miyu snarled, baring her sharp feline teeth. "Yeah? Well, you sure as ass didn't sound like it, punk." She drew a hand back, curling her battered knuckles into a fearsome fist. "You don't sound too sorry, either…"

"Wait, STOP!" The osprey held up his hands desperately. "Look, there's no need for this…I-I can make it up to you! _Please! _Let me buy you a drink! I can do that much, right?"

_Clump._

The blood returned to his face as his feet touched the ground, while Miyu lowered him to the ground and released her grip on him.

"Yeah, I guess you can."

Wolf stared as the terrified bird fumbled in his pockets for a moment before flinging a heap of gold coins on the counter, before taking off.

Miyu brushed her hands in a satisfactory manner and turned towards the bar counter.

Wolf emerged from the front of a table nervously, before hissing angrily at her.

"_What the hell are you _DOING? You were seriously going to pick a fight with that guy? Is that how you abuse your strength, to be a cowardly bully?"

She swept the coins into her hand, her expression calm. "Of course I wasn't going to hit him-poor sap was unprepared…he'd never hit me back." She flipped coin and then caught it with a mischievous smile. "I just needed a free drink, that's all. Now, come on and pick something...I'm buying you one, too."

Wolf raised his eyebrows skeptically.

She frowned. "What's the matter? Don't you want a free drink?"

"What is that, some kind of cruel joke?" He asked, holding up his chained hands.

"Oh, don't give me that." Miyu rolled her eyes. "I saw you turn the doorknob at the front door…you can use your hands."

"Is that why they're cuffed?" He retorted.

"I told you, I have my reasons for that," She repeated. "Now are you gonna pick something or what?"

Wolf turned and glanced at the dozens of faded-labeled bottles behind the bar. He hadn't had a drink in years…but in this lukewarm atmosphere and in his stuffy fur, the offer of a cool drink was too tempting to pass up.

"I'd like a Moonrise Lager."

The bartending rabbit blinked. "A 'what'?"

"A Moonrise Lager," Wolf repeated, eyebrows furrowed. "You know…blue label, starship logo on the front…" He shaped an imaginary bottle with a clinking gesture of his hand-cuffed hands. "You don't have those?".

"Look, bud, I'm pretty sure nobody's carried the Moonrise brand on the Lylat System for years. They closed down the company after the war ended." He gave a toothless laugh. "Where've ya been?"

Wolf sank onto a bar stool, feeling an empty hole of disappointment in his stomach. "Prison," He muttered.

"What?"

"Never mind," Wolf snapped loudly. He scowled leaned over the counter grumpily with his shoulders hunched. "Just get me whatever she's having."

"'Right then, in that case…" He turned to Miyu. "What'll you be having?"

Miyu sighed as she peered at the bar counter. "Meh…I guess it's too much to ask for a tequila at this ungodly hour." She looked at Wolf for a moment. "How 'bout an apple mead?"

The bartender whistled. "Ho-ho, getting' fancy, are we? Well, it'll cost you extra."

She dropped the coins on the counter. "It's one in the morning…you could charge me the SharpClaw Hoard and it'd be worth it to drown in some mead." She glanced at Wolf. "And make that two, if you don't mind."

Wolf watched the bartender snatch the whole pile of coins, feeling somewhat guilty at the high cost.

"Look, you don't have to-"

"Save it," Miyu cut in. She took one of the glasses and slid it to him. "It's yours to enjoy. Besides…" She put her glass to her lips and drained it in one swig. "If you're crazy enough to take on the SharpClaw single-handedly, I think you're entitled to do it on a free drink."

Wolf smiled gratefully, raising the glass up and sipping the liquid gingerly. It was more cool than sweet, and was a blessing in disguise for his parched throat. The smell alone was enough to make his small sips into greedy gulps.

"Hey, hey, slow down," Miyu urged him laughingly. "If you drink it that fast, you'll spray half of it on the counter."

Wolf put the empty glass on the counter, wiping his chin sheepishly. "Sorry. You begin to appreciate a cold drink more when you've been out in the desert as long as I have, that's all."

"Yeah, everyone has to cross the desert before they arrive or get brought here. Some don't make it." She raised her glass up. "How long were you out there?"

Wolf, hand up with his glass halfway to his mouth, stopped. Suddenly, the coolness of the drink was gone…and the harsh winds and scalding sands rustled through his fur again as it all came back.

"Three days."

Miyu coughed in her drink, almost dropping it.

"_Three days? _Jesus…I barely made it out there for _two _days…" She gave him a sideways glance, suddenly sympathetic. "Damn…no wonder you look the way you do. Twin suns must've done a number on you."

He narrowed his eyes over his mead. "What do you mean. 'look the way I do'?"

"Well, no offense," Miyu smiled. "You _do _look like you could use your own face for sandpaper."

Wolf wasn't one to take offense to looks. He had an _eye _missing.

"Meh, the desert could've washed my face away to make it look like an overgrown tumor…and I still wouldn't be as ugly as those SharpClaw pieces of shit."

Miyu grinned. "I'll drink to that."

Wolf twirled the glass in his hands, before catching a glance at the back of one of the shady-looking thugs in its reflective surface. He grew quiet.

He could tell that Leon was trying not to look at them, too… Even now, while he pretended to skim through the jukebox contents, his cautious eyes skimmed the shiny surface at the reflection of patrons behind him.

Miyu gave him a hard look. "You've been acting kind of edgy since we sat down. Something up?"

"Kind of…" Wolf said quietly, watching the ice in his glass spin in the carousel of twirling mead. "Miyu…are there bounty hunters on this planet…in this city?"

Miyu didn't say anything for a moment, but she didn't seem surprised at that question.

"Yeah…and you're probably wondering how the hell they're here."

A flush of relief overwhelmed Wolf. Up till this point, he thought that he and Leon were the only ones that had noticed…and were completely baffled by their presence.

"Well, yeah!" Wolf said, kind of loudly. "I mean…" He lowered his voice. "All the mercenaries…the _real _ones…they're supposed to be dead. The Inquisitor and his bunch killed all of them…or at least, that's how I heard."

"Well, I can't blame you for that," Miyu said. "Trust me, Ghost…if any other Lylatian was sitting in your seat, they'd be just as baffled to see real, live mercenaries." She looked up. "The truth is…they are. When the Inquisitor wiped out all the galaxy's mercenaries, he killed almost all of them. The worst deaths to bear were the more legendary ones, the notorious ones…the ones that put up the most valiant fights." Her eyes hardened. "Even for common people, the fall of a defiant criminal is sad to watch…and it's unbelievable to witness a slaughter of all of them. But some survived…some were crafty, desperate, cunning…and found their way here. And as long as they survive, the promise of law-breaking and defiance lingers."

"But why _here?" _Wolf asked incredulously.

"Because it's the only place the Inquisitor wouldn't look. This is a guy who took over the galaxy without even being seen…someone that smart isn't going to scan a planet like this…especially for something he doesn't know exists."

Wolf looked at some of them at the tables. "You mean…he doesn't even know they're here?"

Miyu refilled her glass. "No. He thinks he's killed them all…or at least, all the ones that aren't just Cornerians posing as true mercs. And for a brief time, all the bounty hunters that had found their way here thought they were finally free…until they found something worse waiting for them. Something that wouldn't let them leave."

Wolf nodded. "The SharpClaw."

"Exactly."

"But I don't understand…" Wolf furrowed his eyebrows. "Shouldn't the SharpClaw be threatened by them?"

Miyu turned to him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"This is a city run by primitive lizards with pikes, swords and stolen technology!" Wolf exclaimed. "You're telling me, that a group of bounty hunters-armed with _blasters_-isn't ruling this city, and the SharpClaw _are?"_

Miyu scoffed. "You think the SharpClaw are frightened by something as trivial and obscure as blasters?"

Wolf blinked. "Well…I don't know. Shouldn't they be?"

"Pfft…if it was that easy, than we'd have won long ago," Miyu almost laughed darkly. "The SharpClaw Army consists of more than half a million barbarous warriors…with bodies trained to resist small obstacles like blaster-burns and plasma scarring…and savage enough to break the bones of a Lylatian and then watch him die. They're skilled enough to outmatch almost anyone in standard warfare…and more than a match for a population of scattered, non-unified, frail, corrupt, and fearful Lylatians that are too far from getting any help and only have access to the bare minimum of technology. No ships, no explosives, no armor, and no stellar-communications. They have this city under their fucking thumbs…" Miyu gulped her drink angrily. "…along with the people in it."

Wolf thought of the slow Elites he had fought back at the Slave Yard, and shrugged. "The SharpClaw I met weren't that terrible…physically superior, maybe, but nothing nightmarish."

Dark lines of miserable past experience grew on her face. "You haven't met the worst of them, my friend. In their prime, they used to be a lot worst…trust me."

"And you've fought them during their prime?" Wolf asked in shock. "Man…you've been the Leader that long?"

"_Shh!" _Miyu hissed. Looking around for a moment, she glared at him angrily, her voice lowered. "Would you shut your ass up? Nobody here knows I'm…apart of that. And no one's _supposed _to know."

"Sorry," Wolf muttered. "It's just…you seem-and don't kill me for this," he added cautiously. "You seem a little headstrong and young to be the Leader type."

He cringed on reflex, waiting for the fast-flying punch in the face or yell of quarrelsome protest.

But Miyu didn't look offended at all. She merely nodded in agreement. "You're right….it's because I'm not the Leader type. I never asked for this position, I never even _earned _it. I sort of…" Her eyes became distant. "…inherited it."

Wolf cocked his head. "What do you mean by that?"

She didn't say anything. Her moody look indicated that she didn't want to talk about it.

Wolf thought it best to steer the conversation out of dangerous waters. "Never mind, forget it. So, uh…these bounty hunters…how many are there?"

"There were about 500 that arrived here years ago…" Miyu said. "But they've grown in size since then."

"And they haven't tried to fight back against the SharpClaw even once?"

Miyu raised your eyebrows. "You think they want to?"

"Um…_yeah," _Wolf said, like it was obvious. "They're beaten, oppressed, and starved to death at the hands of these SharpClaw. Why _wouldn't _they rise up at least once, for Christ's sake?!"

"_They _aren't being oppressed and bullied," Miyu said. "Common Lylatians are. Normal ones…civilians with women, children, and elderly. The bounty hunters can do whatever they want as long as they don't rebel. They aren't forced into camps, beaten, imprisoned…they don't even have to pay any tribute to General Talon."

"Why not?"

Miyu stopped, and looked away. There was some hurt in her eyes.

Wolf leaned forward. "What is it? Tell me, why aren't they treated the same way?"

"Because they _work _for the SharpClaw!" She said loudly, eyes stung and avoiding eye contact with him. She looked more like she didn't want to admit it than anything else. "Clear enough for you?"

The air in the room became quiet. Wolf didn't say anything, and just sat there in stunned silence with a hollow feeling in his chest.

He couldn't believe it.

"They…work for the SharpClaw?"

Miyu let out a sober sigh, tracing her glass's rim.

"Yeah. For the longest time, I didn't want to believe it either."

"But…why?"

"The same reason all mercenaries cheats, lies, murders, steal, and does everything else for a living…" Her brow creased angrily. "For money."

Wolf looked down, and then clenched his fists in defiance. "No. That's not what a real mercenary does. The kind of mercenary that I wa-" He stopped suddenly, before he could blurt "that I was". "…I mean, the kind of mercenaries I knew didn't just hunt for money. They fought for a cause of their own, to stay free…they believed in honor. They wouldn't stoop so low and-"

"Yeah, well, the mercenaries you probably knew existed during the war, and those days are over!" Miyu said harshly, gripping her glass in disdain.

Wolf didn't say anything.

She sighed and glanced at him apologetically. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm sure that whoever you knew were fine mercenaries. It's just-"

"It's okay," Wolf said quickly, wanting steer the conversation away from the specifics about these 'mercenaries'. "But…is that really true? Bounty hunters around here just watch all of this unfold and do nothing?"

"No. They don't do nothing. They contribute to it….the SharpClaw, like all predators, can't be everywhere at once. You've noticed the vast architecture of this city, right?"

Wolf nodded. "Yes."

"That's because _they _didn't build it. This city is the remains of some civilization that resided here before intelligent life scoped the planet for the first time. But it was empty when the SharpClaw arrived on-planet…so they took, and built their empire here, close enough to the largest oasis, so that they controlled all life here. But because they didn't build the city, they don't know every nook and cranny…and they can't turn over every stone to find someone they're hunting. So they post bounties, and these scum go after them…for a price, of course," She spat contemptuously.

Wolf looked at the men sitting at the table with a new light of disgust. "And that's it? They become their dogs, for some measly reward?"

_Even when I collaborated with Andross, I originally joined to pursue my revenge…_

_And eventually get even with Fox…_

_I'd have hung myself before I pledged myself to his service for a few filthy dollars…_

"That's all it takes," Miyu said. "As long as they're paid, and are left alone to walk the city and perform their operations freely, they won't revolt against the SharpClaw. They won't risk their freedom."

"So none of them will lift a finger to help?" Wolf asked in disbelief. "They just ignore the screams and bodies and just go back to counting money? Why?"

_Wham! _

Miyu slammed her glass against the counter, fur trembling furiously.

"Because they're a bunch of cowardly, measly louse, that's why! They think that living here is better than dealing with the Inquisitor and his government in the rest of the galaxy." She began to grip her glass so hard that cracks began to form on the murky surface. "Fucking hypocrites…they talk of freedom…they talk while they live on Talon's leash and get paid for it. They won't intervene, they won't protest…they wouldn't care if woman and children were getting butchered or raped right in front of them! They think they're untouchable…they think they're own skin…and they think their money will save them in the end."

She sat there, fuming bitterly with her fur spiked up aggressively. But soon, she slackened her grip on her cracking glass, and the enraged fire left her faltering eyes. She slunk back on her stool soberly, and let out an exasperated sigh.

The whole pub had gotten quiet…no one at the tables spoke. A few of the more curious bystanders looked around from their cards at Miyu, before indifferently going back to their drinks.

The rabbit bartender strolled by, leaning forward kindly. "Everything alright, Miyu? Somethin' wrong with the drinks…or anyone in here givin' you trouble?"

"No, Pat. It's okay."

He shrugged and headed back to the other countertop.

Wolf looked at her, sensing something more than frustration in her voice. There was some hidden pain, the mark of a taint….a past experience maybe?

"The way you talk about them…" He started slowly. "…it's like you're talking out of experience." He raised his eyebrows tentatively. "Are you?"

Miyu's hand hovered over the mead bottle. "Not really. It's a long, sad ordeal that I'd rather not touch on."

But Wolf's keen eyes searched her expression. "Wait a minute…earlier, when you said you had 'inherited' your Leadership post…does that have something to do with this?"

Suddenly, he saw something he hadn't seen Miyu do…she sat upright, cheeks flushed with anger.

"I think you're asking one too many questions, _Ghost," _She said in a low voice that was spiked with malice. Her eyes wandered up to his eye-patch. "Should I ask how _that _happened?"

Wolf's curious look faded into a cold look. He scooted his stool away slightly.

"That's none of your business. It's-"

"Not something you'd like touch on, right?" She finished for him. "Good. So let me keep my burdens, and I'll let you keep yours. You're welcome to loosen that burden with a drink or two…" She gulped her mead, and sunk in her shoulders sulkily. "That's what I do to loosen mine the weight of mine."

Wolf didn't say anything for a moment. He glanced at her, realizing that gloomy look on her face.

"You don't like being a Leader." He leaned forward. "That burden, the one you won't tell me about…it's got something to do with it, doesn't it?"

Miyu didn't say a word. She just gripped her empty glass, staring down at the reflective bottom. The only noise was of Leon tapping the jukebox impatiently, muttering in the background. "Seriously? No _Blasters N' Roses? _No _Barrel-Rolling Stones? _What shit _do_ you people listen to?"

Wolf scowled. "Fine. Don't tell me. It's not like it matters, anyway…it's just that it might explain a little bit about the way you act."

Then, he heard a small sniffing sound, that could've almost been a laugh. He turned to Miyu to see a small, sad smile on her face, like was laughing at her own pathetic state.

"It's not a matter of not liking the job," She said, gazing down into her empty glass. "People don't like a lot of things…people don't like falling over in the street, or don't like getting caught in the rain. I don't not like being a leader…I _can't stand _it."

She sighed and rested her chin on her crossed arms on the counter, still staring at the glass. Her eyes were much sadder, and her face looked far more tired than Wolf had seen her look. He wondered what exactly she could see in that glass of hers…

"Being a leader means watching people die…not civilians, women and children…I can stomach that…I guess because I don't know them, so after a while, it wears off…since it's impersonal. No…I have to watch my own men die. Friends, allies…men I've trained, that look up to me…slaughtered like beasts right in front of me. It hurts so much more, because-" She stopped. A small, miserable laugh escaped her lips. "I guess I shouldn't expect you to understand. You probably don't know how it feels."

"Let me guess…" Wolf cleared his throat. "Every time you see one of your own men fall, you feel a part of you dies to. You try to go home, sleep it off…but their faces never leave you…those eager smiles, the look of a young recruit…which hurts more, since it reminds you of what you were once. It makes you feel responsible for them…because they look to you for guidance. And when they die in front of you…it's like watching a student, or child of your own die. And the real wound isn't realizing his failure…it's realizing your own. And what's worse…" He looked down at his own empty glass. "They got it better than you…because you have to live with your failure." A part of him wanted to reach for the bottle, but his arms were limp. "And being a Leader becomes a heavier burden every day after that."

Slowly, Miyu looked up from her glass. She was still processing the words…and the shock that they came out of _his _mouth…and not her own.

"How…" Her voice was dry. "How do you know that…?"

Wolf wrapped his hands around his glass, revolving it between his fingers. Part of him was panicking. He knew he had said too much…and if he wanted to keep his identity a secret, he's shut his mouth.

_But I know how she feels…there's no shame in that…_

"It's because…" He paused for a moment, the same way someone pauses unsurely before they leap in a chasm or off a cliff. "Because I was a leader once. During the war, I had my own platoon of soldiers…brave men, stupid men…loyal men." He gripped his glass. "Men that looked up to _me…_and I didn't deserve it. And in the end, they gave their lives for me, and accepted the death that came to them…the death I had taught them to embrace…the death they wanted. And I watched them with the same guilt that a father or older brother feels when he watches his own son or sibling perish. I feel like their deaths were an extension of my own failing as a Leader."

Miyu gazed at him, her indigo eyes overwhelmed with empathy. "Oh, God…I didn't know. I'm…I didn't think-"

Wolf glanced at her with a small smile. "It's okay. I'm over it now."

"You are?" She blinked. "How?"

As if answering, Wolf reached over with his cuffed hands, picked up the mead bottle…and refilled both empty glasses.

"For a long time, after the war, I had…" He paused, looking for the right word. "…'time' to myself, in a secluded place. And one day…I realized, that every day I fought…every wound I received, every battle I won…was an honor to their deaths. It meant, that if I improved in myself, their deaths wouldn't be in vain…and I'd mature with their blessing. I guess…it's sort of like…" He pushed one of the glasses towards Miyu. "Every triumph makes up for past mistakes…so as long as I stand ground, and remain courageous and strong, like I taught them to be…I'm not such a failure after all."

Miyu stared at him, eyes pondering him curiously, with nothing to say. With the way he had pushed the glass towards her…it was like a concealed urge for her to take his advice. He of course gulped his drink and looked away indifferently, but she could tell what he was trying to say.

She didn't know if she should have felt sad…or touched.

"You know…"She picked up the glass gingerly. "You aren't at all like I expected you to be."

Wolf's smile faded, and he shifted away slightly.

"I guess 'cause I'm not. I'm just a leader, like you." He refilled his glass. "That's all there is to it."

Miyu smiled at him. "Well, leader or not, you're alright….for a man, anyway."

Wolf laughed. "I guess that's a blessing in disguise coming from you."

"Yeah…" She looked at him curiously. "Hey, uh…do you have a name? A real one, I mean."

Wolf raised his eyebrows.

"Don't get any ideas!" Miyu was quick to scowl. "I just…I can't keep calling you 'Ghost' forever, can I?"

Wolf took a deep breath. The time had come…maybe now, he was finally ready. This TRU resistance seemed trustworthy…he wouldn't get far if he remained dishonest. And…to be frank…he trusted Miyu. She seemed different than these other Cornerians...(probably because she was Katinese). Maybe she wouldn't care. Maybe she'd befriend him anyway.

He looked down at his glass.

_I'm tired of all this hiding…_

_These petty criminals behind me should cower…I'm above this…_

_I have to tell SOMEONE…_

He exhaled…prayed to God and bracing himself for the worst…and turned to Miyu.

"My name is W-"

SLAM!

The bar doors slammed open from across the room, and everyone whirled around in their seats. Wolf turned around. The Bartender looked up from cleaning glasses. Nigel and Duke stopped arguing over drinks. Leon didn't move.

The clunking sound of heavy weight stomping through worn boots shook the loose floorboards, as a cluster of tattooed, brutally-muscular, greasy-looking men walked in.

They were clearly mercenaries…not the sleepy, drunken, moody bunch that lounged around the bar, skulking behind liquor and smoke. No…these ones didn't even bother concealing their guns, and had them holstered out in the open with customized grips and clinking chain charms.

The bar patrons sunk back into their seats, eyeing them nervously as their leader strolled forward in a leisurely fashion, slipping a cigarette through his lips. He was the full embodiment of a mixed bag: His black-tipped tail and contrasting tall ears indicated that he was a half-breed…a dingo mixed with a mountain coyote. Even his eyes were a mixed color…one blue, one green. His pistol grips were decorated…predictably enough…with _yin yang _symbols.

_Click._

He light his cigarette, exhaled a puff of smoke, and then smiled…the smoke curling through the cracks of his yellow canine teeth.

"Well, well…if it ain't my favorite broad…_Miyu Jaleesa."_

Both Duke and Nigel sat up, faces wrought with alarm.

Miyu had been the only one in the room not to turn around. Her eyes slanted into a knowing glare…as if the sound of that voice was enough of an indicator of who had crawled in.

"Shinto," She muttered.

Both TRU members behind her stepped forward, fists ready, but their sudden movement warranted every thug behind the half-breed to draw their nickel-plated SMG's.

Shinto, who hadn't touched his blaster, dropped his hands to his pockets.

"I wouldn't try anything, fellas. You wanna make things difficult, and we can make this quiet li'l shithole a whole lot louder…" He grinned around his cigarette. "...and whole lot messier, too."

Miyu didn't move. Out of the corner of her mouth, she whispered to Wolf.

"Stay where you are, and keep your face the other way. I'll handle this."

Wolf didn't nod or even move, but sipped his drink, indicating that he understood. He kept his back to everyone, and turned every time someone looked in his direction…so only the right side of his face was visible.

Leon stayed where he was, but kept brushing his hand on a stain on his coat pocket…where he kept his knife.

The sight of blasters made all the patrons stand up. Chairs lurched aside from all sides of the room, as they fearfully gulped what was left of their drinks and stampeded past the gunmen, out the door.

A lanky straggler got up hurriedly, but looked down at his stack of winnings on the table-top.

_Splrt!_

One of the armed thugs spat a gooey wad of tobacco in front of the straggler as he reached for the money, making him stop dead.

"Leave the cash an' get out," The thug spat, leveling his Uzi blaster carbine warningly. "While you still got legs."

The lanky guy's eyes widened, and he sprinted out the door. The thug snatched a fistful of dollars and stuffed them in his pockets.

Shinto tsked tsked. "Bunch of pussies galloping away to avoid the slaughter, eh? Hmm…that's to be expected, I guess." He turned his multi-colored gaze back to Duke and Nigel. "Now, then…what'll it be? A group of bystanders, or a group of corpses? It's your call."

The two of them looked at Miyu expectantly for orders, not at all intimidated by that threat.

But she waved them down and looked at the thugs.

"Leave these others out of this, Shinto. So say what you want, and get out."

"Hey, now, there's no need for that…" The half-breed put his hands up innocently. "I'm just here to have a quiet drink with an old friend, maybe talk some business."

"Is that right? Well, I hate to break it to you…but the bar for ugly shits is across the street." Then, her jeering voice stiffened into "And frankly, I don't talk business with your type."

Shinto raised his eyebrows, and everyone braced themselves for an outbreak of anger. But he just laughed.

"Haha, ya see…that's what I like about you, Miyu. Still got enough spunk to around, even _with _a blaster in your face." He plucked his cigarette from his mouth and gave a resigned shrug. "Oh, well…I guess you're still bitter about our last run-in." He smiled filthily. "How's your buddy's ear holdin' up?"

Duke glared at him from across the room, but Miyu folded her arms casually. "Fine. How 'bout you?" She arched her eyebrows in false concern. "Found a replacement finger, yet?"

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. Then, he noticed with a shiver that this Shinto guy was missing his middle finger on his left hand.

The half-breed's good-natured smile disappeared. "Watch it, Lynx. Don't forget how many of us there are…and how few of you there are." He smiled. "I could say that for the rest of your Organization."

Duke and Nigel's faces suddenly drained with color, drawing protectively near Miyu, who was frozen where she stood.

"How did you-?"

"…Know what?" Shinto asked mockingly. "That you're not just a common hired gun that hangs at this bar? That you're involved in activities that the SharpClaw would find…" He blew a ring of smoke. "…interesting?"

The other thugs chuckled.

A creased-browed, boiling, hatred-filled look swelled up on Miyu's face, fists clenched and fur rising. Wolf kept his back turned and his stance neutral…he could already feel a fight brewing.

Shinto laughed and strolled up to the bar.

"Hey, old man. Get me whatever she's having," He nodded at Miyu.

The rabbit stayed where he was. "We're out." He smiled with some hidden scorn. "Sorry."

Shinto spat behind the counter, and scowled. "Fine…keep your lukewarm piss, I didn't want it anyway." He slouched onto the bar stool next to Miyu, and gestured his men to sit down. "Now, get lost. I have some business to talk over with my friend here."

The bartender just shrugged indifferently, but let one last cautious look to Miyu, as he backed out through the barroom doors to the cellar.

The half-breed swayed in his stool lazily like a child, toying with the bottle on the counter. "Ugh, finally… we're alone at last. I hate it when the service never allows for an inch of privacy, don't you?"

Miyu kept her glance on the mirror behind the bar with some restraint. "How did you find out? Who told you? And more importantly…" Her fists clenched tighter. "Who have you told…?"

Shinto grinned. "Ha, I see you're all riled up 'cause I know the truth? I can understand why you'd be frantic, but don't worry. You're secret's safe with me…I haven't told anybody."

SLAM!

All of the mercenaries' hands flew to their holsters as Miyu slammed her fist on the table and drew herself up in front of him, fur spiked in a very feline manner.

"_Bullshit!" _She spat._ "_You'd never hesitate to sell a member of the TRU for what the SharpClaw pay you…you're too loud and noisy, even more than the usual asswipe on the street. Now _who did you tell?!"_

Shinto wore a mocking look of shock. "Me? Tell anyone? Tsk tsk, it's like you don't know at _all, _Miyu. That hurts, it really does…" He put up a hand, commanding his men to back down. "You think I'd honestly tell anyone anything I knew on a whim…" He smiled. "…before examining any other fruitful options while I have it? A piece of information that tasty isn't so common, you know."

Miyu, still tensed, gave a cautious look to the other thugs before sitting back down.

He snatched a bottle of whiskey from behind the counter.

"Now, if you _must _know…I found a lead on you after our last little 'get-together', from a nice little Kite Mercenary from the Westborough District. Once I dangled a little money in front of his beak, he sang like a bird…" He swigged it. "…and died like one."

Miyu twitched. "You killed him?"

"Damn straight, I did," Shinto said, wiping his grinning mouth. "Chucked his body in the sewers too. Didn't get to tell _anyone _what he knew."

A bolt of realization struck Wolf in his seat, but kept his eyes on his drink. That Kite that he and Leon had found in the sewers…with a blaster-shot in his chest…

But Miyu still looked both anxious and furious, inhaling deeply. "You didn't answer my question. Why haven't you gone to the SharpClaw with the information you have?"

"You would think that, wouldn't you?" Shinto mused. "Especially with the numerous posters the SharpClaw have put up as of late, with their scaly handfuls of cash for anyone with even the slightest lead or tidbit of information. And that would put you and that Resistance of yours in quite a tight spot, wouldn't it?"

Miyu didn't respond, but her lip quivered and eyes flashed as she stared hard at the mirror.

"But, no. I didn't tell, nor will I tell. You see, Miyu…something _else _on the Bounty Billboards have caught my eye…something more profitable than a handful of stupid patriots…something you know quite a bit about, if my guesses are correct…" His eyes gleamed greedily. "…The Gray Ghost."

Despite the fluctuation in his stomach, Wolf didn't let the direction of his gaze or even his breathing pattern change. Leon remained where he was…and Duke and Riley tried not to reveal any startled looks.

But Shinto already senses the uneasiness amongst the two of them…and Miyu, who was doing her best to keep her expression calm and cool.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Shinto smiled. "I think you do. And I don't think I need to elaborate on who the Gray Ghost is…or how much he's worth. That's all anybody knows or cares about him. And everyone knows that he's an enemy of the SharpClaw. And that's when I reminded myself…" His long fingers traced her glass. "…that so are _you."_

Miyu kept her gaze away, shifting her fingers around her glass to avoid contact with his.

"Wouldn't it be…" He said through a yellow grin. "…a marvelous coincidence that you, or your group, met up with him…and are harboring him?"

Miyu turned instantly and glared at him. "You assume too much."

"Oh, I think I assume correctly." He brushed one of his fingers against Miyu's. "And I'm prepared to persuade you into letting me in on your little group…not violently, God no….through an offer I know you'll consider."

_Fwp!_

Miyu wrenched her hands and her shotglass away from him.

"You aren't anything, or in possession of anything that I could ever want, you pathetic ass-clown."

Shinto's face became quite plain, without the slightest jeer in his face.

"Don't jump to conclusions just yet. Just hear me out." He poured some mead in her glass. "You see, I could've easily rushed in here with my men, tortured you and your…" He glanced at Nigel and Duke with a slightly-raised eyebrow. "… 'friends', but I didn't. You see, Miyu…you're not _like _the rest of the common thugs around here. You're not just a common girl, either. You're intuitive, smart, tough…and even a former Cornerian Guerilla from what I've heard. That's very uncommon nowadays. And more importantly, we could use someone like you in our group….you'd make an excellent addition."

Nigel and Duke stared at him, open-mouthed, while Leon raised an inquisitive brow. They all knew what he was asking.

"Look, I know I'm asking a lot for you to turn on your little group like this," Shinto said, with a look of sympathy that was as transparent as the shotglass. "But I'm willing to brush aside all previous…um…" He glanced at the stubby remnants of his finger. "…displeasantries, and make an exception. Think of all you could achieve…all the wealth and opportunities. Word on the street is that ol' Talon's boosted the reward for that Ghost to 500 mill. You could buy your own moon with your share of that! But more importantly…" He smiled slyly. "You can kick the dust and responsibilities of that sorry group of yours, and be free at last. I bet that sounds tempting, don't it?"

Miyu turned to face him. "You think I'd turn on my allies? My friends, for what, money?" She almost laughed in disbelief. "I'm not as low as you. You might find opportunity in being the SharpClaw's hired dog…but I don't."

"Yeah, I knew you wouldn't instantly appreciate my offer," Shinto nodded. "I honestly don't understand why… tilt that pretty head of yours to the side, and think hard." As she turned away from him, he got up and plopped himself on the stool on the other side of her. "Think…what do you do you hope to achieve at this rate with that ragged, sad little group of yours? A war is won with weapons and volunteers…both of which the TRU are running out of, by the way," He added tartly. "But of course, you can always replace equipment and weapons…but you can't really replace volunteers can you?"

Miyu bit her lip till blood trickled down her chin. As much as she despised this jesting bounty hunter next to her…he wasn't lying.

"Ah, yes…you know what I'm talking about. Tell me…how long are you going to fight this pointless struggle of yours, Miyu? How many defeats are you and the TRU going to suffer till whatever crippled remnants of your army that haven't been killed abandons you completely? You've been fighting for three years. How much longer will it take till the SharpClaw eventually cut you down? You need this…and personally, I'd hate to see anything bad happen to your pretty face…like seeing it hanging from a SharpClaw pike on the palace walls." He put on a mockingly-heartbroken face. "That'd kill me for sure."

Wolf couldn't hide the bubbling fury that cooked inside his stomach. He'd seen the sleez this half-breed was brewing in his mouth before…when Andross recruited him and the rest of Star Wolf years ago. Those snide remarks that were soaked in the bitterness of the truth, the way this guy used Miyu's desperation and hopeless weariness to bully her…

Miyu clenched her glass with a stone expression, and eyes full of pain. Then, she cleared her throat defiantly.

"I don't care. The SharpClaw haven't made me that desperate…I don't know what makes you think that _you _of all people would." She gulped her drink and winced slightly, like it stung her throat. "There are things I value in my line of work…things _you _wouldn't understand."

"Oh, like what? Your heroism? Your 'honor'?"

Shinto sat up in his chair, the laziness and sly gestures gone from his face, suddenly looking irritated and impatient.

"Let me tell you something about your self-righteousness, your so-called 'patriotism'. You think it's a noble, rewarding effort…but it's not. It's a poison." He curled his snout in distaste. "It's dangerous, insane, pointless, and non-profitable. What are you risking your life for….a bunch of walking carcasses? Cumbersome women and children, that won't give two shits about you when they get off this rock? What difference does it make, if you defend them or not? They'll all be dead in the morning!" He leaned forward to Miyu, lowering his voice to a hiss. "Don't you see, Miyu? They aren't worth it."

He slunk out of his chair and stood behind her, pointing at the mirror at the back of the bar.

"Look at you. Look at what they've done to you."

Miyu looked up, seeing the lines of worry, nights without sleep, years of held back tears…staring back at her from the murky reflection. Shinto placed his hands on her shoulders, nodding sympathetically next to her face in the reflection.

"All this stress, this heartbreak…because of _them. _They don't care for you when you care for them, so why waste your sympathy?"

Wolf had a million things he'd love to say in opposition to that, but stopped with his tongue held in guilt. He remembered…that this Shinto talked the way he used to. Indifference. Non-caring…

_No…I'm not like him…_

_Things are different, now…I'm different…_

"You're wasting your life breaking your back for them, Miyu," Shinto cooed. "And it hurts me to see you like this. Just leave them behind…do something for yourself for once."

Miyu sat there for a long time, eyes stung. She gripped the glass, and everyone…including the two TRU members…leaned forward, as if expecting a tear to fall in it.

_RRRT!_

Miyu sat up suddenly, wriggling out of Shinto's grip and riling her fur. Shinto backed off, wide-eyed, and the thugs around him raised their guns.

"No one forces me to do anything I choose to do, you _louse. _When I was born, I walked on two legs eventually because I _chose_ to…when Venom attacked, I took up arms because I _chose_ to. And I spit in the SharpClaw's faces, and beat the shit out of mercenary pussies like you because I _choose _to! So don't think for a second that anyone forces me to do anything." She balled her scarred fist with a quarrelsome grin. "No one will force me to take another finger from your hands, I'll tell you that."

Wolf tried to hide a smile.

Shinto blinked, and then laughed.

"Yeah, I bet you will. And just how long will you continue your crusade against the SharpClaw? How much do you have to lose before you realize you can't make the SharpClaw fear you?"

Miyu folded her arms. "The problem with the SharpClaw is that they're too used to being feared to fear anything themselves. But I think they just need a reminder of what fear is…someone who can _make _them afraid."

Shinto smiled skeptically. "Tch, what? You _know _somebody who can scare them? Who can scare _Talon? _Like who?"

Miyu paused…and then smiled out of the corner of her mouth.

"Dunno. I've waited a long time…but I think I found somebody."

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed, looking at Duke and Nigel to somehow detect some hidden meaning in her words.

Shinto took a cigarette out of his mouth. "Whatever. You keep waitin' around for that 'someone' of yours…what's the kill count been so far? Four hundred rebels? Five hundred? Not to mention the recent toll your group took."

Miyu's smiled faded. "What do you mean?"

The half-breed blew a ring of smoke, eyes glimmering slyly. "Word on the street is that Talon's Army Commander rendered your little organization Leaderless recently...during your last encounter with the SharpClaw Army."

Both Nigel and Duke bolted up from their seats, eyes blazing. The other thugs grinned wickedly, knowing that their Leader had at last struck gold.

Miyu had become completely pale, her face shined with sweat in the dim lamp-light. She was clutching the glass in her hand like a stress reliever, and her fur was starting to frisk in rage.

But Shinto twirled his cigarette leisurely, pretending not to notice. "I don't know who the poor sap got replaced with…but I _do _know that the Guard Commander-Talon's Brother, wasn't it-picked him up like a rag doll, and well…" He laughed. "…unscrewed his head off his shoulders like a damn cork!"

The mercenaries sitting behind him laughed, their cruel mockery ringing throughout the hazy room and straight into Miyu like a splash of scalding water. Wolf could tell that she was barely restraining herself from getting up and murdering the living shit out of him…her claws began to inch out around the shotglass, her lip quivering to expose her upper feline fangs.

And that's when he realized it…what Miyu meant earlier, about "inheriting" her position as Leader.

Shinto continued to taunt her mercilessly, tapping his finger on the bar counter as if lost in thought. "What _was _his name? Stephen? Sergio?" He blew some smoke, and inhaled it with a smug smile, relishing the look on Miyu's shaking face. "…oh, yes. Siegfried, wasn't it?"

_SHH-_**TARRK.**

Everyone stopped laughing at the small, but surprisingly-vibrant cracking sound. Miyu had gripped the glass in her hand with such force, that small cracks had started to appear across its smudgy glass surface. Every inch of her was quaking with raw rage, until she swallowed…and shot Shinto a calm but threatening look.

"Shinto…I don't care." She pushed the glass away from herself and stood up. "I don't care about any of this. Your little mind games, your taunts, your stupid swagger…I stopped caring a long time ago. These small, pathetic attempts to uproot my temper and get me to join you won't work. I know where my loyalties lie, and the risks I take." She clenched her fist. "And how _dare _you mock someone like Siegfried…he died fighting for the freedom of every Lylatian on this planet, even stuck-up shits like you! And before he died, he taught me about the freedom that money and vice couldn't buy, the kind worth sweating and bleeding and dying for..." Amidst her hurt voice, she smirked. "But with the way SharpClaw have sodomized you into their service as their loyal little bitches, what can I expect _you _to know anything about freedom?"

_FWAP!_

Shinto's smile vanished. He had sprung to his feet in an infuriated flash, and struck Miyu savagely across the face.

Miyu stood there, stunned in rage for a moment with her cheek welling in pain, before charged at each other, grabbing each other by the collar. A dozens clicks went off behind them as the thugs raised their weapons.

Wolf darted his eyes cautiously, but didn't stand up.

Surrounded by loaded blasters, the two opponents stood there, locked in a tight tackle, scowling into each other's faces.

Inches away from Miyu's face, Shinto hissed. "I've put up with your shit for too long, _you worm-ridden little whore," _He seethed through his yellow teeth. "I could've had my men rape your scrawny little ass and torture you before I had you tell me what I wanted to know. You're quick to act tough Miyu…but in the end, pretty little girlies like you don't belong out here on the battlefield."

Both Duke and Nigel's angry expressions slackened, and they both whistled nervously, knowing how their leader would take that last insult…

Miyu bared her teeth, her claws inching out around his leather collar. "Is that a challenge?"

"Believe me, I'd love nothing more," Shinto mused. "'Cept I don't have to." Still gripping her collar, he edged his face past Miyu's, and whispered in her ear. "..because I know you care to much about your little TRU friends to trifle with me."

Miyu froze, suddenly alert. "What do you mean?"

"You didn't think you were the only one I traced back to the TRU, did you? You think I don't know about those two members your organization sends out for supplies and information every so often? Like that little shit with the fast mouth and the faster feet?"

No one else caught what he said, but Wolf was within earshot, and knew he was talking about Riley.

"…or better yet," He hissed, grinning triumphantly. "…that stupid girl with the red bow?"

All trace of rage and aggression left Miyu's face, now drained of color. Her eyes had become so large, that her catlike pupils started to expand. Wolf held his breath in realization…

"Yes…" Shinto leered near her long ears like a snake. "I know about her…and I know you haven't thought about what might happen to _her, _if _you _do nothing. Not by my hands, oh no…" He laughed, detecting the rage-induced tug at his collar. "…but I can't promise that my men won't. And mark my words, Jaleesa…there are plenty of dark streets and low alleys…where no one will see her struggle, and _no one _will hear her pleas for my men to stop. They'll make her squirm till she has no breath left in her…and there'll be nothing you can do about it but know that somewhere, it's happening."

Wolf grinded his claws, into the bar counter, his seething escaping through the cracks of his clenched teeth. He knew that kind of threat when he heard it…but he didn't get up, or step in. He wanted to watch how Miyu would handle this…

Right now, she was clutching Shinto's collar to the point of her knuckles whitening. The veins in her arms were pulsing, every inch of her shaking and screaming for her to murder this _thing _where he stood.

"So if you'd like to avoid any ugly confrontations…for your tasty little friend, that is…" He smiled hatefully. "Then first off, you'll let go of my collar. _Now." _

It took heavy restraint and forceful bending of her fingers, but Miyu finally released him, staring defeated at the ground with her hands shaking and fur rising.

"Now," Shinto continued, perfectly audibly now. "Since you finally know who's in charge, and where your new loyalties lie, we can discuss business."

Miyu kept her gaze locked on the ground and said nothing. Both Nigel and Duke stared at her anxiously, waiting for a command or gesture that she should've given by now.

But as Wolf watched intently out of the corner of his eye…he could see her indigo eyes shifting around the room…

Leon must've detected it too, because he yawned and did that kind of stretch where his arms hung right over that one jacket pocket where he kept his knife-

"You're going to tell me everything I want to know… I'm not asking for much." Shinto puffed a ring of smoke in a businesslike way. "Just the coordinates, routes, location, names of members….little things like that."

Miyu nodded…and brushed her hand against her pants in a perfected, concealed stretch of her fingers, before curling them. Her eyes wandered over the barroom doors…

"If you're uneasy about passing too much personal info, you could start out with some small details," Shinto offered, like she had a choice. "A name, a face…the identity of your current leader, perhaps?"

Slowly, Miyu picked up her glass of mead. "You want to know who the Leader is? Okay…" She brought the glass to her lips and sapped it dry, gulping every last drop without stopping. Then, examining the empty glass with a calm expression, she exhaled deeply.

**SMASH!**

In a blur of movement that made Wolf's heart skip a beat, she hurled her arm forward and smashed the shot-glass against his face. The shards sank into his cheek, and he yowled with a stagger back.

But Miyu wasn't finished.

She snatched him by the handful of fur on his head, and brought his face against her knee.

_KRRTCH!_

That seemed to wake him out of his daze. He raked her hands away and dashed back, wearing a infuriated scowl. Spitting out his cigarette, he snarled with both fists balled, and leaping forward and swinging both at Miyu.

_Fwap! Wh-_trrk!

THUNK! _Smack!_

He swung aggressive but heavy punches at Miyu through thick grunts and shouts, but she kept her guard up like a boxer, ducking and blocking rapidly with catlike speed and steady footwork.

Finally, she brought both hands together and swept them out to knock his punch aside, before dashing forward while arching her feline back, and swinging a light chop above his eye.

Shinto grunted and mistepped slightly, stunned, while Miyu swung herself up to full height and slammed her fist into his face.

"_GARGH!"_

He let out a garbled groan, blood dribbling out of his mouth, along with two solid objects that landed on the floor in soft _clacks. _The half-breed let out a bloody snarl…revealing three of his teeth punched out.

With a roar of rage, he charged forward. Miyu slid forward and prepared to hammer her elbow into him-but he spun back on one foot with incredible balance, before landing a swift chop on the back of her neck.

"_Arggh!" _

Miyu coiled back with in pain, before Shinto latched his arm around her throat in a tight hold and flung her against the bar counter.

CRASH!

Bottles and cups rattled off the bar top as Miyu has her back slam against it.

Duke and Nigel took a step forward, but Wolf raised a cuffed hand to stop them. He knew better than to interfere in another's battle…and could guess that Miyu didn't want anyone's help.

_KRRK!_

Shinto shot a painful-sounding kick to Miyu's stomach, who coughed hoarsely and clutched her stomach. She shrugged the tear-invoking pain and flung a few dazed punches at him. The jackoyote, with one hand behind his back, swatted the blows aside expertly with a smug grin…before swinging his concealed hand from behind his back and lunging at her face.

In a bolting reflex, Miyu crouched with her fur riled, shot a few jabs at his stomach, and unsheathed the claws on her right hand-

_Swa -_SHTRRCH!

"ARRGH-_F-Fuck-!"_

Shinto clasped his face, blood seeping through the cracks of his fingers from where he rubbed the stinging scratches on his face. Clamping both hands together, and dove forward and slammed his elbow up against Miyu's chin.

She snarled and lunged and clutched his shoulder. He snarled and clenched her head-fur. Both of their free hands collided, their fingers wrestling between each other.

The two of them were locked in a tight hold, grunting and attempting to wrench themselves out of the stalemate.

One of the thugs from far away raised his blaster, the barrel moving unsteadily as he tried to pinpoint Miyu out of the struggling pair.

"Don't!" The one next to him grabbed the barrel and wrenched it down. "You'll hit the boss!"

Both Miyu and Shinto growled at each other, inches from each other's faces and sweating as their shaking hands rattled in their attempts to gain control.

But out of the two of them Shinto struggled more…and sweated more. His face twisted with painful effort, trying to overpower Miyu's brutal strength. He knew, deep down, that he would lose a contest of strength. As if trying to shake Miyu into giving in, he smirked and spat some blood onto her cheek. Her face was scrunched up in repulsed fury, but didn't slacken her stance.

"_HUAGH!"_

Suddenly, she twisted both her arms, which twisted Shinto's in turn. With a screech of pain, he ripped his arms free and staggered back. Swiping the blood from her cheek, she clenched her powerful fists and pumped his stomach with rapid punches.

WHAM! _KRRTCH! _

_SMASH!_

Wolf winced as he saw her fists collide with Shinto's cracking ribs, remembering the shock of the impact that came with those asteroid-like knuckles. Then, he noticed her aiming at different spots-the sides of the neck, the shoulders, abdomen…

_She's not aiming at random…she's aiming at acupuncture points…weak spots…_

_But that's a professional technique…_ He realized, somewhat stunned. _It's usually done slowly…but at that speed, she does like she's memorized them…dealing the blows and distributing them like damn playing cards…_

_Jesus…what kind of training did SHE get?!_

SLAM!

"_Gaaa-aagh…_RRGH…_ach-_haach-"

Finally, she slammed both fists into his chest, and he hobbled back, coughing and spitting blood. The canine looked up with a face twisted in rage, with a ring of red around his mouth and blood dripping through the cracks in his teeth. His whole body was shaking, about to give out to the pain.

He groaned and lurched forward slightly, and Miyu dove in to take advantage of her chance.

But Wolf saw the small smile that passed through Shinto's lips, and watched as he curved his feet. He shifted his weight slightly, side-stepping in the cheapest way possible so that Miyu stopped in her tracks, but lost balance.

His hand shot out and grabbed the easiest and most vulnerable target on Miyu's body…her tall, lynx ears. Miyu yelped and scratched about as Shinto wrenched her down by her ear, and slammed his knee into her stomach.

WRTCH!

"_MRRF!"_

A muffled gag escaped Miyu's mouth, and Shinto released with a smug grin. She massaged her chest, her somewhat more delicate body taking the hit far worse than Shinto would.

The half-breed lunged forward in a predatory fashion, towering over her with his tall, lean body…before jabbing at Miyu's eye with the flat of his hand.

"AGH!"

Miyu's agonized cry didn't hide the female pitch of her voice, as she clutched her tearing eye.

"WATCH OUT!" Duke yelled.

She blurrily looked up just in time to see Shinto charge at her, and draw his fist back. With a weary scowl, she raised a feeble hand attempting to swat the blow away with a block-

_KRRTCH!_

The nauseating sound of a jaw rattling erupted, as Wolf watched in anxious shock as she was knocked against one of the tables, collapsing on the ground…with blood trickling in the side of her mouth. She wasn't moving.

Nigel and Duke rushed forward, but a couple of the blaster-toting mercenaries barred their path. Leon remained by the jukebox, eyes shifting anxiously. The other ones around Shinto laughed scornfully at Miyu's limp shape.

Wolf didn't step in. He didn't even look worried…he just had his eyebrows raised with interest to see what happened.

Shinto sneered triumphantly, and walked over to her. "Well…I guess in the end, you ain't the tough mercenary you pretend to be after all….just another woman."

Miyu didn't get up. The slightest groan slid out of the corner of her bloody mouth.

"Sorry? Didn't quite catch that," Shinto mused. He snatched her by her hair, and hoisted her up, drawing back his fist. "What's the matter, hmm, Miyu?" He swung it forward. "Have you turned into a sore los-"

_Krrnch._

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGGHHHHHH H!"

Right as the word "loser" left his lips, the rest of his sentence was drowned out by the shrieking noise of his own ear-wrenching scream. The mercenaries watched with gaping expressions, as Shinto's hand remained stuck in Miyu's mouth-her teeth clamped around the severed stump where his finger used to be, where she had caught the punch with her fangs.

Duke and Nigel looked relieved but cringed slightly at the spectacle…but Leon couldn't stop himself from laughing.

Shinto screamed and howled in the spot, blood pouring from his hand as Miyu relentlessly sank her teeth into it, until he finally released her hair-and she released his hand.

She dropped on her feet in a crouching stance, panting heavily. One of her eyes was pink and red and squinting from where it had been jabbed, but her scowl overpowered any wincing in her face. She got up-cracked her neck from side to side-and bolted forward.

"HUAGH!"

She snarled and clamped both hands together-hammering the combined blow of both of her merciless fists against Shinto's nose.

_PRRRTCH!_

"OUUUGH!"

Shinto let out a garbled yell, as his snout cracked on impact, blood spurting from it. Staring hatefully at Miyu as he clutched his bleeding snout with a bleeding hand, he hissed through his teeth.

"_You putrid little _WHORE!"

He sprinted straight at her, hands raking the air and reaching for her. But she dashed forward and rammed her shoulder into him, stunning him briefly before she leapt over him as easily as a cricket jumps over a blade of grass, grabbing him from behind in a CWAT-like hold.

WHAM!

She swung him against the counter of the bar. He hung dazedly on the counter, before savagely snatching a shot-glass from the countertop and flinging it at her.

Miyu curled up and rolled forward, the glassing missing her cheek by a few inches, before uncurling and extending her leg out into a fierce kick.

_Krrak._

No scream emitted from Shinto's mouth this time. He let out a slight wheeze, everyone wincing with low "ooh"'s as he sunk to the ground, clutching his crotch.

Wolf whistled. _Damn._

Miyu strolled over, but unlike Shinto, didn't say a word. She grabbed him by the collar and held him down against the counter. She grabbed him by his snout and slammed his head back against the countertop.

_Trk-trk-trk…_

"Aaagh-_aaagh-AAAAAGHHHHH!"_

There was the sickening sound of bones clicking unevenly, as Miyu began to effortlessly twist his crooked, bleeding snout. She glowered down at him with intense hatred, not showing the slightest bit of remorse or hesitation…all while Shinto screamed and wriggled under her grip.

"You really shouldn't start a fight you can't finish, Shinto," Miyu said in a low, enraged voice. _"Pretty little girlies like you don't belong out here on the battlefield."_

Shinto kept grunting and wriggling, one of his eyes wandering in its socket and looking at the thugs behind her.

"_K-Ki—_ll —HAGH—_he-rr! Kill her-"_

Finally, one of the canine thugs behind Miyu stepped forward, swinging a metal pipe.

"Let 'im go! NOW!"

Miyu's tall ears pricked up at the sound of steel humming behind her. She whirled around-her hand still on Shinto's snout-and rapped the canine in the face with the flats of her palm and wrist.

_PWAT!_

She hoisted Shinto up with a heaving grunt, and threw him against the other thug. The two of them collided painfully against a round table behind them, toppling the playing cards and beer glasses with a shatter.

A few feet behind her, Shinto cluttered to his feet amidst shattered glass and splinters from the table he had been thrown against, dripping with alcohol, his smooth fur on his forehead was now matted and wet. He flung an aiding mercenary off of him.

"GET OFF!" He wiped the liquid off his face, shaking with fury. "I've had enough of this!" His hand flew over his holster, drawing his blaster.

Miyu's eyes widened as she heard the click behind her, her heart missing a beat as she tried to turn around fast enough.

_Swa-_THOOM!

The shot blared through the ceiling, puncturing a scorching hole from the laser blast. Miyu blinked in confusion, before she saw a string of chain links wrapped around the barrel of Shinto's pistol.

_Chnnk!_

"KAACH!"

Shinto gagged as the chains wrenched the blaster out of his hand and jerked around his neck. Wolf wrestled him down like he was muzzling a dug, latching the chain links of his hand-cuffs around Shinto's neck, and strangling him into submission.

Shinto gagged and choked, the sudden pressure on this throat making his arms limp. Wolf kicked the blaster aside, looking to Miyu expectantly for a look of relief…

But she didn't look relieved.

Her look of fear went to a look of paranoia. With her eyes large, she jerked her fingers like she was having a spasm, gesturing desperately and mouthing the words _Get back._

It took a split second of confusion for Wolf to realize what she meant…and the blunder he had jumped headfirst into.

Suddenly, eyes darting around fearfully, he quickly released Shinto with a clatter, backing up against the wall where the light was low…and the left side of his face couldn't be seen…

Shinto rasped and spluttered on the ground, before getting up, brushing his pants angrily and massaging his throat. Then, he snatched his blaster from the floor and whirled around in Wolf's direction, now in a real rage.

"YOU!" He spat, wiping blood off his face and raising his blaster. "Who the hell are _you _to intervene?!"

Despite the fact that he was tall and looming, Wolf tried to be as small as possible in the corner.

"Nobody," He murmured.

Shinto narrowed his eyes. "Really? Well, then, you wouldn't mind coming out into the light where I can see you, Mr. 'Nobody'? If you're bold enough to attack me, then you should be bold enough to let us see your face, hmm?"

Wolf looked at Miyu desperately for help, but she looked just as terrified as him.

"No?" Shinto shrugged. "Alright, then."

He drew his lighter from his pocket.

"NO!" Miyu yelled.

Leon's hand flew to his pocket.

_Click!_

Wolf flung his hands in front of his face, but it was too late. The lighter's small flame illuminated his face just in time and just enough to reveal the left side of his gray-furred face…and the cloth-patch on it.

Miyu's mouth was open, but no breath emerged. Leon's eyes darted around hurriedly. Every one of the mercenaries with blasters gaped.

Shinto froze. His multi-colored stare was wide-eyed, completely caught off guard by what he saw.

Then, a soft noise escaped from his teeth. A large grin sprouted on his face.

His disbelieving laugh echoed around the bar.

"HAHAHAH! _I don't believe it! _I just _don't fucking _BELIEVE IT!" He flourished his spidery arms. "It's HIM! It's the goddamn Gray Ghost! _Here, _of all places!"

The mercenaries raised their SMG's, eyes glinting and greedy smiles on their faces.

"Twenty million in gold backed up in the corner, surrounded by unfriendly strangers. Pretty convenient, ain't it, boys?"

The lot of them laughed brutishly. Wolf's purple eyes darted around fearfully like a cornered animal.

"…And best of all…" _Click. _Shinto raised his blaster. "…with nowhere to run. I heard ghosts can't be killed, Gray boy." He smiled. "Let's see if that's true…"

FWAP!

Miyu bolted forward and tackled him to the ground, before jumping at Wolf and grabbing him by the collar, sprinting for the bar.

"_You idiot! _RUN!"

Right as they took off, Shinto leapt to his feet and pointed at them furiously.

"KILL THEM! _NOW!"_

SLAM!

The back door of the bar crashed open suddenly, prompting everyone to look up for a moment.

BLAM!

_Clump!_

The sudden flash of events rendered all onlookers unprepared, only fast enough to witness a deafening bang, the sound of one of the mercenaries crumpling to the floor in a dead heap…and a figure standing in the doorway.

Patrick, the grizzled bartender rabbit, pumped his energonic shotgun, before yelling at both Wolf and Miyu.

"_GET BEHIND THE BAR! QUICK!"_

The mercenaries didn't hesitate for a moment. Their sub-machine blasters whirred and hummed, before unleashing a volley of blaster-shots.

_VRUNNA-NUNNA-NUNNA-NUNNN!_

Green and yellow laser blasts ripped through air, as the all-too-familiar sound of energy beams peppered the silent atmosphere of the bar. Steam coiled from the oxidized plasma cores of their weapons, blaster cartridges clattering on the ground. The blasts smashed into the bar and punctured hole after hole after Miyu and Wolf's sprinting shapes as they dove behind it, with Duke and Nigel following swiftly behind.

Patrick dove behind his bar, firing his shotgun at the thugs before gripping it by the sawed-off handle, and slamming it against the switch behind him.

_Brr-zrrt!_

SHNK.

The switch buzzed and erupted a series of electric currents before blowing out in a fit of smoke, switching the lights off and sending the dimly-lit bar in a state of black. The mercenaries blinked, poking around blindly in the dark with their rifles.

BLAM! BLAM!

The dark was illuminated by the blaze of the old rabbit's shotgun, scattering the devastating blasts against some unfortunate mercenaries.

Shinto kicked a table over and perched behind it. "FIND SOME COVER, YOU IDIOTS, _AND FIRE ON THEIR ASSES!"_

The rapid laser blasts rained on the bar and everywhere around it, at even the slightest sign of movement around the long counter.

Crouching safely behind the protective wall of the bar counter, Wolf, Miyu, and all the TRU members recovered their breath, only taking time to cringe and duck lower at the deafening whizzing of blaster bolts above their heads.

After the tension in the air cooled down somewhat, despite the gunfire hammering on the other side of the bar counter, the first thing Miyu did was rap Wolf between the ears.

"_Ow!" _He rubbed his head reproachfully. "What was that f-?!"

"_You _IDIOT!" Miyu barked. "I _told _you not to step in, but you did anyway like a complete dumbass! Now, these scum will stop at nothing to kill you!"

"Hey, if I hadn't stepped in, that bastard would've shot you from behind!" Wolf snapped. "What would you have done then, huh?"

The rabbit bartender, peering over the bar with his shotgun, turned to scowl at both of them. "Will the two of you _shut up? _I can't fight these assholes by myself! Here…"

_Thunk!_

He kicked at one of the cupboards lining the counter, and their mountain of confiscated blasters sprawled out on the floor.

"…take your weapons back, and make yourselves useful. I'll draw as many as you can, and then you head back to your Headquarters."

Wolf looked at him, wondering if anyone normal was a part of this Resistance, before glancing around suddenly.

_Hey…where's Leon?!_

At that moment, he heard a voice behind the counter.

"Alright, you scaly son of a bitch…where do you want the new scar? The forehead or the mouth?"

"You're challenging _me _to a knife fight?" Leon's voice replied coolly. "Tsk, tsk. Bad idea, son."

_Shrr-_SLNNK!

There was the sound of muffled movement and steel grating flesh, and the bar counter shook with the pressure of a body collapsing against it.

Moments later, Leon flipped over the bar counter and joined them, cleaning his knife. Miyu and the rest raised their eyebrows , stunned, but Wolf just smiled knowingly.

"Getting acquainted with the locals, are we?"

"Yeah, seems like they don't take kindly to foreign gestures of kindness. Oh and you…rabbit," Leon turned to the bartender. "If I were you, I'd look for a new place to serve drinks."

Patrick looked at him blankly. "What? Why?"

FWOOM!

All of them turned around at the whirling sound. Each of them peered slowly over the counter to see a fire brewing where the radiator used to be, illuminating the whole bar orange and catching on to small pools of spilled liquor all over the floor.

Leon looked back at them with sarcastic eyebrows. "Hmm, I dunno…alcohol and fire…why do you _think?"_

Wolf groaned behind a facepalm. "Ugh…can we go _anywhere _without escaping a place that's going up in _flames?"_

"Miyu," Patrick said urgently. "This place ain't gonna last long. We have to get out through the back door before the fire spreads to the roof…it'll crush us all flat."

Miyu gripped her rifle for a moment, before straightening up. "No. You head out by yourself when you get the chance."

"Why?" The rabbit asked. "Aren't you coming?"

"Those mercenaries know who we are…_all _of us." Miyu looked up. "They know too much, and if we let them go, they'll sell whatever information they don't give to the SharpClaw to every gang and mercenary guild within five Districts of here. We can't let them leave this place…alive."

Duke raised his eyebrows. "So…shoot to kill?"

Miyu nodded. "That's the idea."

The charred-eared Malamute grinned, and loaded his Uzi blaster carbine. "Excellent."

"Warehouse intruders, drinks on duty, _and _a bar fight?" Nigel leveled his scoped ion rifle and shook his head. "The Chief Advisor is _not_ gonna like this at all."

"We're gonna fight twenty of them, by ourselves?" Leon asked. "Can't you contact that Resistance of yours for back-up, or something? Do you even have a plan for getting out?"

Miyu scowled. "If you're so strategically seasoned, why don't _you _come up with a better plan? I don't see one etched in that cheap switch-blade you twirl around like a big-shot."

Leon put his hands up. "Fine, jeez…someone has their rude fur on today."

Wolf analyzed the positions of the thugs from behind the counter.

"He's right…there _are_ too many of them." He turned to Miyu, holding up his cuffed hands. "Uncuff me and give me a gun. I can help."

Miyu looked up from her AK and turned to him like he was insane. "No way! I'm not letting you loose…and I'm _definitely _not giving you a gun! You'll get yourself killed!"

"No, really, I can help!" Wolf said earnestly. "Listen, you're outnumbered and you need an extra blaster. I can handle myself. I've gotten out of messes like this all the time."

"Please, how could you?" Miyu retorted. "You're just an off-world refugee!"

"Trust me," Wolf said, in the sincerest voice. "This is just an average day in my line of work. Besides…I knew what that mixed-breed son of a bitch was blackmailing you with…" His voice became cold and angry. "…and you're not the only one who wants to rip that smug grin off his face."

Miyu looked down for a moment, and then back up. "Look, I'm grateful that you stepped in when you did…but it's not a question of whether you can handle yourself or not."

"So what, you want me to sit here cuffed while you get mowed down by a bunch of bounty hunters?" Wolf asked angrily.

"Look, I'm not planning how this night goes," Miyu said in a firm voice. "But if there's one thing that'll stay in my control, it's you in those handcuffs, where you're out of harm's way…" She paused, suddenly looking uncomfortable. "…and you can't _do _any harm yourself."

"Oh, for the love of-" Wolf threw his hands up in exasperation. "_What are you afraid I'm going to do?!"_

"It's not my place to tell you!" Miyu repeated in equal frustration.

"WHY?" Wolf yelled.

"_Because I don't trust you!" _She blurted out.

Wolf stared at her for a long time, not saying anything.

Already regretting her harsh choice of words, Miyu sighed. "There, is that what you wanted to hear?"

But he knew better. He could tell that the Lynx's words were still veiled, and there were still things she wasn't telling him.

He exhaled for a moment, before suddenly flinging the chain of his hand-cuffs around one of the rusty cupboard hinges.

Miyu raised her rifle on reflex to the sudden rush of movement, but then watched as Wolf grunted fiercely, twisting and pulling on the links by combining the pull of the hinge and the pull of his own strength-

_Clrrnk!_

The chain snapped, and small shattered links clattered on the floor, followed by the two empty cufflinks.

Miyu looked up, completely stunned, as Wolf rubbed his wrists and looked back at her.

"I could have done that at any moment from the minute I walked in here," He said in a sincere voice. "But I didn't. I stuck to our agreement, and stayed in your captivity so I wouldn't break your trust. But I still need that trust now…" He held out his hand. "Give me a blaster, and I'll give you no reason not to trust me. Like it or not, we're in this together."

Looking lost in exasperation and the stress of the situation, Miyu gave one last series of resigned looks from the gunfire outside, to Wolf. Finally, she drew her pistol and held it out to him.

"Don't make me regret it, Ghost," She said warningly. "Just promise me that whatever happens, you'll stay as ranged as you can from these mercenaries, that you'll only engage them physically if you have to. And no matter how desperate the situation gets, don't resort to doing anything…" She stopped, as if searching for a word that wouldn't give too much away. "…unnecessary."

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed, but he took the blaster anyway. "Right…"

_VRUNNA-NUNNA-NUNNA-NUNNN!_

The blasterfire intensified against the barcounter, charring more holes into its surface. Duke and Nigel leaned against it for cover, before rising up and delivering a few well-placed shots of their own.

BLAAAAAAAAAAM!

There was a massive rumbling and a thunderous quake that shattered all the windows, as a whirling flame-too big to be caused by the fire-engulfed the side of the bar in pulsing explosion. One of the rickety ceiling fans came down in a crash, sending a table on its side and scattering liquor-drenched shards of shattered beer-bottles.

Duke ducked behind the bar, and cursed. "Shit! One of the assholes has a grenade-attachment!"

The smoke started to gather around the counter, veiling the rows of bottles and pornographic posters out of sight.

"_Smoke!" _Nigel yelled. He drew some scopes out of his jacket. "Miyu, Duke! The smokes gonna render everything hazy, and make it hard to see! You need a scope?"

Suddenly, the firing stopped. The mercenaries crept out of their makeshift covers cautiously, pointing their steaming submachine blasters at any sign of movement. The blown-out lamps sparked and whizzed above them in the dim smoke, as their eyes scanned the bar as they approached it, blasters raised.

_Clack!_

The sound of a fresh new magazine was a blissful one to Miyu's ears, as she leaned up against the countertop.

"Scopes? Sights? Please, Nigel…I'm a cat…"

She opened her indigo eyes, drawing their narrowed gaze that pierced past the dark haze and blurry smoke with their sharp, feline vision.

_Krrk-klaak. _

Miyu pumped her AK, a small, fanged grin on her face as she got to work.

"Sights and scopes are for the weak."

_**FWHISSSH!**_

The mercenaries whirled around at the sudden blur of swift movement, as Miyu leapt over the bar counter with her AK, facing them boldly. She cast a threatening figure against the smoke, with her blaster rifle leaning business-like on her shoulder.

"The bitch is THERE!" Shinto called from his spot. "KILL HER!"

But the split second that the thugs turned in her direction, she flipped her rifle with blazing speed.

_SHRUNNUNNUNNAAAA!_

The orange shots shredded through the smoke and pelted the mercenaries with blood-spurting wounds, screaming as they flailed their fired weapons before collapsing in laser-riddled heaps.

"GAAGH!"

_Clump! Clump!_

They didn't have a chance to process where she was, most of them firing on a paranoid nerve and missing completely.

_Vratta-! VRATTA!_

With a rifle in her hand, the Lynx was an artist at work, a gunfighting deviant. She wasn't wasting time spraying the mercenaries with one, constant wave of automatic shots…in traditional machine gun fashion. Instead, she flashed her eyes on each of her targets, and delivered a short burst of laserfire for each one before aiming for the next one in a bolting move. Her feline reflexes and rapid eye movement tempered her aim and trigger finger at an unbelievable accuracy and speed, so that from a distance, the brief blaze of the short shots she fired were impossible to see as she swung her rifle clockwise….a foe's body crumpling where the barrel of her AK briefly passed, becoming part of a trail.

But that only lasted for a moment. Once the other mercenaries wised up and fell back slightly, they aimed their illegally-modified rifles at her and fired.

_TWOTT-TWOTT-PRAAANG!_

The laser blasts whizzed by, peppering the wooden bar with more splintered holes, as she side-stepped and dodged with nimble speed. She took short breaths as the shots missed her cheeks and ears, trying to keep the nerve of her body calm so that she wouldn't make a fatal misstep.

She danced around the shots, her ears perked.

_Click._

The mercenaries effort-driven scowls to land a hit on her were replaced with alert ones only for a few seconds-as their fingers groped the triggers of their empty blasters-realizing only too late that they were out-

"SHIT!"

Their eyes shot up like deer caught in approaching headlights, before reaching for the plasma cartridges on their belts-

CLUNK.

Miyu stomped her boot against the floorboards of the ground, reinforcing her stance and gripping her rifle with both hands.

"_HUAGH!"_

_SHRUNNUNNUNNAAAA!_

In an instant, both Wolf and Leon watched in complete disbelief as she charged forward, swinging her rifle around like a propeller and wielding it in an entirely different way. Keeping her fingers clamped firmly on the trigger so that laserfire sprayed from the barrel where ever she swung it, she tossed the rifle between hands…flipping it behind her and back again like a duelist flailing a pair of nunchaku.

The shots streamed everywhere around her and traveled in a spiral formation against the thugs, as she dove forward while flailing her rifle. More ranged bounty hunters tried shooting her, but she kept spinning and whirling around the blasts right as they approached, not even flinching as they skimmed her face.

Wolf watched her deal the shots out like she was dealing cards…but with twice the proficiency and ten times the speed. Despite the heat of the battle…and the raging fire…he couldn't conceal his awe at the way she flailed and dodged _at the same time,_ despite her rapid breaths and concentrated sweat trickling down her face and chin.

She was magnificent, swift, unbelievably fast…firing and spinning in a deadly but dance-like movement.

_It's like…_ His eyes widened. _…she's turned it into some kind of martial art…._

_I've never seen anything like it…_

_Who'd have thought that someone without Inner Power or any special advantage at all…would be so skilled…_

_I would've joined the Cornerian Guerillas years ago if they received THAT kind of training…_

"FALL BACK! _Get around her!"_

The line of mercenaries dove in opposite directions like scurrying rats, flanking her from both sides, coming in too close… Miyu's indigo eyes darted from side to side with an alert glint.

_Klak! _Thinking quickly, she tossed her rifle up and caught it by the barrel.

"_HUAGH!"_

Baring her feline teeth, she charged at them head on, swinging her AK like a makeshift bat.

SLAM!

The battered handle smashed against one of the mercenaries' faces, causing blood and teeth to spray from his mouth as he crumpled to the floor.

Sweating and panting heavily, Miyu looked around with her 'bat,' as the mercs with SMG's closed in, pinpointing her in once spot so that she wouldn't have room to swing—

_Swa-_THOOM!

A laser blast streaked through the air, exploding gruesomely through a bounty hunter's forehead with unsettling accuracy. The shot was soon followed by a hurl of laserfire, pushing the mercenaries back and giving Miyu space.

She turned to see Leon in full swing, not hiding behind a counter or anything. An ecstatic grin widened his face as he picked off enemies one by one, enjoying the feel of a blaster that he had missed.

Swa-THOOM! Swa-THOOM!

Blood exploded from another mercenary's head as he fell victim to another expertly-placed head shot.

"Yeah, that's right, _hide,_ you spineless shits!" He grinned fiendishly as he cocked his blaster. "Hide and pray I don't find you…and toss your laser-riddled carcasses in the fire and watch you smolder!"

_BRUNNANNA!_

The shots tore open the floorboards near Leon's feet, and pelted the walls and ceiling after him as he back-flipped evasively and landed on the counter in a perched stance.

_Sher-_RAMM! _Sher_-RAMM! _Sher_-RAMM!

The mercenaries peeked from their covers. "He's over there! SHOOT HIM!"

Leon whirled around, before feeling a sudden pinching tug at his arm.

"_Oof!"_

Miyu yanked him down by his sleeve, dragging him behind upturned table before the lasers could drill him into the wall.

BRUNNANNA!

The granite on the walls where Leon used to be exploded in smoldering holes, red and orange laser blasts grating it and ringing deafeningly through the air.

"Stop dancing out in the open!" Miyu scolded in an irritated voice. "You'll get yourself shot! Jesus, do I have to baby sit _every _oneof you?"

Leon brushed his coat reproachfully. "I had it under control! Besides, what's the point of being in a skirmish like this if you won't-" He stopped suddenly. "Wait a minute…where's Wo-_ah, _I mean, Maxwell?"

Miyu blinked. "Who?"

Leon rolled his eyes. "Jesus Christ-_the Gray Ghost!"_

She looked around. "I thought he was with you!"

"He was! Until I-" Then, he whirled around and looked over the turned table frantically. "Oh, SHIT! He must be still behind the bar counter! By himself!"

"_What?" _Miyu stopped loading her rifle and looked around.

The smoke from the explosion cleared, and one of the mercenaries called out into the open.

"HEY! These other assholes are just wasting our time and keeping us busy! _Get the _GRAY GHOST! It's _his _carcass we need!"

There was a simultaneous clunking from different sides of the room, as thugs arose and sprinted towards the counter.

Leon's scales lost their color. "Shit…_no…"_

Miyu didn't say anything. Her indigo eyes looked around, until she noticed the large, circular pool of spilled alcohol around the area…and then spotted one of the cigarette lighters that littered the floor.

She got up instantly and leapt over the table.

"Hey, where're you going?" Leon spun his head around. "HEY!"

**CRASH!**

One of the mercenaries kicked one of the broken tables out of the way, poking his laser carbine at the counter.

"Come out, come out, Ghost…save yourself the pain and us the time. We still have to giftwrap your hide for General Talon." He smiled as he leaned forward to peer behind the counter. "You got no one to hide behind, now…"

FWOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Suddenly, a column of flame crackled between him and the counter, causing him to stagger back and clutch his blaster.

"GAGH! _Son of a-"_

FWOOOM! FWOOOM!

The flames rose higher and higher, traveling around the small group of bounty hunters until it completely surrounded them, baking them in a layer of discomfort and sweat as they poked around with their SMG's. They were trapped in a ring of fire.

"What the hell? Where'd all this come from?"

RT-RT-RT-RT!

All of them spun around at a sudden creaking sound, that send a vibration down the floorboards to where they stood. The flames crackled high as a large shadow emerged from the blur of the towering fire, seeming to rotate as it approached them.

The heat and paranoia didn't make them hesitate. They swung up their blasters and fired at it.

_PRATTA-PRATTA-PRATTA!_

The laser blasts raked into the object sending splinters everywhere as it-

They stopped firing suddenly, their empty blaster cartridges littering the floor with a clatter. Splinters?

The object rolled into view, its round shape revealing itself as a table, now half in flames and completely covered in smoldering holes from taking all the blaster-shots.

All of them looked at each other in bewilderment. The one at the front, his eyes narrowed as he suspected a trick, took a cautious step forward with his SMG leveled.

_Fwsshh!_

Miyu leapt from behind the table, jumping so high in the air that she descended on the unfortunate thug, swinging her rifle at his face and distorting everyone's heat-struck vision with something gleaming at the end.

SLRTTCH!

"_GAR—_chh!"

The bounty hunter fell to the floor in a dead heap, a deep raw gash wedged into his neck so that his head hung off his shoulders by a few scraps of sinew. Blood gushed into a pool that expanded to the repulsed mercenaries' feet.

Miyu landed behind them on her feet, rising to full height and raising her AK-47…with her dripping combat knife attached to the end like a bayonet.

"_Get back…._ALL of you. You won't capture him, you won't touch him you won't even go _near _him, got it?"

The other mercenaries rushed at her, jabbing their SMG's out in an attempt to kill her at point blank range.

But she dove in just enough so that she could sidestep over their feet nimbly and not get surrounded, slamming her bladed end of her rifle against one of their SMG's like a spear.

_PRATTA-PRATT! PRATT_

The mercenary grunted as he tried to wrench his blaster out of the wedged lock that the blade drove against it, firing stray laser shots as he tried to pull free.

"_Huagh!"_

Miyu snarled, pulling her rifle back, and lashing out with the blade against the thug's forehead. The mercenary yelled and clasped his bleeding face, before she kicked him down and leapt up.

_Fwsshh!_

She jumped onto the blinded mercenary's back as he hunched over, using him as a human springboard to vault herself higher in the air.

She flipped acrobatically in mid-air, holding her rifle downward with the blade pointing down. She gripped the butt with both hands and plunged the rifle down as she fell.

SLRTTCCHHH!

"_GAAAARGHHH!"_

The other bounty hunters gaped.

Miyu's bayonet plunged into the eye-socket of a standing mercenary like a railroad spike, causing him to stagger back and flail around in agony. But she kept her feet lodged firmly on his shoulders, literally standing on him and gripping her plunged rifle as he jerked and wrenched under her like a bull.

With her rifle still plunged into him, Miyu pumped it and pulled the trigger.

_SHRUNNUNNUNNAAAAN!_

The other mercenaries watched in stunned silence, as the impaled bounty hunter crumpled beneath her feet, his face indistinguishable from all of the scorching, bleeding holes.

_Shrring!_

Miyu tore her rifle free, and aimed it at the others, preparing to finish them off-

_Click. Click, click._

Her fearsome scowl slackened, and disappeared instantly, as her finger jabbed at the trigger…only to be rewarded with the hollow sound of an empty magazine. She reached for her belt, her hand desperately groping around for another blaster cartridge…but none were there.

Small, nervous smiles grew on the mercenaries faces, before their confidence emerged into laughter. But they didn't step forward, or raise their weapons.

Miyu's eyebrows furrowed, studying their faces to see what they were really laughing at.

But then, she heard another laugh behind her…not thug-like and brutish like all the rest…but cool and conniving….

"Not so fearsome now, are you, Miyu?"

Miyu's fur spiked in rage as she swung the rifle around, the blade humming through the air-

CLACK!

Shinto caught the barrel with his long, slim fingers, yanking it closer and pulling Miyu towards him.

"Even with that arrogant, 'tough' exterior you put up," Shinto smiled around his still-bludgeoned face. "Even _you _run out of ammo."

Miyu tried to snatch the rifle free, but Shinto kept a tight grip.

"You've run out of tricks and places to run. You might be able to intimidate my men into thinking you're something you're not, but we both know that in the end…you're still just a WOMAN!"

SLAM!

He wrenched the rifle down, causing her to slip forward. He raised his arm and crushed her smaller shoulder down with his muscled elbow.

"_ARGH!"_

Miyu screamed and crumpled to the floor, knees weak as she clutched her dislocated shoulder.

Shinto sneered and detached the rifle's barrel and stock, tossing it to the floor in a dissembled heap. He then grabbed Miyu by her hair, causing her to wince and shut her eyes in sudden, jerking pain.

_WHRSSHHH!_

He flung her out of the fiery ring, causing her to be thrown over the bar and into the murky mirror.

CRASH!

The mirror shattered, the shards raking the back of her head where she had hit it, and she collapsed to the floor.

Crawling on the ground with heavy, muffled breathing that deafened her dazed ears, Miyu looked up hazily, to see the Shinto's unmistakable silhouette strut out of the fire and into focus.

She scowled weakly, but winced as she tried to hoist herself up on her numb arm attached to her dislocated shoulder, blood trickling down her neck and back from the cuts on her head.

Shinto lit a new cigarette smugly, watching her wriggle like a trampled roach.

"Tony…" He called to the thugs behind him. "You and the boys hold her down, and have some fun with her."

Miyu's heart almost stopped as she saw that feverish, greedy glint in their eyes that she knew all too well.

"What kind of fun, boss?"

"Not that kind," Shinto waved them off. "The other kind…the _painful _kind. Put this woman in her place."

Tony, the largest thug who still sported a cut that Miyu gave him, grinned as he called to the others.

"You heard the boss…hold her down."

Miyu tried to struggle, but one of them planted their large combat boot on her back, driving her spine up her body. She screamed and wriggled, but was soon silenced with a dark, blurry shape swinging at her face-

_SLAM!_

Multiple boots slammed and scraped against her bruised face as the mercenaries all took turns kicking her. She coughed and suffocated, barely able to see with all the constant strain to her body, before one hit the final nail.

_KRT!_

Miyu's muffled groan surged into the floor, as Tony planted his boot on her neck and forcing her face into the ground.

_Click._

From a sideways and blurry perspective, she saw Shinto draw his blaster and felt him press the barrel against her head. Despite her bruised and bloodied distortion, Miyu managed to force one long, scalding glare of hatred up at him.

"Tch, and here I was thinking you'd make a nice addition to our group." He blew some smoke into her face, the smirk disappearing from his face, looking at her with anger. "You're worth nothing to me now…but you weren't worth anything before either. No good for screwing…no good for combat. You're worthless in every department, Miyu Jaleesa. Maybe the only good you'll serve that Organization of yours…" He cocked his pistol. "…is dying."

Miyu's eyes grew large.

_Sher-_THOOM!

"AAARGH!"

Both her and Shinto looked up suddenly, as the mercenary holding Miyu down with his foot clasped a bleeding, smoking hole in his leg.

"_M-My leg!" _He sobbed. "ARGH!"

Everyone looked across the bar, to where the fire had cooled down and a shadow grew in size, appearing taller than Shinto had been.

Wolf's fire-illuminated shape appeared in front of the wall of flames, holding a smoking blaster. The mercenaries leapt at the sight of him, raising their blasters in an instant. But Nigel, Duke, and Leon emerged straight after him…with their weapons raised.

Both armed groups aimed at each other, with two figures in front…Wolf, and Shinto while he stood over Miyu.

Miyu closed her eyes and let out a relieved exhale…before shaking it off so the others wouldn't see. As relieved as she was, she didn't want to appear so weak that she actually needed help. She was the TRU Leader, for Christ's sake.

Wolf pointed his smoking blaster in Shinto's direction.

"Call off your men. _Now." _Both Wolf's eye and trigger-finger were steady. "If you don't want to end up next."

Shinto's eyes darted around the group of them, realizing the sudden shift in risk. But he still played it cool.

"Well, well…and where have _you _been hiding?" He smiled. "Letting two dogs and woman fight your battle for you?"

Wolf's hardened expression didn't change. "Look around you, idiot."

Shinto rolled his eyes and looked behind him. Then, his smile faltered as he noticed a large number of mercenary bodies lying around the counter…where Wolf had been earlier. They had all been strangled or crippled to death, a few of them decked with claw-marks.

"You don't pay a whole lot of attention to your own men, do you?" Wolf stepped forward, blaster raised. "I know you greedy pigs were scouring this place for me…so I decided to pick you all off quietly, one by one, and not give away my location with any stray blaster-shots. But I've saved plenty of shots for you, half-breed. Now get off of her…before I do the impossible, and make that butt-ugly face of yours even uglier with a hole in the head."

An ugly look of twisted anger contorted Shinto's face.

"I'm getting a little tired of your banter, Gray Ghost…and your heroics…This is the second time you've come to this woman's aid."

"Heroics got nothing to do with it," Wolf said firmly. "I see eight men, and one woman. I don't know her all too well, but as far as I'm concerned, she's worth more than all eight of you put together. Now get off of her…"

Shinto nodded. "Then, I guess I have no choice." He pressed his gun harder against her face. "As much as I want this bitch dead, you're worth a lot…and business comes before personal vendettas. Now, I'm going to count to five, and you'll drop your weapons…or I'll blow her brains out."

"Or _I'll _count to five…" Wolf held his blaster higher, a growl rimming on his teeth. "And you let her go, before I defy the impossible and make that butt-ugly face of yours even uglier with a hole in the head."

"Poetic, but futile." Shinto smiled triumphantly, as his men raised their weapons. "The odds are still in my favor. You can kill me, but there's still seven of us. And you can't kill me sooner than I can kill her…unless you've got something else to kill us all with, which you don't."

Wolf kept his blaster raised, but darted his eyes around the sights at each mercenary.

_Damn it…he's right…_

_I can't take them all out at once…_

…_unless…_

His hands slackened around his blaster, the transparent hope of that slim possibility sending a shiver up his back…

Maybe this time…it would work…

_No! _He shook himself firmly. _You don't know that…you can't risk it here…_

_You remembered what happened onboard the Anatarres…_

_But…still…_

_I haven't used my Inner Power for a LONG time…and there STILL is that moment where that 'thing' happened with Drakon…_

The image came back to him, the pulsing shockwave that erupted when his fist collided with Drakon's face. It was so sudden and inconclusive…but there was no denying that it had made him hopeful.

He stood there, hesitating…thinking whether or not he could risk it.

_Maybe…I could do it again…_

Wolf drew a hand from his blaster-grip, and curled it into a fist. He dug his feet into a solid stance.

Miyu noticed his sudden shift in stance, and she didn't look so relieved any more. Her blood-flecked face became paranoid and alert, sweat dripping down her cheek.

_No…no, no, NO! _She thought frantically. _Not here…not now, not where they can see you…_

Shinto, confused at what Wolf was doing, gripped his pistol impatiently. "Enough of this. I'm counting to five, Ghost. Do you hear me?"

Wolf said nothing, his fist hovering as he stood there, deciding what to do.

Shinto narrowed his eyes. "One…"

Miyu'd eyes darted anxiously between Wolf and Shinto, her breath becoming chopped and quick. Her hand attached to the dislocated shoulder quivered weakly, and then clenched into a fist.

She had to do something. They were about to lose _everything._

"Two…"

Wolf took a deep breath, praying that this would work-

"_DON'T DO IT! _DON'T USE IT HERE!"

Everything in Wolf's body just…stopped. His heart, his nerves, his blood-circulation, it all stopped. His purple eyes grew huge as the words hit him completely out of nowhere.

_WHAT?_

He turned slowly in the direction from where they came, and saw Miyu's trembling face on the ground.

He took a step forward. "How did you-?"

Shinto's fur spiked at Wolf's sudden movement. "FIVE!"

_**KRSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHH!**_

Suddenly, the whole bar shook as the ceiling cracked and exploded in flame, its weakened structure giving into the flames eating away at it and collapsing down on the ground.

Wolf dove to the side in a rush of quick-thinking, the burning wood missing his feet by an inch and crashing on the ground, sending dust and embers everywhere.

A suffocating cloud of dust went up, and Wolf waved his hand around the ember-lit area through spluttered coughs. He squinted, the carbon dioxide causing burning tears to run down his cheeks.

But despite that, he called out.

"_Ker—_krrf—_cough-_MIYU? _Mi—_kaach!"

But he was alone. The spaces around him were walled with towering burning rubble, cutting him off from everyone else. He could hear the faint sound of blaster-fire and shouts…so they must have been behind the walls of wreckage.

He picked up his blaster and poked around, determined to find her.

_How did she know…how the HELL did she know…?!_

_More importantly…what else does she know…?_

Stepping over the body of a mercenary buried under a heap of burnt wood, frantic thoughts ran through his head.

CRASH!

"_RAAAARGH!"_

Wolf barely had time to look around and see something fly from under the dead mercenary's body, roaring as it tackled him to the ground. The blaster clattered from Wolf's startled hand, as he fought and suffocated under the figure's weight. A bleeding hand shot out and pinned him down by the throat.

He looked up, to see a furious blue and green gaze glowering down on him.

"You've caused me a lot more trouble than your worth, Ghost!" Shinto spat, his smooth features blood-flecked and caked with soot. He glanced at the overturned corpse he had been hiding under. "With all that you've reduced me into doing, I'll carve your face open!"

Wolf grunted as he tried to push the half-breed off of him, but he was surprisingly heavy.

_Shing!_

Shinto shook his wrist and drew a strange, unfolding, three-pointed hidden blade from his sleeve, snarling as he drove it downward.

Wolf flung a frantic hand up, gripping Shinto's wrist and trying to force the blade away. The two fought a shaky battle of strength and grip, sweat dribbling down Wolf's chin as he barely kept the blade's quivering point a few inches from his own face.

Shinto growled through clenched teeth, trying to drive the blade a few inches farther to plunge between his opponent's eyes. Wolf's heartbeat quickened as the blade's gleam grew closer, and he started to wriggle around.

_Krrnch!_

Shinto struggled to stay on Wolf, who ripped one of his legs free to knee his captor hard in the ribs. The jackcoyote's balance shook, causing his wrist to slip out of Wolf's sweaty hands and stab the blade uncontrollably past Wolf's face…

…and into his arm.

_Sltrrch!_

"NNRGGH!"

Wolf seethed as the blade raked the skin on his forearm, creating a fairly small cut with an unusually large sting. He clutched his arm, the odd sting flowing from the wound. "Get out of my way…I don't have TIME for this…I don't have time for YOU! _Get away from me!"_

He snatched his arm away and struck Shinto across the face with his elbow, throwing him off.

But Shinto landed on his feet, snatching a beer bottle from the ground and flinging at Wolf's face.

_SHTRRR!_

Upon the slow, painful impact, Wolf didn't know what was worse: the shards hammering his face, or the splash of alcohol into his good eye. Either way, he sprawled on the ground and slashed his claws sightlessly, attempting to get a glimpse of Shinto through his burning eyes.

"_Shit…" _He seethed, his eyes continuing to sting.

He staggered to his feet, balling his fists and striking a blind, squinting stance. He heard a scornful laugh.

Then, he felt a hand snatch him by the collar.

"So, _this_ is the notorious Gray Ghost?" He heard Shinto muse. "The one who slaughtered thirty SharpClaw with his bare hands… Bullshit!"

He felt his collar tighten as he was hauled up and tossed across the area.

SLAM!

Wolf grunted as his back hit the wrecked remnants of the bar counter, feeling the splintered wood knock painfully against his spine.

"Five hundred million in gold…for what, this? You're barely worth five hundred! I don't even know what the SharpClaw would want with someone as common as you. All those rumors are nothing but garbage. You ain't half as strong as they make you out to be."

Wolf clenched his teeth and blinked repeatedly, trying to rub the stinging liquid out of his eyes. But even with his aching back and ringing cheek, that cut on his arm seemed to hurt the most. Even with limited sight, Wolf could feel that it wasn't too big…

As his vision came into focus, he saw something black move at him at intense speed.

_SKRRTCH!_

Shinto's fist slammed into his face, planting a searing, swelling bruise in the corner of Wolf's bleeding mouth. The half-breed laughed, and snatched him up by the collar-swatting Wolf's weakened attempts to punch him away-and drew his blade.

"Look at you. You can't see, you can't fight…. " He spat scornfully, flipping his blade. "You can barely stand!"

_SHING!_

"GAAARGH!"

Wolf screamed hoarsely as the blade plunged through his shoulder and into the wall behind him, the point pinning him in a standing stance to the wall. He grunted and struggled, but that only strained the gushing wound and made the hole bigger.

He growled through wincing and panting, as he reached for Shinto in vain. _"Agh…_release me…and fight me like a man, you cowardly FILTH!"

But Shinto just stood there tauntingly, just out of reach. "And why would I do that? Watching the prey struggle is what makes the job worth it!"

Wolf stopped struggling, and panted. "What?"

"Normally, as a bounty hunter, I'm obliged to hunt someone worthy of my time," Shinto said. "…which is why you've made my job very boring. I'd be satisfied killing one of those TRU whelps, maybe even Miyu…but you?" He picked up Wolf's blaster. "You're so pitiful, you ain't worth shit. Killing you wouldn't give me the least bit of satisfaction or thrill. Other than that nice reward…you aren't worth a thing."

Wolf looked up slightly in the midst of his aching, blinded daze, and stared at him.

It was a different kind of look, one that almost made Shinto curious. It wasn't one of fear, or rage, but…

…disbelief.

"So that's it? _That's _you get out of it all?" He couldn't believe it. "The blood? The slaughter? Is _that _the foul state bounty hunters have been reduced to?

Shinto's smile faded slightly. "And who the hell are you to act all superior? You're no mercenary."

But Wolf wasn't listening. He was too overwhelmed with disbelief…with shame and scorn.

"Miyu was so wrong about scum like you!" He spat contemptuously, shaking with enraged disgust. "You don't respect the wealth, or the freedom of a mercenary life. Sadistic cowards like you only respect the slaughter of the hunt…that pathetic fulfillment of power that a weakling gets when he stomps on a roach! How DAREyou even _pose_ the suggestion that you're anything close to a real bounty hunter, you inbred whoreson!"

_KRRTCH!_

Shinto elbowed Wolf savagely in the ribs, causing him to cough more blood and let his head hang over dazedly. He snatched Wolf by the fur on the top his head and wrenched him up to face him.

"_Shut up,_ you measly little SHIT!" He spat. "You're not one to talk of strength in mercenaries…you're weak! Spineless…probably nothing but a common whelp. You've probably never killed anyone in true brutality, in true strength. You're not a bounty hunter OR mercenary! You're nothing but another common, fleeing rat on the SharpClaw's list! You're NOTHING!"

SLAM!

He delivered a blood-gushing punch to Wolf's face.

"You're NOBODY!"

SLAM!

Wolf sneezed and coughed at the same time, the punch making blood come from both his mouth and nostrils.

_Slyrcch!_

He cringed with a small groan, as Shinto ripped a chunk of gray fur from his head.

"And once I return to the SharpClaw with _this…" _He held the fur with a smirk. "Everyone on this planet will know it too. You're a nobody, Ghost, without any strength or pride in your name. Not now, and not ever before."

Wolf raised his blood-flecked face slightly, watching with hazed eyes as Shinto backed away, drawing his blaster.

Sher-THOOM!

Shinto fired at the stray chandelier hanging high above them, the shot snagging the chain out of place and causing it to plunge down. Its attachment to the weakened ceiling caused the flaming granite to crumble and descend on top of Wolf, whose eyes grew huge as he stood there, pinned and trapped, as it came down on him.

He yanked and struggled, sweating desperately as he tried to rip the blade out of his arm-

CRASH!

The granite smashed on the ground and sent up a column of dust that buried the area out of sight. A roaring flame consumed the spot, causing Shinto to shield his eyes slightly as its orange haze blared violently.

He looked back up, standing in front of the fiery mountain of charred wood and debris…and nudged it cautiously with his boot.

When his multi-colored eyes detected no signs of trouble…or life…he smiled, holstering his blaster.

"Pfft. I knew it," He sneered. "So much for the Gray Ghost."

He turned and started to walk away, stepping over the winding chandelier chain that peeked from out of the wreckage.

_Clink._

He froze, his coyote ears perked up at the sound. Eyes narrowed, he whirled around with his blaster drawn.

But there was nothing.

_Clink._

Suddenly, he looked down...at the chain that was coiled near his feet.

_SHHNNNKKK!_

The chain coiled from movement within the buried remnants of the ceiling rubble, and latched around Shinto's foot. It jerked back into a sudden pull, causing him to fall on his back and drop his blaster. He screamed and struggled as the chain yanked and pulled him towards the debris by his foot.

"NO! _STOP-_AAARGHHH!"

Then, in an instant, it stopped. The chain fell limp and the pulling stopped.

Shinto breathed heavily for a moment, looking around-

_**CRAAAAASSSHHHHH!**_

The charred-wooden planks and crumbled granite burst open, causing fragments of the fallen ceiling to fly everywhere, as something emerged from within it. The debris rained around Shinto in a shower of embers, causing him to scream and huddle.

Then, something glowing caught his attention in the corner of his eye. He turned slowly.

Out of the pile jumped a figure, completely covered with fire. The flames hung and burned on the shoulders, sleeves and flaps of his coat, so bright that it rendered his face indistinguishable. He was enveloped in it, but stood completely still.

Shinto's eyes became huge, mouth dropping. His breath quickened as he crawled back on his hands, backing away from whatever hellish thing was in front of him.

"What the he-_WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?"_

_Fwwsh!_

The figure tore off his coat and flung it aside, proceeding to claw and tear off his bandages, which were also on fire.

Finally, the figure dropped to the ground, its face coming into view.

Shinto's heart stopped. It wasn't possible…

Wolf crouched on the ground on all fours, breathing heavily as the burns seeped into his skin. Had he stood there for a few more seconds, the flames would've swallowed him along with his jacket and bandages. Now, all that was left of his clothes were his torn, smoldered trousers. The burns that had seeped through both his clothes and wound-wrappings seared and pulsed all over his bare torso and legs. The pain made his eyes water and his body shiver.

But slowly, as anger drowned the pain away-slightly-he rose his head to fix his stare on Shinto.

_Clunk._

Shinto's entire body trembled as Wolf rose to his feet, cringing fearfully at the unbelievable array of scars, gashes and stitches all over his battered body. He towered over the terror-stricken bounty hunter, his scarred form hewed from the light of the roaring fire behind him, and the shredded remnants of the bandages on his wrists flapping like torn banners.

Throat dry from the shock that gripped his body in a non-moving state, Shinto backed away on his hands.

_Jesus…CHRIST…_

_Is this guy DEAD? How did he survive? Fuck it, HOW'S HE BEEN SURVIVING WITH ALL __**THAT **__SHIT ON HIS BODY?!_

Wolf reached up with a slight wince, and plucked the three-bladed weapon from his shoulder. Shinto watched in disbelief as he shrugged the pain off with a wince, and…with the blade in his hand…walked forward slowly.

His hand tore at his empty holster frantically for his blaster.

Fwmp!

Wolf snatched him up by his collar, his face twisted into a mask of rage.

"_Look down on me, _WILL YOU?"

SLAM!

He flung him against the ground.

"ACT SUPERIOR TO ME, WILL YOU?!"

Thrusting a claw out and pointing a quaking finger in the terrified half-breed's direction, Wolf growled through his teeth.

"Let me tell you something, _boy. _While you were probably festering in some Cornerian alley, some of us fought a war. _I _fought a war…and I killed foes with ten times your strength and wit. And I fought for a cause, for vengeance…not for cowardly bloodshed, like you. You think you're so much of a mercenary that you'd belittle _me? _You're nothing but a terrified little child, ready to crawl back in your filthy mother's womb."

He stared down at Shinto in disgust, mellowing his scorn into a sneer.

"You? A mercenary? Please…_you're _no mercenary, boy._ I _walked battlefields rancid with death and disease. _I _stood where countless others fell. You know NOTHING about me, scum. If you only knew who I really was, _THEN YOU WOULD COWER WHERE YOU STAND AND BEG FOR A SWIFT DEATH ON YOUR FEET!"_

His fur rose in spikes and his claws extended with a glint from the firelight.

Shinto was paralyzed on the ground in fear, his body frozen in terrified anticipation for what Wolf would do. But after seething for a moment, with his claws out, Wolf's enraged look quieted down into a steely gaze. 

"But if you truly believe that _you _are the true mercenary out of the two of us, go ahead."

He reached up with a wince, and tugged on the blade in his shoulder until it was plucked out.

_Clang!_

Shinto flinched fearfully, but looked down to see the blade clatter at his feet from where Wolf had thrown it.

"Face me like one."

The half-breed looked at the blade uncertainly, picking it up and shakily rising to his feet. His eyes darted from the blade to Wolf, who stood motionless with his arms at his sides…unarmed, and probably still shaken up from being charred from the fires.

Shinto smiled confidently, and gripped the blade. They were too close together for him to miss. That was common hitman's way of thinking.

But not a mercenary's way of thinking.

"_HUAAARGH!"_

He swung the blade out and prepared to slit his opponent's throat out…

But Wolf anticipated the typical move he would make, and arched his back and shifted his footing to make a tactical side-step. The surprise and shift in Shinto's sudden heave of weight gave him the advantage, as he slipped his arm blurrily over the half-breed's and wrapped his wrist.

Shinto barely had time to recoil in jerking pain before Wolf caught the blade falling out of his hand, and hooked his arm around his opponent's chest to rake at his torso.

"GARGH!"

The pain from both the delayed reaction to the nerve tap, combined with the newfound agony of the reddening gash below his neck, caused a throaty yell to rip from Shinto's throat.

_Fwsh!_

Dashing behind him, Wolf knocked his shoulders forward and latched his arm around him into a tight, military hold before twisting grip around his enemy's neck…

…as quickly and effortlessly as one would snap a branch off a dead tree.

**CRACK.**

Shinto's eyes widened with his mouth closed.

They rolled to the back of his head as his head lopped over from the uneven placement of his snapped neck, which was broken at an angle that cracked wider as the half-breed collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

Wolf panted heavily the minute it was over, dropping to his knees in exhaustion. The sudden movement and tensing of muscles that the move required was starting to sap its effects out of his aching body, forcing him to collapse and endure the pain of recovering from the fresh burns on his body.

_God damn it…_

_I haven't fought common enemies like him for so long…just SharpClaw…_

_And I wasn't ready for a battle with common thugs after this long…ones with blasters…_

_The desert and the slave yard must've done this to me…_

He shook himself. _That's no excuse. Stop being a baby…the next fight or hazard won't wait for you to get used to old dangers again…_

_I need to pull myself together…that's all…_

His breath deafened his ears, the air calm and less intense with just the fire crackling. In the midst of fiery decay, recovering from both the exhaustion of the fight and the pain of fresh wounds, he was somewhat at peace.

It wouldn't be so bad to rest from all this running and fighting for a while…

_Click._

But the tranquility of the moment was interrupted instantly.

He whirled around at the noise, his claws out cautiously.

Miyu stood there, in front of the blaze of the fire behind her, alone and without any of her men. A torn sleeve from one of the dead mercenaries' jackets serving as makeshift sling for her numb arm. But her other hand was fine…and was holding a blaster.

Her expression was not the look of relief or comfort that Wolf expected it to be. To be honest, she looked even more on edge. Her eyes were wider with fear and confusion than he had seen her…and her expression was on Wolf.

"Get up," She sounded out dryly. "Now!"

Wolf blinked in confusion.

"Miyu? _Wha-_Oh…" He looked at Shinto's body. "Don't worry. He's dead…I took care of you for him. You're welcome," He added sheepishly.

Miyu raised her blaster higher. "I said, GET UP!"

Wolf froze. He looked at the half-breed's corpse, and then back at her shaking blaster, realizing that she was talking to _him._

"What?" Wolf asked.

"_Didn't you hear me? _GET _UP!" _She spat, leveling the gun towards his face. "And move slowly…if I see you try anything, I'll shoot you! Understand?!"

Wolf's eyes widened, not moving a muscle. Now, this was starting to worry him.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Miyu?!" He demanded angrily. "Why're you doing this? Are you turning on me now, or something?!"

"_Don't play innocent with me!" _She yelled, eyes teeming with anger. "I saw what you did….I _saw _the way you killed him!"

Wolf looked at Shinto's body in complete confusion.

"_What? _What're you talking about?!"

"You think I don't know?" Miyu asked, cold rage brewing in her voice. "You think I'm an idiot? That mark below his neck, the way you moved, how easily you broke his neck… I know that kind of kill when I see one! I saw it plenty of times on soldiers during the war…" Her indigo eyes hardened. "It's a staple tactical kill of Venomian soldiers…_Andross's _army!"

Wolf blinked. "It's what?"

"Don't pretend like you don't know!" Miyu yelled. "That's not just a normal fatality strike…it's a Venomian tactic. It's their style…and it's not just some thug's trick, either!" She jabbed her blaster at him accusingly. "That kind of move requires the time and precision you only get from learning it enough times on the battlefield to when it becomes part of your reflex! It's not a common soldier's move…it's the trait of a high-ranking officer! One of Andross's personal slaughterers!"

Wolf stared at her for a moment. He was somewhat nervous about her finding out that he was Venomian…and where this would go…but he was more baffled than anything else. He honestly didn't know what she was talking about.

"I have no idea what this 'Venomian tactic,'" Wolf said slowly. "Seriously, I don't. I was never trained for anything like that."

"Oh, yeah, right!" Miyu scoffed, in the midst of her anger. "You're so full of shit. Now that your little secret's out, you'll say anything to prove yourself innocent! Let me guess…you were part of the _Cornerian _Army, right? You probably 'knew Star Fox', or some crap, right?"

"No!" Wolf said angrily. "I mean, sort of…well, no! I didn't-_Look." _He put his hands up. "As far as I can tell, I don't remember being taught that trick at all. I swear, I never-"

Then, he stopped mid-sentence. A heart-stopping, nauseating possibility rose up his body like cold water, as the word "remember" was fresh on his tongue.

_Hold on…_

He looked up quickly. "Wait a minute…you said that this trick could only be learned on the battlefield…by _reflex?"_

"Of course…you would know, wouldn't you?" Miyu shook her head. "I don't know who you're trying to fool…"

But he wasn't listening…his mind was lost in frantic thought.

_Wait a minute…SHIT…_

_Earlier, I couldn't remember some details about what Leon was saying..._

_Something about some battles I fought during the war…ones I don't remember fighting…_

_Does this have something to do with that…?_

He looked at his hand, suddenly feeling sick.

Not being able to recall those things was one thing, but this…this was a whole different kind of scary.

There were things about his own _body_ he couldn't remember…things he had done, that he didn't remember doing…

_But why? Why here, why now?_

_Where is this coming from…?_

Then he froze.

"You," He said suddenly, looking up at Miyu. "You know about it…don't you?"

Miyu's eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"You know I have Inner Power, don't you?" Wolf asked, his voice raising. "That's why you called out earlier, when you said 'not to use something'…you were talking about my Inner Power, weren't you?!"

Miyu's eyes had become tense, like an animal in a trap.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about."

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Wolf yelled in exasperation. "You _had _to have known…why else would you say that? Why else would you say that, right when I got into the stance and position to use it?!"

Miyu's expression hardened. "That's none of your business. Now, you-"

"No, it _is!" _He stood up instantly. "What else do you know? How much about it do you know!"

"STAND DOWN!" She yelled, raising her pistol. "I don't know a thing about what you're talking about, and I've been ordered not to talk to you about it, even if I _did_-"

"Ordered? What do you mean, you've-" Wolf hesitated. Now it was all coming together… "Wait…you were told by someone else, that I had Inner Power, weren't you?"

"Look," Miyu said impatiently. "Let's get back to my first question. Tell me who-"

"It was that Sauru guy, wasn't it?" Wolf demanded. "The guy who's supposed to know about Inner Power…_he's _your Field Advisor, isn't he?"

The color was drained from Miyu's face. Her eyes got even bigger.

"How do you know that name?" She raised her blaster. "Who told you?!"

"Never mind, I was told by-" He sighed frantically. "Look, just forget about that! Listen…this Sauru guy, did he say anything about _losing _Inner Power? If it can do anything to your body or mind?"

Miyu's expression was blank. "If it can do _what? _Look, you're just wasting my time! Get back on the floor, now!"

Wolf studied her face for a long time, disappointment sinking into him. She didn't know anything…nothing important anyway. She probably didn't even know his Inner Power didn't work.

_Wait…_

"Hold on a second…" He looked up quickly. "Could you take me to this Sauru? Maybe he knows something…something that can help me!"

"Take you _where?" _She stared at him. "You must be insane or a total idiot to think I'd let you anywhere _near _the TRU headquarters after what I've seen!"

Wolf sighed. "Look…I know this looks bad, but seriously, I myself don't-"

"Don't what?" She demanded. "Don't know how you _killed _Shinto over there? Look…I've had enough. I knew you weren't some common off-worlder when I met you, but I'm convinced about what you are now…you're just some Venomian murder!"

"That's not true!" Wolf insisted angrily. "I'm not! Look, why would I help you this far? Why would I help Riley, or protect Fay? Would a murder do that?"

"Don't give me that!" Miyu spat. "You probably did all that do deceive us…to achieve some deceptive goal!" Her voice sounded hurt. "And I was actually stupid enough to start trusting you…all that talk at the bar, of being a leader, of avenging your friends…it was all a hoax, wasn't it? It was nothing but crap that I ate up!"

"NO!" Wolf pleaded. "I meant all of that! Look-I'm not who you think I am-just _listen-"_

"_No!" _Miyu's grip tightened around her gun. "I've had enough of your cryptic bullcrap. Just tell me who you really are…tell me your name, and don't lie to me!"

Wolf paused for a long time. The embers crackled and fell in the silence.

Now was his chance.

"Listen to me…_very carefully…" _Wolf started slowly.

He swallowed…and exhaled deeply.

"…the truth is…and I'm not lying," He added suddenly. "…is…"

He sighed,

"….I'm Star Wolf."

_Sher-THOOM!_

Miyu fired a blaster-shot just inches away from Wolf's face…the fur where it had grazed him steaming lightly.

"DON'T BULLSHIT ME!" She shouted. "Tell me the TRUTH!"

"It IS the truth!" Wolf insisted. "Look…I know it's probably hard to believe-"

"No, it's not 'hard to believe'….it's _impossible," _Miyu seethed. "Star Wolf doesn't exist!"

"Please, I'm begging you to believe me!" Wolf pleaded desperately. "I don't know how much you know, or…_heard…" _He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "But I swear I'm telling the truth. I need help…and your Sauru might be the only one who can help me!"

"Listen, I've just about had enough of this," Miyu glowered impatiently. "If this is some poor attempt to conceal your real identity, it's a pretty sad one. Now, if you don't tell me who you are…"

_SNAKK!_

In a blazing move, Wolf leapt up and wrenched the blaster out of her hands by the barrel. Stunned by the sudden movement, Miyu was thrown off her feet and pushed on the ground.

She scrambled to her knees, and looked up to see Wolf holding the shaking pistol at her.

A raw look of hatred etched in her face. _"You sorry piece of_ SHIT! I'll-"

"SHUT UP AND LISTEN!" Wolf bellowed, clutching the gun until he felt the grip dent his sweaty palms. _"Please! _Look-My name is Wolf O'Donnell…twenty-four years old, and blood type AB! I was born in 19 ALW, and I went to the Academy until I was seventeen. I was brought before a courtroom of seven judges and ten generals, and charged with murder, treason and conspiracy. I rallied with Andross…not _joined _him, but rallied with him…and fought against the Cornerian Army in one of the worst experiences I've ever endured in my life! In that war, I brought death and was among death, and made mistakes and sins that…" The gun shook uncontrollably in his hands. "…that I could never pray or bleed enough to even _hope _to wash away. Yes, I was declared a public enemy…_yes, _I detested and still despise Fox McCloud…" He took a deep breath. "But so much has happened since then, that I…I don't even remember it all. Things are happening to me…things I didn't ask for, and don't know how I triggered. It's almost gotten me killed, and now it's doing _worse _things to me that I…I…" He raised a shaky hand…clasped his face in it.

Miyu narrowed her eyebrows…trying to detect the true deception behind this sudden sighing and wheezing he was doing.

But that's when she realized…he was _sobbing._

"_I don't know what's wrong with me…_I don't know _why _I heard those voices, or can't remember something's while I can still remember others…I know it's pretty said and disgusting to beg a total stranger for help…especially a member of an Army that _I tried to destroy, _but…" Hot tears seeped through the cracks of his hands. _"But I don't know what else to do…_No one will _help _me…Nobody'll _believe _me…but then, who the hell could I expect to come to the aid of _Wolf Fucking O'Donnell?!" _

He collapsed to his knees, at Miyu's height, who watched him in stunned silence as he wept in frustration and maddening helplessness.

He felt stupid, ashamed, cowardly…dumping his senseless problems at the feet of a stranger.

"_Please…please…" _He clenched his fists, trying to scowl his tears away from his tightened face. "I don't know what else to do. This is one mess I can't undo…one battle I can't battle I can't cut away and fight my way out of…one hole I can't climb out of… I _know _you probably think I'm a murderer, or a barbarian, or whatever..." He looked up at her. "But I'm _begging you…_take me to this Sauru person…help me find out what's happening to me…how I can stop this. I've lost everything else…my Team, my command, my identity even. I shouldn't fear death, but…" His eyes scrunched up. "I don't know if it'll stop at killing me…or if it'll do something _worse…_I just…I _just…."_

_Clatter._

The blaster fell from his hands, and he collapsed on his knees and hands, his head bowed down in a helpless, surrendering cringe at Miyu's feet.

"I didn't kill you before, and I won't kill you now...because I want to convince you, with whatever I have…that I wouldn't try to cheat or trick you. I'm not asking you to trust me…hell, I shouldn't even ask you to _help _me…" He clawed the ground, his face worn from tears and baked in the heat. "But at least _believe _me…when I say who I am…no one else will…_no one else will…"_

There was silence. The fire brewed higher and lower, casting the shadows of the bowed, ragged Wolf with the motionless Lynx standing over him.

Miyu didn't say a word. Her keen, indigo eyes scanned him as she processed everything he said. Her fists were tightened as every practical bone in her body rang…but wasn't enough to deafen her surprise.

She didn't know what to think as she looked down at the reduced, seemingly-powerless wretch in front of her.

But she was the Leader of the TRU. Her job was dealing with criminals and lowlifes…and putting up with their deceit until she could spot it from a mile away.

Slowly, she picked up her blaster…and bent down.

She jabbed the barrel under Wolf's neck, forcing his face up where she could see it.

Her skeptic eyes studied his face, trying to fix on any dead giveaway that he was lying, to detect the hidden means behind his almost-convincing breakdown.

But all she saw was the, imploring, resigned look of a man with grey fur, a horrible sun-burn…and an eye-patch. His purple eyes were empty and hopeless…but they weren't frantic. Or hiding anything…

Wolf looked away miserably.

_She doesn't believe me…_

_I'm wasting more of my time. She probably thinks I'm fucking around with her…_

He turned back to look at her, only to find her indigo stare broadened. Not with quarrelsome skepticism or suspicion.

It was…confusion.

Shock.

Overwhelmed disbelief.

Then, her face became stern and solemn. She cocked her blaster.

Wolf lowered his head…discouraged and melancholy.

_Fwmp._

He felt something tug at his trousers. Eyebrows furrowed, he looked down to see the blaster placed in his belt…from where Miyu slid it.

Wolf looked up instantly, his heart racing with the thrilling hope of the insane possibility.

"I'll help you. I'll help you because I trust you…"

For the first time since he had met her, Miyu's expression wasn't quarrelsome. It was empathic and assuring.

"…Wolf."

_End of Chapter_


	20. Chapter 20

_Chapter 20: Safety in the Harshest of Places_

_Alleyway Streets of Catalaya City in Titania, 5 ALW (HMD Perio_

"Ugh, we're going into the sewers _again? _Seriously?"

Duke looked up at Leon's irritated drawl, as he and Nigel crouched over the manhole that was illuminated by the hazy paper lamps that hung over them.

"As fun as that little shindig at the bar was, it drew too much trouble to us. We have to take the 'alternate' route back to base." He pointed to the dark hole in the ground. "And that means the sewer. Unless of course you _want _to stick around…feel free."

Leon looked down at the bleak hole that led to the depths beneath the city's ground level.

"The entrance to your supply warehouse is in the sewers, the way back to your _headquarters _is in the sewers…" He wrinkled his nose. "What is it with you people and sewers? Do you _like _the way it smells down there?"

Nigel nodded to Duke and helped lower the chameleon down into the dark confines of the sewer.

"Cheer up, lizard," Nigel's voice became echoey in the dripping sewer. "We just escaped a _fire…_don't you wanna cool off?"

_Krssh!_

Leon recoiled as his feet met the ground with a splash, the putrid smell washing over his boots.

"This wasn't the kind of cooling water I had in mind." He backed up. "Ugh, my foot touched something _solid…_how much shit is _down here?"_

PSSHHH!

The area illuminated with red as Miyu lit a fuse-flare that sparked and sizzled in her hand.

"Everyone follow me! And _you," _She glanced at Leon. "Stop being a whining pain in the ass, and keep walking. If what you've told me is true, and you _have _been walking through the desert…" She raised her eyebrows skeptically. "You probably smell just as bad as this place. Maybe _worse."_

As she started to walk ahead of them, Leon muttered as he trudged through the thick water.

"Is she _always _like this?"

Duke snickered under his breath. "Pfft, you think _this _is bad? You should see her in the morning. _That's _when the bitching starts."

Unfortunately, his lowered voice still carried through the echoey walls of the sewer, ringing in perfect audibility for Miyu to hear. She stopped walking, cracked her knuckles, and turned around with a sweet air in her voice.

"Would whoever said that be kind enough to repeat it to my face?" She battered her eyelashes, flexing her fingers. "Don't be shy, now."

Duke's look matched those of a frightened animal, but was saved by Leon, who looked around in the dim dark.

"Hey, where'd Maxwell sneak off to?"

SPLASH.

Everyone turned around as Miyu shone the flare ahead to illuminate Wolf, who got up from where he tripped…fur drooped, dripping wet from head to toe and looking livid.

"Does that answer your question?" He stared venomously at Leon. "And _you, _don't even _think _about complaining. At least you're wearing some fucking SHOES."

He raised a dripping bare foot, before dropping it with an angry slosh in the water.

Leon shrugged sheepishly. "Hey, _you _lost your clothes in the fire, bro…not me."

"Let's just keep going," Miyu cut in impatiently. "I don't know how long it'll take for the SharpClaw to find what's left of the bar and follow our trail. Nigel, close up the manhole. The rest of you, keep close…and mind your step."

The group of them kept walking through the close, watery confines of the sewer, the dim atmosphere only vibrant with the sound of footsteps and the occasional drip. Miyu let them through low chambers and unstable hallways, turning suddenly or leading them through a zig-zagging passage without warning.

She hadn't spoken a word to Wolf the entire time, even before they had entered the sewers. He wasn't surprised-it wasn't every day that you find out you bought drinks for the most notorious murderer in the Lylat System.

Still, she was taking it mildly well…sure, she kept a close eye on him, even while pretending not to. Wolf had been dreading that she'd treat him like dirt, showering him with glares and accusations. He hoped that it was a sign of acceptance…although it could be just because she was afraid of him.

_Tch…_ He scoffed at the thought. _That girl, afraid of __**me?**_

_Not likely…_

He walked next to her, ahead of everyone else, shivering slightly in chilling sewer air.

_Shit…I wished that fire hadn't taken my jacket…_

SPLOOSH.

He winced slightly, as his foot squished something slimy in the water.

…_and my shoes, for that matter._

Miyu glanced at him. "You cold, Ghost?"

Wolf wrapped his arms around himself grudgingly. "M'fine."

Miyu rolled her eyes. She passed the torch to her other hand and slipped her jacket off, handing it to him.

"You know, putting up that whole 'I'm-a-loner-who-needs-no-one' thing doesn't really work down here. If you're freezing, say so." Her indigo eyes studied the pattern of bricks on the wall. "You badass-wannabe punks just keep on impressing me."

Wolf tugged the jacket on gratefully. "I know…it's just-I dunno. I remember having so much fur when I came here…but now, in the cold, I feel like I don't have any at all. What's with that?"

"That's probably a result of your body shedding off fur. You probably lost some to adapt to the heat." She heaved her rifle on her shoulder. "But don't worry…you'll get used to it after a while…" She sniffed. "…'Maxwell.'"

"You still haven't told the others the truth yet, huh?"

"Meh, I don't think they're ready for it, yet. I know I wasn't."

Wolf felt the slight bitterness in her voice. So she _wasn't _taking it well.

But she seemed to notice his head dip slightly, and her tone of voice changed.

"Still…" Her eyes wandered around, as if searching for a new topic. "You could've picked a less fake-sounding name than 'Maxwell.' Do you have any idea how odd it sounds?"

"That's because it isn't a fake name," Wolf said coldly. "It's my father's name."

"Your father?" Miyu raised an eyebrow. "I never heard anything about a father in all those rumors."

"Yeah, well, even we cold-blooded killers gotta spawn from somewhere. We don't sprout from the ground, you know."

"I know, I know," Miyu said with a slight smile. "It's just weird…the thought of you being a kid, having a father. Where is he now?"

"I think we should concentrate on getting to that base of yours," Wolf said instantly. "Do you know where we're even going?"

"Of course I know where we're going!" Miyu bristled. "What do I look like, _Riley? _I think I know my own hideout, least of all how to get to it."

"And you're sure the SharpClaw won't follow us?" Wolf eyed the sewer wall.

"Well, one of the advantages of this stench-filled sewer is that its tunnels are more disorienting than the smell. It stretches and twists ten thousand miles beneath the city, and leads to the river that surrounds the outer walls. Talon and his bunch wouldn't be able to find their way to us, even if they _wanted _to come here."

Wolf nodded. "At least you have the advantage there. They won't ever find you."

Miyu laughed. "Ha, yeah, but I wish we had that much luck in everything else. Supplies, recruits…what's the point of having a secret organization if it's too weak to function?"

"Maybe you should consult that Sauru of yours for advice," Leon said. "He's supposed to be wise and all-powerful."

The Lynx handed Duke the flare and looked around, hands on her hips. They were at a dead end. She felt the brick wall with her hands.

"Wise? Yes. All-powerful? Absolutely not. He has enough on his mind to worry about," She added, patting the wall and listening for something. "That's why he needs someone younger to run the TRU Organization in his place."

"Younger?" Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "What does that have to do with it? How old is he?"

PFFT.

Miyu yanked a brick out of place, dust emitting from it. She coughed slightly, and then reached inside the square hole in the wall, twisting something until she heard a click. The wall swung open, revealing a dark tunnel ahead.

"Pretty old-and I'll leave it at that." She slid the brick back in and turned around. "Now, everyone stick close to me, and we'll be on our way."

They all stepped inside, following her closely.

Miyu didn't get out her flare this time. An eerie green light shown from up above them, more of it streaming from various spots on the wall.

Leon's electric-blue eyes were illuminated by the green.

"Whoa…"

Poking out of the walls were dozens of huge, blazing green crystal formations, lighting up the massive hallway beyond the path that lay before them. The terrain of the pathway wasn't rough or treacherous…but smooth. It was far too old to be part of a sewer, but too well-carved to be a work of the rock.

Someone had built this place…

"You guys _built _this?" Leon asked in awe.

"Us? Oh, no…" Miyu almost laughed. "Not even the SharpClaw know about this place. This passage was built centuries before even _they _arrived here. Sauru says that it's probably the work of some civilization…the older Lylatians. Still, even _he _doesn't know why they built a passage this deep under the ground." She looked up at the crystal-covered ceiling. "I think they were trying to stay out of the sun. Can't say I blame 'em…I'd build a city underground if it kept _me _out of the baking heat."

Wolf's eyes wandered the walls. Dark rock…crystal formations…

This place…reminded him of somewhere he had been before…

"Where is this place? Under the city?" He asked.

Miyu shook her head. "You know that colossus of canyons and mountains outside the city walls? That's where we are…just outside the SharpClaw's reach, but close enough to enter the city whenever we want. Pretty sick, huh?"

"It's incredible…" Leon murmured.

"Yeah, leave it to Sauru to find a place like this…" Duke snickered. "He's got a thing for caves. I bet he was born in one."

Miyu gestured for them to follow her. "On the other side if this passage is the entrance to our base. We shouldn't be long, now."

"Is your base inside of a cave, too?" Wolf asked, somewhat nervously. He didn't like the idea of being trapped in more caves. He'd had enough of the on Venom.

"No. Our base is on the surface…in the heart of the mountains." Miyu smiled. "The range is high and the terrain is barbaric. Even the SharpClaw aren't bold enough to venture through on foot."

Wolf looked around at the lit passageway. "Does your hideout have a name?"

"Yeah."

Miyu started walking.

"The mountain pass is called 'Sargasso'. In the old Titanian dialect, it means 'cradle of stone.'"

Wolf looked down. The strange-sounding word echoed in his ears…

He murmured it under his breath. "Sargasso…"

Leon looked up. "Wolf? What is it?"

"Nothing," Wolf said quickly.

_A cradle of stone. _

_So the one safe place on this planet is the one more dangerous than the City of SharpClaw…_

_Somehow, that doesn't surprise me._

_Still…that name… Sargasso…_

_Has a nice ring to it…._

_Half-an-hour later…_

CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!

Duke rapped his fist against the iron door at the end of the tunnel.

"HEY! Open up in there! We're back from patrol!"

Leon waited. "You just have people go in and out through a door? Isn't that a little unsafe?"

"Nah, there's a slot for people to look through before letting anyone in." He looked at Nigel. "Speakin' of which, do you know who's on lookout tonight? I lost track after it was Jordan's turn."

Nigel shrugged. "I dunno."

_SLNK!_

The small eye-slot opened, and a pair of green eyes stared from behind the closed door.

"Who dares to impudently trespass on the domain of the Titanian Resistance Unit?" A familiar, high-pitched voice demanded from inside. "Speak, defiler, or I won't allow you to enter!"

"Perfect. Just fucking perfect." Duke drew his palm to his face. "It's _Riley's _turn."

"Oh, for the love of God. Let _me _handle this." Miyu brushed past him and walked up to the door, kicking against the door with her boot.

_CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!_

"Hey, RILEY! Stop dicking around and open the damn door!" She barked. "I've had a long night, and an even _longer _morning, so now is not the time to be your usual self!"

"Hmm…" Riley's voice pondered for a moment. "You veil yourself in a very clever disguise, intruder! Your look and voice are both reminiscent of the terrifying Miyu Jaleesa. But-to gain entry here, you must utter the password."

All of the TRU Members groaned.

"Password, _what password?!" _Miyu spat. "Riley, OPEN THE DOOR _NOW."_

"I'm going to need the password, if you want to come in!" Riley sang.

"Kid?" Wolf leaned forward. "Kid, is that you?"

"Maxwell?" Riley's theatrical voice dropped for a second. "AHEM, I mean-all who wish to gain entry must utter the-"

"Riley…" Miyu's voice was vibrant with rage. She looked like she was going to kill someone. "If you don't open the door, _right now…_I'm going to tell Sauru how _another _set of complete strangers managed to get inside the Supply Warehouse that _you _were supposed to lock up. How does that sound? Are you willing to push me to my last nerve for the price of Sauru chewing your ass into dust?"

There was a long silence from inside the eye-slot.

"Um…_and that's the password!"_

There was a series of clicks and whirring sounds, as Riley undid the locks on the other side of the door before swinging it open.

He poked his head from behind it.

"Hey, guys, look-it was just a joke. I knew it was really-"

_FWMP!_

Miyu lunged forward with her arm out and grabbed him by the collar, hoisting him up off his feet.

"RILEY!" She shouted. _"What the hell do you think you're doing? _You're not on lookout to joke around! And more importantly, why the _hell _haven't you fixed the locking mechanisms on the door to the Supply Warehouse?! That's YOUR job!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Riley yelped, his lanky feet barely touching the ground. "Look, I don't know _what's _wrong with the lock…I keep fixing it, but it keeps coming loose!"

Miyu pointed at Leon and Wolf. "Two people, Riley. _Two people _got in. Who else has to barge in before you fix it? Bounty hunters? SharpClaw? _Who? _You're putting us ALL in danger, Riley, and all you can do is joke around!"

The young ginger cat looked down at the ground sullenly. "I know, Miyu…I know. You keep telling me, and I…look, I'm sorry."

Wolf regarded him with some sympathy. "Hey, look…cut him some slack, will you? And put him down, for Christ's sake!"

Miyu sighed and set the cat down.

"Look, Riley…I don't _like _yelling at you. You know that." She folded her arms. "It's a pain-in-the-ass for me, too."

Riley scuffled his feet. "I know. I'll fix it…I promise."

"That's good. That's what I want to hear. Now, when you've finished breakfast tomorrow, head out by the Northern District route and fix it. I'll take the heat from Sauru for you this time…" She sighed. "But this better be the last time! I don't know WHY I keep doing this to myself…" She muttered under her breath.

"You're getting soft," Duke snickered. "Admit it."

"Do you want to lose the fur on your _other _ear?" Miyu asked dangerously.

Riley looked past them. "And look at you two! Vincent and Maxwell, my two favorite Slave Yard buddies! You made it after all! You know, after the whole 'fire incident', _some _people were beginning to think that I had imagined everything that happened." He shot a glare at Duke and Nigel. "But here you are! Bright-eyed and bushy-" He stopped, smile fading. "Oh, man…" His eyes went up and down Wolf's new wounds. "You look _terrible. _You're even more beat-up than before! Why is it you always look half-dead whenever I see you?"

"I don't ask for it," Wolf grumbled. "Believe me."

The young cat glanced at Miyu. "You look pretty beat up too…what happened? Did you guys run into some kind of trouble-?"

"Riley," Miyu said quickly. "I've got a word due with Sauru on a few issues-some of them things that _you _should be discussing with him yourself," She eyed him sternly. "So if you'd kindly cut the therapy session short and let us through the interior gate, I'd be much obliged."

He threw his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay…I'm gettin' to it. There's no need to be difficult." He rolled up his sleeves.

"At this ungodly hour, I have a right to be," She mumbled.

_Creaaaak…_

The rusty crank that coiled the chain to the mighty front gate churned and groaned, the small cat huffing as he forced his nimble arms to force the wheel into a sluggish turn. It didn't look so hard to push, but he made it look like he was pushing a boulder up a hill.

"By the way…_heeAGH…" _He grunted. "You want me to…HEEP-_argh…_show our guests around? HRNT!" His face turned blue as he puffed out exhausted panting sounds.

Miyu sighed. "Oh, for the love of-"

She marched over impatiently, rolled up one sleeve, and slapped the crank.

**CREAK. **

The clattering chains rattled as they unraveled, the gate opening wider. Riley's exhausted look disappeared in an instant, and he straightened up lazily.

Wolf raised his eyebrows. _Wow. Really?_

"So? How 'bout it? I could find them some decent rooms for the night…er, morning." He blinked and scratched his head. "What time is it?"

"Not these ones," Miyu glanced at Wolf and Leon. "They're coming with me to Sauru."

Riley nodded absent-mindedly for a moment, but then his ear perked up. "Wait, what? You're kidding, right? Look, I know they helped us out and all, but…" He eyed Wolf uncertainly. "…Sauru never sees any of the refugees. You know that."

Wolf looked at Miyu. "This guy's the Field Advisor, but he never sees the refugees? What kind of an Advisor is that?"

"He keeps to himself, mostly," Duke shrugged. "Hell, even _I _don't see him half the time."

Miyu tapped her boot impatiently. "Never _mind _that, Riley…just follow me anyway. This an issue that concerns him. You, too?"

"Me?" Riley pointed at himself. "But-I haven't done anything! You said-"

"You're not in trouble, dumbass," Miyu snapped. "You just need to be there…as one of the TRU's original founders. We better get the other two to come along with us, too."

Riley raised his eyebrows. "Is it _that _important? Alright, then…" He shot another glance at Wolf. "Man, you must be _something _special if all of us plus Sauru need to see you," Riley said. "What exactly-?"

"Just walk ahead of us, Riley," Miyu said. "You want to show them around? Here's your chance." Her eyes darted around. "Just-don't make a spectacle in front of the refugees. I don't want them to panic."

"Panic?" Riley waved a carefree hand. "Pfft, they're just two refugees… if anything, they should be welcomed back as heroes! Why would they cause a panic?"

Miyu chose not to answer that question.

Wolf knew why. The small shiver on the back of his spine was enough of an indicator.

The gates creaked all the way open, and the shuddering rattle of a portcullis being hoisted up threw up dust on the ground. That's when Wolf realized that the rock they were standing on wasn't the slippery, black sewer rock…but reddish, and rough.

As sliver of light emerging from beneath the gate expanded, Wolf squinted from being accustomed to the dark of the sewer for so long.

"Well, boys," Riley stuck a toothpick in his mouth with a smile. "If you're still nervous or on edge from the City, put your minds at ease. Those SharpClaw may have a palace…" He strolled in leisurely, and spread his arms. "But _we _have something better…the Shrine of the Sargasso Mountains!"

Both Wolf and Leon stepped in…and cranked their heads at the sight.

This wasn't the shabby, low-lit, unorganized hideout Wolf had expected from a scattered group of rebels. It was a huge temple ruin…that was _part _of the rock. The walls were thick, red, chipped canyon rock, with carvings of elegant deities and scowling demons etched in it like it had evolved with the stone itself. The ceiling was held up by a huge pair of stone winged lions, keeping the rock steady with their muscular arms. There were no windows…only natural gaps in the wall and ceiling, letting in streams of morning light. But even though it looked ancient, signs of life were abundant in it. Pipes and steam ran up the walls, and wooden carpentry had contributed to the balconies and flights of stairs. Washing lines strung with ragged clothing criss-crossed the ceiling like banners, and the walls were lined with torches and oil lamps.

But what made the place really seem like a home…a _real _home, with life in it… were the people. The essence of a busy day was abundant in the air. Men and woman went about their daily chores, gossiping and greeting each other warmly. Some pushed carts, went up ladders, or staggered along with towers of crates in their hands. Women washed clothes in buckets, chatting idly and nursing babies. Wives scolded their husbands under their breath as they mended their clothes, and husbands worked on the support beams and carpentry, complaining about their wives. Young girls carrying hampers and baskets of fruit talked with one another, before some cheeky boy sprinted up from behind, lifted their skirt, and snatched an apple or orange from their basket. Children chased each other around the rocky ruin, waging war with sticks and hiding behind their fortified fortress of a mother. Some of them were being chided or washed in the hot springs that gushed out of the canyon walls, or being enthralled by the story of some eccentric elder.

No one hung their head in forced labor or suffering. No one staggered in a wounded limp or fatigued struggle. Everyone seemed…at ease. Nothing bothered them…their work strenuous, but completely voluntary.

Wolf looked around the place, and smiled at the chatting people and scurrying children. He had seen the gloom of the prison, the melancholy atmosphere of a refugee vessel, the misery of a slave yard, and the somewhat quarrelsome air of a city. Finally…finally… he had found an atmosphere with actual life.

The absence of any pain, or suffering… it was fresher than an oasis. He actually felt like he was in a home….not his, perhaps, but _a _home.

Leon let out a long whistle. "Well, I'll be damned…you guys have a smooth operation here."

"That we do," Riley said proudly. "It may not be much now, compared to the city, but it's the safest place you'll find. There's no better place to lay low, if you ask me."

Wolf looked above, seeing more people work and run about on the numerous balconies circling them above.

"It's quite a feat_…_ and Sauru built all of this?"

"Well, no," Riley admitted. "But he did find the place. Took us in, gave us food…back then, we were nothing more than rats hiding in a sewer. But we all chipped in, gathered more people, and finally, after years of bent backs and wasted sweat…"He tossed his toothpick in a nearby bucket. "We finally had a sturdy home, with over two hundred thousand people."

Leon folded his arms. "Hard to believe…you guys made it sound like you were struggling. With a force _this _big, you could take on the SharpClaw now!"

Miyu stopped walking. She watched a couple of children sprint by.

"Last one to the gorgon statue's a wart on General Talon's butt!" One of them yelled.

"Hey, HEY!" An old woman with a broom screeched. "General Talon doesn't sweep the floor! _I _do! So keep your filthy paws off it!"

Miyu sighed. "These people aren't the sort we need for our Resistance. They're not soldiers. They're people. Two hundred thousand men, women, children, and elderly. They're here because they have no one else to turn to…and the TRU exists to give aid to the deprived. And these are only the people who _chose _to take refuge here."

"'Chose to'?" Leon repeated in disbelief. "What, you mean some people would actually _take _that SharpClaw hell out there over a place like _this? _What are they, high?"

"Some people?" Duke laughed darkly. "Heh, try _everyone else _in the city, boy. They don't believe we can protect us from the SharpClaw. Can't say that I blame 'em…we've got more widows than warriors. Hell, our losses _really _kicked in when we lost Siegfried and-"

He stopped suddenly, realizing the thin ice he had waltzed right into. Both him and Nigel shot pained looks at Miyu, who looked expressionless.

"Duke, Nigel," She handed them her rifle. "Head back to barracks and call it a night."

"Oh-thanks, but, uh…" The Malamute scratched his head apologetically. "It's my turn for sentry duty."

"And you'll be on sentry duty," Miyu said firmly. _"After _you get some refreshing sleep. The last thing we need is a guard asleep on duty. Now, get going."

Duke nodded in guilty gratitude, and trudged away with Nigel.

Leon and Wolf looked at each other, thinking the same thing: this Siegfried guy must've been important if everyone-especially Miyu-acted this melancholy when talking about him.

"So, um…Riley. You were showing us around?" Wolf asked quickly, trying to break the awkward tension in the air.

"Hmm? Oh, right!" Riley's eyes darted around, looking for something to point out. "Well, there's the satellite room-that's where our more tech-savvy members try to program on-planet communications from whatever scrap I, ahem, 'retrieve'-and there's the barracks (mind the smell), hot springs, and greenhouse. Lots of nice fruits growing there…but pick 'em at your own risk. Believe me, Sauru almost had my tail for trying to get my hands on one of those delectable pomegranates." He muttered under his breath. "Seriously, what's the deal? One fruit missing won't cause a Goddamn famine…"

As he led them through, identifying each microscopic thing in the room with long escapades-worth of personal commentary, people acknowledged them as they walked through.

Miyu gestured and nodded her way through, somewhat tired.

"Hey, Miyu! Great to see you!"

"Hello. Nice to see you too."

"How ya doin', Miyu?"

"As well as I look, I guess. I'm just a little tired. Say hi to Warren for me."

"Morning, Miyu. How's leader business?"

"You're too young to know."

"Good morning, Ms. Jaleesa. Have you seen my husband?"

"Yeah, he's over at the forge, Mrs. Carrol. And seriously, keep that boy of yours in bed…he shouldn't be playing with the others with that fever."

"Miyu! Miyu! Jordan took my doll!"

"Just hit him where it hurts and take it back from him, Marta. You're a strong, independent young woman! Er…actually, maybe you should just tell your mom."

"Hey, Miyu, darlin'! You're lookin' nice today! Wanna join the boys and me for a quick drink? You'll feel less tired once you do!"

"I'm not that tired, and never will be, Kurt. Besides, Sauru says no drinking during morning hours…and the next time you call me darling, I'll put your tail between your ears!"

Leon gave an impressed look around. "Well, well…someone has quite the reputation."

"Two hundred thousand people and twice as many daily dilemmas to go with them. Christ, Siegfried…why did you leave so much behind for me to care of?" Miyu sighed in exasperation, and then turned to Leon. "Yeah, I know 'em pretty well. This place may seem nice on the surface, but with the crapload of problems I never get to enjoy the bliss of a peaceful environment."

Leon looked around cheerfully. "Well, seems like a nice atmosphere to me. I could get used to this."

Wolf wasn't sharing his enthusiasm. He looked around, noticing some of the odd looks he was picking up. Men and women looked up from their daily routines, their eyes traveling up and down his scarred body. Children stopped playing and looked at him fearfully. Mothers called them back nervously.

Suddenly, all the warmth and calmness was gone from the atmosphere, and Wolf was starting to dread ever walking in here.

When he glanced at them, they immediately resumed their work…but he could still hear them whispering among themselves.

"Hey, did you get a look at that guy with Miyu? Who is he?"

"I've never seen him before. I think he just got here!"

"Did you see those scars? Some of them are still fresh!"

"Do you think he's from the Slave Yard?"

"Please…he looks like some kind of marauder to me."

"Yeah…come to think of it, he looks like one of those rogue bounty hunters…you know, the ones that kill for sport? He might be a prisoner Miyu took."

"You're right. Diana, keep the children over here. I don't want them playing over there."

Wolf quickened his pace, having heard enough.

"Miyu, are we getting close to wherever your Boss is?" He asked uncomfortably. "I don't want to spend too much time out here."

"Oh, lighten up, will you?" Leon said leisurely. "What's the problem now?"

Wolf looked around. "Something tells me I don't blend in well…and these people are starting to notice it."

"You can't blame them for that," Miyu said in a low voice, so that Riley couldn't here. "They might not know who you are...but the way you look is enough for them to know you're from the city, or off-planet. Just be glad they don't know any more than that. Then they'd have reason to think you're hostile."

He looked at her. "What about you? Do you think I'm hostile?"

Miyu stopped walking. "It doesn't matter what I think."

"Yes, it does," Wolf insisted. "Miyu-_you've _been acting pretty hostile around me. And I know why…solely because you weren't like this before." He stopped walking too. "You said in the bar that you'd trust me, Miyu. But you aren't acting like it."

Miyu bit her lip. She looked down, for once looking like she had literally nothing to say.

"All I know are the things I've heard," She finally said. "Normally, I wouldn't judge based on rumors alone, but…I've seen certain things as well. Things _you've _done."

Wolf clenched his fists. "You're talking about what happened with Shinto, aren't you?"

Miyu let out an exasperated exhale, and looked at him earnestly. "Look, you don't have to prove anything to me. You've proven yourself next to me in the heat of battle. And in my book, that's more convincing that some half-assed rumors that no one has proven first-hand." She fiddled with her AK. "To be honest, I'm more worried about how the some…_others _will take the news."

"Others?" Leon repeated. "Like who?"

CLACK!

Miyu spun around quickly, and suddenly looked alert. "Oh, _crap."_

All of them turned at the sharp sound, and Riley turned his gaze from where he was pointing.

"Ah! Here's are Main Sparring Ring!" He grinned mischievously at Wolf. "I know _you're _gonna have plenty of fun there, Maxwell! A couple of our recruits should be nothing for you!"

Wolf turned fully, suddenly interested. It had been years since he had seen a real sparring circle in the Academy.

The circle was really just a concave hole of dirt in the ground, a large one peppered with white markers and boundary lines. It looked like a large crater from where Wolf stood. But disappointingly, Wolf realized what Riley meant by "recruits".

The huddles of men fighting in the sparring pit were nothing but teenage boys…some scrawny, and some overweight. They all were clothed in nothing but shorts, leather greaves, shin-guards. They were feet-deep in the dirt, engaging some strange sparring competition, where one group was clad in red cloth masks, while the other in blue. Some fought with short staves, while others fought with fist and claw.

Wolf's eyes followed their movements and footing. They weren't bad, but they looked pressed and exhausted just to pull of simple swings and blocks. He could see the obvious hesitation in their strikes, and the nervous look in their eyes.

"Oh, great," Riley groaned. "The rookies are at it. And here I was thinking I'd see some action."

"Rookies?" Wolf turned to him. "This is your 'army'?"

"This is what's _left _of our army," Riley corrected. He glanced at them in an unimpressed fashion. "Trust me, Max, if soldiers were apples, well, you could say we got the bottom of the barrel. I ain't proud of them either." He folded his arms. "That _used _to be a sparring pit full of man. Now, it's just the little girls' sandbox."

Leon raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Yeah? Why don't dive in and spice things up a bit? A couple of rotten apples should be nothing for a tough guy like you."

Riley's ear flicked, his expression blank.

"Oh, what? Just because I'm…" He looked down at his nimble body. "…'less equipped' than the average soldier means I'm on the same ground as the rookies? I'm a _thief, _Vincent…my job is _avoiding _physical contact. Hell, I don't even rememberthe last time I actually killed someone, even when I was Spec Ops." He produced a small dart from his sleeve. "Never kill what you can stun or maim."

Surprised, Leon nodded approvingly. "An assassin's words to live by."

"Still…" The young cat flipped his dart back into his sleeve. "I'd happily join the fight down there if it meant making something exciting happen. Watching these guys fight is boring as ass."

CLACK!

Wolf's ears perked at the sharp sound again.

Suddenly, a red trainee fell out of the group, collapsing on the sand with a groan…his staff in half.

_Whoosh!_

A dark figure leapt out from behind the wall of Blue trainees, bringing his hand down on a Red Recruit's shoulder.

Riley blinked. "Hold the comm., I think things just got interesting."

This new fighter wasn't a recruit. He was older, taller...and his stance was rigid and confident. He was physically superior to all of them in height and build, with large biceps and a torso toned with a six-pack etched out through his blue muscle-shirt. Whatever race he was, he had grey fur with numerous spots…his tail flicking across the sand impatiently. His mouth was covered with a blue sash, which meant he must've been on the blue team.

He raised his unarmed hands, as if gesturing them to attack first.

The recruits stood their ground uncomfortably for a second, before charging at him.

_CLACK!_

Wolf wouldn't call what happened next a "fight." If anything, it was one "opponent" striking down human sandbags like pins. He dove forward effortlessly, weaving his way into every open spot and every lowered guard.

CLACK! CLACK!

That was when they all saw that the sharp noise was the sound of each recruits' wooden staff hammering the combatant's bare wrists, as he flung his arms in front of his face and body parry the attacks. Everyone watched as he dashed back and forth in nimble dodges, each parried attack with a wooden staff sending a crack in the air as they rapped the fighter's wrists and the back of his hands….sometimes so hard that the flattening rods sent severed strands of gray fur in the air from his bruised forearms.

They all winced. He didn't.

The sharp strikes of the wooden staves deflected off the impenetrable guard of his bare wrists, causing splinters to fly everywhere, not even making him flinch.

"Whoo! Look at him go!" Riley laughed. "I told you he'd give us a show!"

Wolf was indeed interested…but not in the way anyone thought. His eyes followed the rhythm of the combatant's attack, the flow of his hands and feet, somewhat accustomed to the style.

He'd _seen _that combat style before…somewhere…

It wasn't his attacks that impressed Wolf-he took each of the recruits down with a mere rapping on the head or kick to the stomach.

What amazed him was his _speed. _He moved even quicker than Miyu had moved back in the bar, his movements and attacks blurring past visual comprehension. He was some kind of feline…that was the only way he could have made such impressive spinal movements to dodge or spin around to counter attacks on a second's notice.

"Who _is _that?" Leon asked.

"That's the TRU Combat Instructor," Miyu said.

Wolf glanced at her again, and realized that she was watching the Instructor as intently as he was…and fiddling with her rifle.

_What's with her?_

Eyebrows furrowed, he turned his attention back to the fight.

Finally, when almost every Red recruit was down, the taller figure was attacked viciously by one of the less lanky trainees.

_CLACK! CLACK!_

The larger fighter moved back on his feet, parrying the strikes of the wooden staff with his wrists.

"Faster!" The figure yelled under his muffling mask. _"Faster!"_

A bead of sweat dribbled down the masked trainee's face, as he concentrated on the Instructor's arms that barred his attempts to break the block.

"Faster strikes!" The fighter commanded relentlessly between blocks. _"Faster!"_

The trainee thrashed and hacked about with his staff, huffing but successfully pushing him back. He swatted the Instructor's guard away and prepared to bring his staff down-

Right before the takedown happened, Wolf saw the obvious flaw in the young recruit's widened stance-right when the Instructor had seen it too.

The masked fighter drew his feline spine to fully heighten himself over the recruit's accidental squat…and brought his bare arm down like a guillotine.

SNAP!

The Instructor's iron arm snapped the polearm like a twig, both splintered fragments flying from the trainee's hands numbed hands. The taller combatant swung his feet around the trainee's feet like a cat, knocking him off balance, before snatching up a fragment of the staff and pinning him to the ground with it.

"Yield," He demanded, pressing the stick against his neck. "Surrender yourself! _Now!"_

The trainee panted heavily under him, before letting out a muffled sigh.

"Alright, I yield."

The Instructor slackened his grip on the recruit and helped him up. He removed the sash from the boy's face, exposing the adolescent feathers of a finch. But his glance at all the other trainees, who were already stretching and panting, indicated that he wasn't satisfied.

"No one relax-today's training isn't over yet." He pointed the staff fragment at the finch. "Can anyone tell me what this recruit did wrong?"

There wasn't a show of hands at first, and all of them scuffled their feet embarrassedly. Then, a newt in the back spoke up.

"His footing was off….he put too much weight on his attacks, right?"

"That's true," The Instructor nodded. "He _did _have the wrong footing. But I was hoping for a different answer. Anyone else?"

"Was his grip on the practice staff wrong?" A pine marten asked.

The Instructor hesitated. "Yes…alright, he did a _lot _of things wrong." He strolled around the finch, whose eyes were on his feet. "But there was one blunder that stood outside all the rest. Loose footing can be remedied…bad grip on the staff only requires a feel for the weapon over time. But his worse blunder was the most fatal kind any soldier can perform…" He pointed the staff remnant at him like a police baton. "Do you know what that that blunder was, Richard?"

The finch kept his eyes down. "No, sir."

The figure stopped circling him. "You yielded too early."

"Sir?"

"By surrendering before the fight had ended, you surrendered yourself to the enemy." The Instructor's cold silver eyes, almost blue, drove into the student. "You surrendered your body, your mind…and all the valuable information in it-about us, our location, our plans, the TRU, Sauru-_everything." _He drew closer to the student. "That's what surrendering to the SharpClaw means, boy. It means instant death for everyone you fight for. You have to be ready to die first. Understand?"

The finch's eyes were huge, and he nodded with a slight tremble.

"Y-Yes, sir."

"Good. Besides-" He walked in front of the entire assembly of students. "Death is a last resort in this combat. Yielding to early means abandoning the battle before you can stand and continue fighting. You have to learn to crush that instinct, and stand tall and firm in the face of the enemy. That is our way…the Cornerianway." He slid his sash off, exposing his silver feline face. " 'Never give up until the fight is finished.' That was our motto during the war…and that's our motto now."

A familiar sense of distaste wormed its way up Wolf's throat, as the shared look of impressed awe on everyone's face disappeared from his own. His eyelids slanted back into their skeptical look.

_Oh, CHRIST…_

_This guy's another patriot…a 'true' Cornerian, like Fox…_

_That relentless nationalistic speech SOUNDED familiar….I guess now I know why…_

"That's the real lesson today," The Instructor continued turning around. "So keep it in mind, for when the day finally comes for you to-"

"Mason! Hey, Mason!" Riley called out.

The Instructor stopped suddenly, and sighed in exasperation.

"Ugh, what is it _now, _Riley?" He said in a low, irritated voice. "This better be important to interrupt the morning exercises…."

He turned fully, and his stern expression slackened slightly.

"Miyu! _There _you are!" He glanced back at the recruits. "Okay, that's all for right now. Shower up in the rock springs and then report to the kitchen…Fay's probably got something for you. Report back here in half an hour for hand-to-hand routines. Dismissed!"

The students flung off their blue and red sashes in exhaustion and chatted idly as they walked away. A couple of them rubbed their arms and shoulders sorely.

As the Instructor, Mason, snatched a towel from a nearby bench and walked over to them, Wolf managed to get a good look at him.

From the scattered spots and grey fur, Mason must've been a snow leopard, probably from Cocytus or one of the moons of Fichina. He certainly _looked _Fichinese. He was quite tall, about Wolf's height, and well-built…making him look like more of an athlete than a soldier. His shoulders were broad and his arms were thickened with large muscles. The fur on his head and cheeks were clipped in a standard military cut. He wore a navy-blue, sleeveless workout shirt, with large combat boots and gloves.

On the surface, he didn't look like anything special. But Wolf could already tell he wasn't going to like this guy. He had that smooth, confident edge he'd seen in James McCloud, that stupid air that other people looked up to and considered "heroic."

But all of those traits didn't stick out clearly as much as the dog-tags around his neck. They weren't the typical, steel kind…no, they were Marked Tags, stamped in platinum…the commendation reserved for members of the Cornerian Army that were promoted to the top of their military.

_So that's why his fighting techniques seemed so familiar…I _have _seen them before, because I countered them first-hand during the war…_

_He's a Cornerian Defense Force SEAL…_

Wolf scowled.

_Just perfect…a hero, a patriot, AND a goddamn SEAL…_

He'd had enough of these morons during the war. Their pretentious attitudes, their nationalism that they shoved down everyone's throats…he'd never thought that he'd run into one on a desolate planet like this.

_I guess you can fly a million parsecs around the Lylat System and still manage to run into these proud, stuck-up fools…_

Then, a sudden thought hit him. Miyu already knew that he was Wolf O'Donnell…so how would this Cornerian guy take the news?

_So this is what she meant…this is why she was worried._

He had to stay in the back, and try to remain unnoticed. A fight would certainly ensue if this Mason found out who he was.

He started to feel cautious as he approached, but he couldn't help but notice how _odd _Miyu was acting. She looked more alert than tired…but not for the reason he thought. She wasn't glancing alertly at Wolf like she had done before…right now, she looked perplexed. _And _nervous. _And _somewhat pink in the cheeks, now that Wolf looked harder.

"Shit," He heard her mutter under her breath. "Why did Riley get his attention?! I probably look like a such a clusterfuck!" Her hand flew up to her fur as she tried to mat it down.

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. _What the hell?_

"Hey, Mason," Miyu said, her voice small and sounding insecure…not nearly as confident and full of spunk as it usually was. "How's it-?"

"You've really thrown this place in an uproar, you know that?" Mason scolded. "You disappear for patrol three hours early, and then return four hours late? You made us all worry!"

"Sorry, Mace. Things got a little out of hand, and-wait," She paused, looking hopeful. "You, uh…you were worried?"

Mason blinked. "Of course I was worried. We _all _were…Fay, especially. She's been worried sick, dropping her duties, asking around for you…and pestering _me." _He scowled. "It's been a long morning for all of us."

Miyu rubbed her temples. "God, Mason, I'm sorry…I got side-tracked. It wasn't my fault."

Riley folded his arms. "Why are _you _apologizing? You're the TRU's Leader! You can do whatever the hell you want!"

"I'm the TRU's Second-in-Command, Riley," Mason said hotly. "If I don't know where Miyu is, then I'm not doing my job. Besides, if anything happens to her…well…" His grey eyes became muddled.

Miyu gripped her rifle, as if waiting for something.

"Well, what?" Miyu asked hopefully.

"Sauru will probably kill me," The snow leopard decided.

"Oh…right."

Miyu was still looked down with a somewhat-disappointed expression. Wolf furrowed his eyebrows, still not understanding what her deal was all of a sudden. Riley rolled his eyes, looking like he had to bear witness to this all the time.

Mason slung his towel over his shoulders. "Anyway, were you two going somewhere?"

"Hmm? Oh, right…I need to take these two refugees to Sauru. And maybe you better come along, too."

"Refugees?" Mason looked behind Miyu, noticing Wolf and Leon for the first time. "Oh, come on, Miyu! It's _Fay's _duty to bring in refugees, not yours!"

"These aren't just _any _refugees!" Riley said indignantly. "These are some of the ones that banded up with us at the Slave Yard! I wouldn't have made it out if it weren't for them."

"Great, so it's _them _I have to thank for you getting back in one piece," Mason groaned longingly. "And to think that you wouldn't have come back if they hadn't been there…"

Riley scowled. "Oh, _thanks, _Mason. Remind me never to save _your _heartless ass the next time you're-"

"Wait a minute."

He stopped mid-sentence to see Mason looking suddenly alert. Confused, Wolf traced the line of his bluish-grey eyes to where they were locked…and then realized with a jolt that he was looking at _him._

"Hey…" Mason said slowly. "Who's that behind you?"

Wolf shot his eyes to the corner suddenly, avoiding eye contact. _Shit!_

Both Miyu and Leon tried to conceal their alarmed looks.

"Oh, him?" Riley said obliviously. "He's the Grey-"

_Krrtch!_

"OUCH!"

Mason blinked at the young cat tearing up, apparently not having seen Miyu aim a swift kick to his shins.

"He's a refugee that we found in the city!" She said quickly. "One of the ones I have to take to Sauru. Probably another civilian."

Mason's eyes narrowed. "Is he now?"

He walked up to Wolf, who felt the snow leopard's eyes analyze him suspiciously.

"He certainly doesn't _look _like a refugee." He glanced at the bandages and scars adorning Wolf's battered torso. "And a civilian doesn't obtain scars like that…not even in the Slave Yard."

Leon stepped forward nervously, gesturing for Wolf to remain silent with a look that said: _Stay quiet and let ME handle this._

"Look, we actually recently arrived from off-planet. You know how dangerous these times are, what with the Inquisitor and all that… We've run into a lot of local trouble with the SharpClaw."

Mason narrowed his eyes.

"Is that the truth, 'off-worlder'?"

Wolf didn't say anything. He tried to keep his head turned slightly, to keep his eye-patch out of view.

The Snow Leopard drew nearer, his voice intimidating.

"I asked you a question. Did the SharpClaw beat you senseless to the point where you can't hear? _Answer me!"_

Wolf clenched his fist as he felt his blood boil, but continued to restrain himself. _Let it slide,_ he thought. _This Cornerian punk doesn't know who he's talking to…_

…_yet._

"Mason, I'm already late as it is," Miyu reasoned. "In fact, I _need _you to come with me."

"We have to inspect all suspicious visitors that come in here, Miyu," Mason replied coldly. "You know that as well as I. And since you brought them here on a whim, without consulting me first, you might endanger all of us."

"We're both civilians," Leon insisted, somewhat annoyed. "Where's the suspicion?"

"A civilian doesn't walk around with scars like that," Mason said tartly. "Not from local trouble, either. The only way this off-worlder could've obtained those is in combat…and the only group that fights each other like dogs in this city are common brutes and thugs." He looked back at Wolf, glaring. "They're the last kind of scum you trust, let alone bring in here!"

Wolf had finally had enough.

"Big talk from a guy who dumps paranoia and spite on someone looking for refuge," He spat contemptuously. "Is this the way you treat refugees? Some kind, caring Resistance you are. You don't even know who I am, and you're already ready to kick me out!"

He didn't even care that both Leon and Miyu were looking at him with pleading looks for him to back down. He was done with everyone sticking up for him. This Mason needed a lesson in manners.

Mason said nothing for a moment.

"What _is _your name then, off-worlder?"

Wolf's scornful look disappeared. His eyes darted around for a moment.

"Maxwell. Maxwell…" _Oh, shit. The last name, what was the last name?! _"…Andrew."

The Snow Leopard raised his eyebrows.

"Maxwell Andrew? That's a very…creative name."

Leon bit his lip. _He knows…._

Wolf was already feeling frantic enough as it was. Without hesitation, he stepped forward.

"Listen, I'm not in the mood for any confrontations. I have business with your Advisor, Sauru, and I've wasted enough time already."

Mason didn't say anything for a moment, his eyes narrowed.

"No one said anything about a confrontation, 'Maxwell,' " He said slowly. "I don't know why you'd fear one from me. Unless…" His grey eyes narrowed keenly. "…you have something to hide that would warrant the fear of a confrontation."

Wolf didn't move, trying to act as passive as possible. He knew what Mason was trying to do.

"I don't."

The Leopard folded his arms distrustfully. "Then prove it. Empty all of the pockets of your coat. If you have nothing to hide, and no deceitful intentions, then you won't have anything suspicious in them."

"What?" Wolf asked in disbelief. "Forget it! I'm not letting anyone search through my belongings, least of all you!"

"Mason, I don't think that-" Miyu started.

"Miyu, if you won't enforce security measures as the Leader here, then I will. We can't afford to have suspicious people run in here without a search or questioning."

The Lynx stood her ground firmly. "Maxwell _isn't _a suspect. I trust him, so you should to! He's done enough to-"

"You're going to risk our security because of a judgment call?" Mason asked in disbelief. "_We_ established new security measures after the failure of our last coup! The _both of us!_ Are you going to go against that, now? When we have so many innocent people to lose?"

Miyu looked from him to Wolf, looking pained. "N-No, of course not-"

Wolf couldn't believe it. Why was she bowing to this guy's will? _She _was the Leader!

"But, Mason-trust me…" Miyu started. "He _is _trustworthy. I'm sure of-"

"Have you checked him? Do you know for sure that he's safe?" Mason demanded.

Wolf looked at her, somewhat desperately, to take his side. But she looked so unsure…and nervous. He gaped. Why was she uncertain all of a sudden? Why now?

Then, he paused for a moment.

_She IS unsure…_

_Not about Maxwell…_

…_she's unsure about Wolf O'Donnell…_

Miyu turned to him in a resigned fashion.

"Wol-I mean, _Max-_will you please empty your pockets for him?" She looked at him earnestly.

"_What?" _Wolf yelped in protest. "But, Miyu, you-"

"Just do it, please!" She sighed. "Do it for me."

Wolf stared at her for a long time, before scowling angrily.

_I can't believe it…_

_She STILL doesn't completely trust me…_

Glaring at her fiercely, he flung off the coat she had given him, and started to empty his pockets…the badges and trinkets falling to the ground.

_Clack._

Wolf's finger tapped the sapphire's smooth surface at the bottom of his pocket, but poked around as if the pocket was empty. He didn't see why he shouldn't have brought it out with everything else….but some distorting feeling in his stomach yearned for him to keep it hidden.

He didn't know why, but he didn't want to give it up. He was attached to it…for some reason…

He also didn't reach for his Claw that was tucked away in the back of his torn trousers. If _that _was found, that idiot Mason would have a reason to brand him as a hostile.

Wolf watched tensely as Mason picked up the badges and examined them. He already knew what he was going to find…

"5th Regime Service Award…302nd Elite Division…." Mason's eyes widened as he studied them. "Hold on…this insignia, these rankings…" He looked up instantly. "They're Venomian!"

Wolf froze on the spot. It had finally happened.

Leon's hand crept to his coat pocket.

Miyu turned pale.

Riley just gaped. _"What? _You're a-?"

_Clack!_

The badges clattered out of Mason's hands as he clenched his fists furiously, until his nails dug into his palms. His expression didn't look more angry than he looked before, but his restrained baring of teeth and furious stare showed that his anger was building up in his stomach.

"So…it all makes sense, now. The scars, the suspicious look…it all adds up. A filthy Venomian walked in…._here _of all places."

Wolf refrained from looking nervous or stepping back. "Listen, I don't want any trouble. Alright? I just want to-"

"You asked for trouble the moment you came in here, _Venomian," _Mason snarled. "I don't even know what made you think you could show your face in here."

Miyu looked at them helplessly. "Mason, please…I know how you feel about Venomians, but…" She put her hand on his arm.

But he just shrugged it off aggressively and turned on her next.

"How could you let someone like him in here? You actually let him fool you into thinking he was a common refugee?"

"N-No, I-" She looked hurt. "Please, you have to underst-"

"Miyu, I expected better from you," Mason scolded relentlessly. "Better perception, better judgment….I'd expect this from a rookie, but from _you?_ We're supposed to be on guard from the enemy, and you let in the only threat that's potentially _worse?" _He turned away, filled with contempt. "I can't even imagine what you must have been thinking. Siegfried would have _never _done this if he was in your place!"

Miyu's eyes burned miserably for a moment, before she looked down, clutching her rifle like an ashamed child that had been kicked into the corner.

Wolf felt a sudden surge of sympathy for her.

"Hey, it was my idea to come and see Sauru, not hers," He said defensively. "She has nothing to do with this!"

"She has everything to do with this!" Mason insisted. "She's letting her empathy shake her guard down, and let Venomians like you in here! Well, I'm not going to stand for it…" He approached Wolf, drawing himself to full height. "So if you think I'm going to let you harm anyone in here, you're dead wrong!"

"I'm not here to harm anyone!" Wolf repeated firmly.

"Really?" Mason scoffed, so enraged he was laughing. "Well, then I guess I just _imagined_ the entire war you people started!" He thrust an accusing finger in his direction. "What about the families you've butchered, the innocents you've killed…the Cornerians you _murdered? _It's what scum like you live for!

Wolf felt a bubbling cesspit of rage churn in his chest, every accusation seeming like a douse of icy water as they were shoved in his face.

"Shut the hell up," He growled in a low voice, radiating with anger. "You don't know anything about me, you inbred Cornerian swine."

Mason drew nearer, the two of them face-to-face.

"I know all I need to know. You're Venomian…which means you're a danger to this every man, woman and child in this place. I know all about you savages…and how you kill. You rely on the carnage like an animal, it's all you think about! It more than excites you…it _fulfills _you. Just like it did during the war."

A venomous growl escaped through the cracks of Wolf's bared teeth. The accusations, the lies…it was enough to make him ball his fist and prepare to swing a much-needed punch at this pretentious ass-wipe.

But as he prepared to do so, he saw Riley cower slightly and Miyu's eyes widen. Both of them held their breath…fearfully. Fearing _him._

His angry expression slackened. This wasn't going to solve a thing.

For a moment, he let his anger seethe out through some deep breaths, and he lowered his fist, facing the snow leopard.

"Listen, 'Mason.' The Lylat Wars ended five years ago. If you want to keep your head buried in the past, then so be it. But I won't fight with anyone here…especially the TRU. And although I have some doubts that _you _of all people are members of a Resistance, I can see that you're a friend of Miyu's. And even if the feeling isn't as mutual as I hoped…" He shot a glare in her direction "….I trust her."

Miyu looked away guiltily.

"So just let me pass," Wolf continued. "Let my friend and go through. Neither of us our asking for good treatment, bad treatment, or any attention at all. And we swear we won't attempt treachery, as long as we aren't attacked." He stepped forward, holding out his hands earnestly. "We have a common enemy, the SharpClaw, an enemy we both need to hide from. I'm not asking you as a Venomian…I'm just asking as another refugee who needs help."

Riley looked at him strangely, as he and Miyu looked back at Mason for an answer.

The Snow Leopard remained silent for a long time, his narrowed eyes unchanging for the duration of the uneasy silence. Finally…he resumed his untrusting glare.

"The SharpClaw were right to cast you out. And you were wrong to expect refuge here amongst decent people." He swept his hand out barringly. "Your kind will _never _be welcome here."

Wolf's expression collapsed despairingly.

"Get out," Mason spat. "Leave this place. _Now."_

"Listen, I'm asking you for help!" Wolf pleaded. "No one else will help us! I've said I won't hurt anyone, and I won't! What more do you want from me?!"

"Mason…" Riley started nervously. "I think we should listen to him."

The Second-In-Command turned on him relentlessly. "Don't tell me you're actually _buying _this bullshit! You're falling under the same trap Miyu probably fell in." He glared at Wolf. "He may make it look like he's an actual human being with feelings and fears, but he's not. He's just manipulating you so he can stab you in the back later!"

Wolf felt like throwing his head against the wall in hopeless desperation.

"What the hell is your problem? _You won't even give me a chance!"_

"Give you a _chance?" _Mason repeated furiously. "We _gave _you Venomians a chance…and you waged a war against us. None of you trustworthy, not you or any of your damned race! Now, _get out, _before I MAKE you get out!"

Wolf clenched his fists, anger boiling in his stomach. "I've asked politely, and you _still _won't give me a chance. But now, I'm through. I _have _to see Sauru, even if I have to force my way through."

"Are you threatening me, Venomian scum?" Mason growled. "How typical. You get pushed out of where you're not wanted, so you murder your way through."

Wolf bared his teeth. "I've had enough of this. Stand aside, Cornerian."

"No."

"_Stand aside!"_

"NO!"

"Listen to me, both of you!" Miyu pleaded helplessly. "This isn't the way to-"

"No, _let him!" _Mason barked. "If he wants a fight, he'll get it! If he tries to take one step past this place, I'll kill him where he stands!"

"And if _you _don't get out of my way," Wolf spat warningly. "Then I'll reunite you with all of your filthy, worthless Cornerian brethren that got what they deserved during the war!"

Mason's eyes flashed murderously as his hand bolted for the combat knife in his jacket.

Wolf's hand shot to the back of his trousers where he kept his Claw hidden.

**CLANG!**

The sparks coiling off the serrated edge of the combat knife colliding with the curved edge of the Claw illuminated Miyu's startled eyes from where she stood.

The two opponents faced each other from behind the grinding lock of their blades, glaring at each other hatefully.

"Maxwell, Mason! Please, stop it!" Miyu begged.

But the Snow Leopard wasn't listening. "You should've saved yourself the pain and let the SharpClaw kill you, Venomian. I'm not going to let you kill anyone here!"

Wolf drove his Claw harder against the opposing blade, raking it so that sparks hammered between them.

"No, 'Mason.' Just you."

Miyu grabbed Mason's arm and tried to force him away. "Mason, STOP THIS! _Please!"_

"Stay out of this, Miyu!" Mason warned.

Leon tugged on Wolf's arm.

"Wolf, _what are you doing?" _He hissed frantically. "This isn't going to help!"

"Get off of me, Leon!" Wolf shouted.

Riley cowered in the back, looking at them nervously. "H-Hey, guys? Can't we just talk about this-?"

"I've had enough of this!" Mason gripped his knife with both hands. "MOVE!"

"NO!" Miyu screamed.

_**Shrrr-**_**RRRAAAANG!**

There was a rush of movement between the two of them. The two of them looked up in surprise, to find their weapons scraping against each other, their grips on them forced down by a pair of hands.

Fay stood between the two large men, her dainty, small form out of place but her blue eyes determined.

"Stop this, the both of you! Lower your weapons!" She said firmly.

Wolf's purple eyes blinked in surprise. "Fay?"

Mason blinked, before resuming his scowl. "Stay out of this, Fay. I've got it under my control!"

"No, you don't!" Fay insisted. "You're letting your quarrels out of the sparring ring, Mason. You're attacking a refugee!"

"Refugee?" He almost laughed. "You don't know what he is."

Fay looked at Wolf, who was still surprised that she came between them.

"I know _exactly _what he is, Mason. But you won't find me attacking him."

Miyu looked between them nervously.

"Fay… Maybe, I should-"

"Let me handle this, Miyu," Fay said calmly. She nodded reassuringly. "You've had a long morning. I can take care of this."

She turned his gaze back to them.

"Now…I'm going to release you both, and when I do…"

"Fay, this is ridiculous," Mason protested angrily. He glanced at something on her waist. "This isn't any of your business. Why are you even here? Don't you have some chores to do somewhere?"

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed, until he saw a somewhat-grimy apron wrapped around Fay.

"When I see violence break out in here, it becomes my business. It's _all _of our business…" She looked around them. "Look at you! Do you know who you're even attacking?" She looked at Wolf. "He helped both Riley and me set up the escape back at the Slave Yard!"

"He's a Venomian, Fay!" Mason wrenched his hand free, pointing at Wolf with his knife. "A couple of good deeds he might have done for you don't render him innocent!"

Wolf growled. "Listen, you! I've had enough of-"

"Maxwell," Fay interrupted. "Would you mind if I talked?"

"But, Fay, I'm not what he says!" He started defensively. "Believe me, please! I might be Venomian, but-"

"I know you are." Fay put a small hand on his much larger one. "I believe you. But for now, I need you to let me speak in your stead. Please…I have this under control."

Her voice was steady and reassuring, that Wolf calmed down almost at once. He was still panicking about what would happen, but she seemed so confident. He relaxed his arm slightly, and nodded.

Fay turned to Mason. "So what now? Are you going to kill him?"

Mason looked at Wolf, eyes narrowed. "No. Not if he doesn't leave. _Right now." _He stared at him venomously, as if issuing another warning.

Fay sighed in exasperation.

"Honestly, Mason. I expected more maturity from someone who helped start this organization." She let go of Wolf, and stood up full height to the Snow Leopard. "When we collaborated with Sauru to start this Resistance, we made an oath never to turn anyone who needed our help away. _No one."_

"But he's a _Venomian," _Mason repeated through grinding teeth. "Seriously, how many times do I-?"

"So what if he's Venomian?" Fay spread her arms out. "That doesn't make him any less of a human being as any of us! One who needs food, shelter, medical aid…" She grimaced at Wolf's bandages. "…and lots of it, at that. But he also needs honest, trustworthy people who won't turn him away! What kind of Resistance with good intentions would we be if we cast him out like a leper?"

"It's what he deserves!" Mason spat. "You served in the war, Fay, just as much as Miyu and I did! Why are you welcoming the enemy with open arms? Are you going to forget what they did?"

Fay clenched her fist, looking down.

"Even if the Venomians who took my parents and sister from me approached my door, hungry, ragged, on the run from a worse enemy, and with no place to go, I wouldn't cast them out. Do you know why?" She looked up, cheeks red but voice strong. "Because I'm not the SharpClaw. I'm a human being, who accepts other human beings who suffer at the hands of cold-blooded monsters like them."

She pointed at Wolf.

"If he's Venomian, than he has nothing to prove to me. He's washed his sins clean with all the things I've seen him do…from taking the lashes for a childless mother, to rescuing me from Drakon. And regardless of whatever he's done in the past, he's still another Lylatian, under the same harsh heat of the suns, and whipped by the same scourges. And the day we cast one of our own out into the desert for our enemies to pray on is the day we become just like Talon and his brood!"

Wolf stared at her, both stunned and comforted by her words. She didn't sound defensive, or even angry. She didn't make it sound like an argument at all.

She put her hands on Mason's firm grip.

"Is that the kind of people we are? Is that the kind of oath we took? One of empty words and false promises? Think, Mason. Please think on what you're doing…" Her eyes shimmered pleadingly. "Think what Siegfried would have done."

The fiery look in Mason's eyes seemed to disappear. His scowl slackened, and looked down sadly at Fay.

"Christ, Fay-I, I didn't…" Then, he cleared his throat, looking back at Wolf. "We can't just let him walk freely about this place..._especially _to Sauru's quarters. We have security measures to take."

"I'm not saying we should," Fay reasoned. "He's here to see Sauru, and we'll escort him. Then, _he'll _decide what to do with him. The decision of who stays or goes belongs to him, not any of us."

Mason said nothing, as if looking for something to find fault with.

"His weapon," He pointed at Wolf's Claw. "He's not going into Sauru's quarters armed like that."

Fay sighed. She turned to Wolf, holding out her hand.

"Maxwell, would you please let me have your blade?"

"What?" Wolf clasped it tightly. "Why?"

"If you want to prove yourself harmless to us, now's your chance. I just need it for a little bit." She looked at him imploringly. "Please, Max? Just for right now?"

Wolf looked at his Claw with some attached doubt, and passed it to her with some effort.

"Thank yo-_oof!_" Fay almost dropped it, holding it by the handle with some nervous looks at the jagged blade. "Oh, dear. It _is _quite heavy. Riley, would you, um…take it? I'm not so good with things like this."

"I got it!" Riley took it from her gently.

"Now, sheathe yours too, Mason." Fay folded her arms expectantly. "If you want him to be trustworthy, he has to trust us, first. The first step is to show hospitality."

Mason glared at Wolf for a long time. Even now, Wolf still felt the heat from his glowering stare…the hatred, the distrust.

"You better be right about this, Fay," He said coldly, sheathing his knife. "Even if he is the empathic human being you paint him to be, that doesn't make him trustworthy."

"_I _trust him. You just need to give him a chance." She smiled hopefully at Wolf. "You'll see that I'm right about him.

"Yeah, and I'll be ready the second he proves you wrong. I'll be ready…" He turned stiffly and past them, taking the lead. "Sauru's room is this way… Let's go!"

When Mason was farther ahead of them, Wolf seized the tranquility of the moment to turn gratefully to Fay.

"Thanks for sticking up for me like that." He smiled sheepishly.

"Don't mention it. It's the least I could do." She shot a disapproving glance in Mason's direction. "Sometimes in the wake of hard times, we forget that not everybody's the enemy." She turned to Miyu. "And you! _Where have you been? _I've been scurrying about this base, asking about for you, and all I hear is 'Miyu isn't back yet' or 'She's probably on patrol', or…" Her blue eyes fell on Miyu's battered arms and cuts. "Goodness, what _happened _to you out there? Your arms-"

Miyu laughed. "Relax, I'm alright! I just ran into some trouble…"

"I knew it," Riley muttered.

Fay kept fiddling with Miyu's wounds, getting out a handkerchief. "Ugh, _Miyu…_what do you do to yourself out there? I keep telling you to be more careful… Honestly, if you weren't the Leader…"

Miyu smiled and ruffled the Spaniels bushy ears. "C'mon, stop worrying, Fay! We aren't in Flight School anymore! Seriously, if the wounds won't kill me, you're smothering probably will!"

Fay's blue eyes grew huge. "Don't joke about things like that!"

The Lynx's eyes faltered guiltily. "Oh, and…thanks for stepping in. I don't know how I would've calmed things down if you hadn't been there."

Fay folded her arms with cross concern. "You know I'll always be there, but … you'll have to stand up to him sooner or later." She lowered her voice, looking at Mason from afar. "You're the Leader…not me."

"I know, I know…" The Lynx sighed with very forlorn look. "I don't know why I can't…"

Riley smirked. _"_I think _I _know why."

THUNK!

"_Oof!"_

Miyu scowled and aimed another kick at his shins, causing him to cringe and moan slightly.

"Alright, alright!" The young Cat rubbed his shins reproachfully. "Maybe I _don't _know…"

Fay turned to Wolf cheerfully.

"Well, I'm so glad you made it here in one piece, Maxwell! You saved me the trouble of going out to look for you." Her eyes teemed worriedly. "I thought you might've been in some danger.

Judging by how anxious he'd seen her get over Miyu, Wolf decided it'd be a better idea to leave that business about Shinto and the bar out of the conversation.

"Oh, um…well, no more danger than I could've run into if you hadn't saved me just now," He looked frostily at Mason. "It doesn't look like everyone's happy I'm here."

"You'll have to forgive Mason," Miyu said. "He's really not that bad so bad once you get close enough to really know him."

Wolf snorted. "Something tells me if I get close to him, I'll lose a limb."

Riley laughed. "Yeah, probably. Seriously, sometimes I think that guy hates Venomians more than SharpClaw." He shrugged. "I like you and all, Max, but I honestly would _not _have been surprised if he would've killed you. If Fay hadn't stepped in, that is."

Leon nodded. "Thank God for that. She's really got a way with words."

Fay blushed and pushed back some fur on the side of her face.

"Oh, well…thank you. It's nothing really…I just feel with times getting harder, I have to play my part in whatever goes on. I feel obligated, I guess."

"Come on, you do your part like the rest of us, Fay," Riley assured her. "You were one of the TRU's original founders. That counts for something, right?"

Leon raised his eyebrows. "You were? Wow, that is impressive. You must be at a high rank like these guys."

Fay perked up proudly. "That's right! I am!"

Wolf cocked his head. "What position do you serve for the TRU, exactly?"

"She's the cook," Riley said as-a-matter-of-factly.

Wolf looked around them.

"Seriously?"

"Yep, that's right!" Fay said with a big smile. She blinked obliviously, looking at their blank faces. "Why? Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, no!" Wolf said quickly. "It, uh…makes sense!"

"I know, right?" Riley nodded. "She would be the cook, wouldn't she?"

"Damn right, she is." Miyu ruffled Fay's ears affectionately, who giggled. "You won't find a better cook in the entire Lylat System."

Wolf put on a smile, but couldn't help but feel the anticlimax in the air.

_Great…so THAT'S the TRU…_

_The Leader doesn't trust me…_

_The Second-In-Command wants to KILL me…_

_And the only one that actually trusts and likes me is the Cook…_

He looked around with skeptic eyebrows.

_This so-called 'Resistance' is becoming less and less promising all the time…_

_I can only wonder what this Sauru is like…_

_End of Chapter_


	21. Chapter 21

_Chapter 21: Wisdom from the Unlikeliest of Places_

_Sargasso Shrine, 15 minutes later…_

Mason stopped in front of a shady spot in the back of the rocky haven, away from all the working and toiling of the refugees. There were fewer lamps over here, giving it an ominous effect.

He pointed to the door…which was a ragged curtain, instead of a paper screen door like all the others in the place.

"Sauru's room is behind here."

Wolf took a deep breath, preparing to enter the curtain. "Well, thanks for taking me this far, Miyu."

"Hold it," Riley stepped forward. "We're not just going to let you be alone in a room with our Field Advisor. We're all going with you."

"Why?" Wolf asked in an irritated voice. "You don't trust me, is that it?"

"Actually, it's because we're all supposed to go in with you," Miyu said abruptly. "Sauru issued for all of the TRU's founding members to be here for when you'd arrive." She glanced at Fay, Mason, and Riley. "That's all of us."

"Which means you're either really important…" Mason glanced at Wolf as he swept the curtain aside, eyebrows locked in cold skepticism. "…or really dangerous."

Riley looked around them and coughed nervously. "I'm sure it's the former of the two."

"Hold on," Wolf said suddenly. "'When I'd arrive'? He _knew _I was coming?"

"Oh yes!" said Fay. "Sauru's been anticipating your arrival for a while. Which is a pretty big deal…" She looked around, lowering her voice. "Except for us, he rarely sees _anyone."_

Leon folded his arms, looking around the dimly-lit spot. "Is that why his room's all the way back here? What kind of guy is this Sauru, anyway? Some kind of 'special ward' outpatient?"

"Who, Sauru? Oh, no!" Fay said, eyes getting big. "He's the gentlest soul you'll ever meet."

There was a dry snort from both Mason and Riley, who looked away simultaneously.

"Pfft. Yeah, right."

Wolf raised an uneasy eyebrow. "What? What's wrong?"

Miyu's eyes shifted around, as if searching for the right way to word something.

"Well, the reason Sauru's room is back here is because he prefers not to spend time with any of the refugees. And he prefers not to spend any time with them because…= well…"

_WHRSSHHH!_

"_YOU MISERABLE, FAT, MAGGOT-RIDDEN, BUMBLING, BRAINLESS LITTLE __**LOUSE!"**_

An object flew out from behind the curtain, missing Miyu's face by an inch, whose fur spiked up and indigo eyes widened in surprise, before it shattered at Wolf's feet.

Wolf removed his foot to expose the shards of a broken flower pot, its dead lily lying in a heap of scattered soil.

Both him and Leon looked at each other with the same, unexplainable look of horrified confusion, mouths screwed shut and eyes turning towards the direction of where that murderous voice came from.

"I think I just lost all hearing in my left ear," Leon said in a small voice.

But they only turned just to throw their ears up again at the sound of a woman shrieking.

"_AAARGH! _STOP IT-_STOP IT, _YOU FREAK-STOP THROWING THINGS, OR I'LL CALL FOR HELP! _STOP!"_

"MY SCROLLS…" The first voice hissed in a tambor made dust coil from where the ceiling shook. "MY PRECIOUS SCROLLS…YOU _BURNT _THEM! YOU SICKENING, LOATHSOME PUSTILE OF _PUS! _DO YOU _LOOK _AT WHAT YOU THROW AWAY?! I SHOULD'VE NAILED MY TONGUE TO THE INSIDE OF MY OWN EYE-LIDS BEFORE I MADE **YOU **MY ASSISTANT! YOU CAN'T TELL YOUR BRAIN FROM YOUR _TAIL!"_

Every TRU member, even Mason, scrunched their eyes up and winced at every shouted word.

The Snow Leopard opened one wary eye. "Great. Looks like he's at it again."

"God save us all," Riley whimpered.

"WILL YOU STOP SCREAMING, YOU DERANGED LUNATIC?" The woman screamed back. "THEY WERE HEAPS OF PAPER WITH RANDOM SCRIBBLES ON THEM! _WHY WOULD AN-"_

"_SCRIBBLES?" _The first voice screeched.**"SCRIBBLES?" **

Miyu clasped her ears. "Oh, hell…here it comes…"

"THOSE 'SCRIBBLES' WERE ALL OF MY DISCOVERIES! COUNTLESS NIGHTS OF HARD, ALCHEMIST LABOR, OVER SIX CENTURIES OLD…REDUCED TO ASHES BECAUSE OF YOU AND YOUR STUPIDITY, YOU FAT _**FILTH!"**_

CRASH!

There was a thunderous sound of what sounded like a table falling over, as more and more deadly projectiles in the form of shattered bottles and flattened ink quills rained out of the curtain. The woman's screaming continued.

"_YOU STUPID FREAK! YOU OLD, SCALY FREAK! YOU THROW ANYTHING AT ME, AND MY HUSBAND WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS!"_

"OHO, IS THAT A THREAT, YOU YEASTY, BILGE-LICKING SEWER-TRAMP?" seethed the first voice. "BRING YOUR HUSBAND! BRING THAT FAT, YEASTY, SLOBBERING, BRAINLESS CLOTPOLE SO I CAN CUT OUT HIS CORNEA AND SHOVE IT UP HIS FESTERING ANUS! IF YOU SHOW YOUR PIMPLE-RIDDEN FACE IN HERE AGAIN, I'LL REDUCE _**YOUR**_ LOATHSOME, FAT BODY TO ASHES!"

There was a clanging sound.

"NOW, GET OUT OF MY SIGHT! GET OUT, GET OUT, _GET OUT!" _

There was another scream, as the flash of knives and scalpels showered out of the curtain. Leon and Riley leapt out of the way, and Mason pushed Miyu out of their wake. Miyu backed away before Mason could see her blush pink.

"Strike that," Leon said, looking about with one eye shut. _"Now _the hearing in my left ear is gone."

The curtain swept aside, as a miserable-looking, sweaty-faced Siamese Cat threw it out of her way. Her face was terrified and tear stricken, with ink splashed on her clothes and bits of torn paper fluttering from her hair like snow.

"I CAN'T DO IT!" She turned to Miyu with wide eyes. "I can't do it anymore, Miyu…I can't! _He's _SICK!"

"Calm down, Alicia, calm down now!" Miyu held her by the arms and spoke soothingly. "Take a deep breath-just give him another chance!"

"NO! There's something evil, twisted, and insanely WRONG with that man, and I can't up with him for another second! He can find himself another assistant, _because _I QUIT!"

She pushed past them, sprinting out of sight.

"_Alicia!" _Miyu called. "Alicia, wait! Oh, Jesus…" She rubbed her temples.

Riley unclogged his ears, poking his head about like someone emerging from a bomb shelter.

"She left? Oh, damn…that's the fifth one this week!"

Wolf and Leon turned him, mouths open. "This _week?"_

CRASH!

There was an enraged yell and more noise from inside the room. Mason took a cautious step back from the curtain,

"You want a reason for why Sauru's back here?" He stepped over the knives embedded in the floor. "Look no further."

Fay sighed. "Poor dear…I better go talk to him."

She stepped over the broken pottery daintily, and called out.

"Sauru-ji? Sauru-ji, are you in here?"

CLANG!

A knife whizzed just an inch above her bow, plunging into the ground. In the blur of the moment, Fay froze with her blue eyes wide, the white fur on her ears spiking up.

"GET OUT, WHOEVER YOU ARE! I'M _NOT _SEEING ANYONE TODAY!"

Fay sighed and straightened her bow, stepping inside the curtain. "Sauru-ji, it's me. Now, don't fret-everything will be fine."

Wolf watched in horror as she disappeared inside. "Are you all crazy? You're letting _her _goin there?! She'll be murdered!"

"Relax, Fay's got it covered," Miyu assured. "If anyone can calm Sauru down, it's her. We better just go on in…" She eyed the ground uneasily. "…while all the sharp objects are still out of the room."

He and Leon looked at each other doubtfully as they stepped in one at a time, sweeping the curtain aside.

The first thing Wolf did was crinkle his nose at the horrible, musty stench in the room. The rocky walls did a good job of closing in the wet, decaying smell in the room, only worsened by the swaying pots of steaming herbs and chemicals dangling on the ceiling…some of them were sickeningly sweet, while others churned with the thick odor of sulfur.

As they entered the room itself, Wolf cranked his head back to get a look at yet another huge spectacle.

"_Whoa…"_

The massive, ancient and rocky surface of the room had been refurbished to look like an incredibly messy study. Wolf was sure that despite the fact that he didn't know who this Sauru (or "Sauru-ji" as Fay called him) was, he probably held the galaxy's record for worst manmade messes. The walls were buried from visibility by huge, chipped-wooden shelves, each piled with books. The books were thick and wrapped in withered binding, revealing torn and yellowed pages beneath a spine peppered with runes and dialects that Wolf didn't recognize. Some were thin and shoved between two larger siblings, while others where huge and caused each shelf to lean unevenly. Scrolls and tomes stuck out of odd ends and from underneath book piles, because that's what they were…_piles. _None of the bookshelves were organized at all, some of them consisting of towering, uneven mountains of books, cloaked in dust and cobwebs.

Wolf took a step back, afraid that some of these creaky, overburdened shelves would collapse on top of him and make him a permanent addition to this musty library.

_Crnnch._

He looked down at the tearing sound, only to realize that there was barely any floor. Whatever smooth red stone the floor had been was buried out of view by countless crumpled heaps of tattered paper…crumpled up balls, torn scraps, scribbled or crossed-out with splattered ink. Rumpled quills adorned the piles of paper like decorations.

Wolf's eyes searched the room, with a weary longing for a glimpse of one clean spot on the room…but everywhere he looked, there were simply more shelves, and more books.

Stumps of candle, stuck in holes in the wall and planted in waxy formations on each table, provided the only dim light in the place. A spiral of wooden stairs led up to the balcony, where a table of scrolls and a rusty telescope sat. The windows were all boarded up with clumsy nails and wood, and in one corner of the room was a roaring fireplace.

The tables were crammed with open books, shattered bottles, rotting herbs, overturned inkwells, labeled jars of various specimen and skulls, and most prominently-

Wolf's eyes glittered as he saw it. He also knew that Leon's kleptomaniac fingers were probably fidgeting like crazy when he saw it too.

Gold. Gleaming gold.

Not blocks of it, or stamped coins, but large nuggets of it, some of it sitting on mountains of sparkling gems, rubies, emeralds and sapphires.

_Jesus….these guys are LOADED…_

_You could fill a cockpit with that much gold…_

_How are they just a fleeting, ragtag Resistance with wealth like THAT?!_

PRASH!

Beakers of liquid shattered and spilled on the wall next to him, causing Wolf to look around and see Fay quietly approach a figure brooding in the unlit shadows of the room.

"The _imbeciles _that surround me…"The figure hissed under an enraged breath. "They outnumber the grains of sand! None of them understand that everything is piled up in certain messes for a _reason! _Every scrap of paper, every overturned book…that's the only way I can FIND anything! Will I never have peace? Will no one respect the hard work and pain-staking effort I go through?"

"Now, calm down, Sauru-ji," Fay cooed gently, picking up discarded books and bottles and rearranging things on the shelf. "I'll put everything back. I know the order…" She dumped the books in to piles, tugging on ones in the middle to a specific askew angle. "I remember. Four 'Advanced Sciences Texts' on the third shelf…eight 'Reference Guides to Botany' on the fifth counter…"

The figure sighed.

"Oh, bless you, Fay. _You _understand…" His voice mellowed into a thankful tone. "Things have gone straight to oblivion since you abandoned my study for that stuffy kitchen of yours. If you were still my Assistant, than I wouldn't _have _to put up with these brainless replacements."

Fay blew dust off a book, opened it up and placed it upside down under a column of scrolls. "Try not to be so unkind to them. They're good girls…nice, smart ones, all of them. They're trying their best." She looked back and smiled. "Speaking of which, Miyu's back from patrol."

"Is she now?"

The figure rustled in the shadows, and Wolf squinted. He noticed that the advisor moved in an odd way…like he wasn't placing any weight on the steps made by his legs. There was something growing at his waist…and shifting constantly.

The figure turned around, his yellow eyes glancing at Miyu briefly as it searched the table for something.

"I suppose you have a good reason for being out so late, Miyu?" He drawled.

"I got held up," Miyu explained. "It won't happen again. I'm still getting used to Leader duties, that's all."

"It's not _you _I worry about…" The figure continued. "I haven't regretted appointing you Leader for a moment. It's those hapless oafs in our battalion. If you don't set an example for those boys, they'll end up like every other useless wretch in this place."

Riley laughed. "You know, Sauru, for someone who helped build this Resistance, you sure act like you hate the refugees."

_Prrch!_

The figure lit a match and illuminated a waning oil lamp in the corner, shedding an orange light over the area, and Sauru himself.

"_Of course _I hate these refugees! They're a pollutant to my work! Nuisances! Pestilence and bile, ALL OF THEM!"

Wolf's mouth dropped open.

He was a _SharpClaw. _A legit, scaly, scowling SharpClaw, just like every other one on Titania. The mere sight of that Rex-like snout and reptilian build was enough to alert Wolf's instincts to move his hand to his waist…only to remember that his blade was with Fay.

He looked again, and realized that this SharpClaw was…older than the ones he had seen.

No. Not older.

He was _ancient._

His scales were a dry, pasty, wilted green, like the rotted stem of a dead plant. His face was withered and leathery, like an old boot, and the dinosaur-like curve to the mouth that he and every other SharpClaw had drooped slightly. Wrinkles lined the slits where his eyes sat, which were yellow and keen. His mouth was curled into a permanent, irritated snarl, exposing his yellow, once-razor-sharp teeth. He was dressed in a worn-out purple tunic, with the hood pulled over the top of his head in traditional SharpClaw fashion. But instead of a steel helm or masking sash, his hood was adorned with a single, mangled, withered feather.

His movement was rigid and stiff, making him look like a rusted artifact with dire need for oil. He gestured with his hands every time he opened his mouth, extending his long, gnarled claws.

But quite honestly, the most _bizarre _thing about him was his legs…

…simply because, he didn't have any.

His body curled and lengthened at his waist, the scales spiraling over what looked like a coiling, serpentine tail that gave him the remarkable appearance of some kind of dracaena.

Wolf didn't know whether to be perplexed or revolted by this strange creature. He might have felt threatened, but he didn't even know if this…_thing…_was even a SharpClaw. It was like seeing a snake, but being unsure whether or not it was poisonous.

And the moment he made that analogy, he was too amused to feel threatened at all.

"And why _shouldn't _I hate them?!" Sauru screeched. "I welcomed them into my place of solitude with open arms, but I never asked for _this! _All I desire is to be left alone, to continue my research and studies in peace…" He poked a claw at a dissected insect on the table. "…far away from human troubles and prying…far away from inhuman chaos and noise. Alone, with only my alchemy and stargazing to keep me company…"

SLAM!

He brought his fist down on the insect in a sudden fit of rage, his dried-up, scaly face distorting into a contorted scowl.

"But, no! Constant, bothersome requests! _Sauru, we need more laundry for our precious little brats! Sauru, when's the war going to end? Sauru, listen to my daily miseries that everyone else deals with, but I choose to complain about! _GARGH!" He clawed at the table, creating savage marks in the wood. "I once had power, respect! A whole legion of loyal soldiers that answered to me! But look at me now…putting up with screeching widows, and their little brats skipping and playing _right outside my study, _so I have to hear them prattle and scream and shriek like PukPuk birds getting eaten alive!"

Mason leaned on a shelf, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Would you rather prefer the sound of children groaning and crying on the Slave Yard?"

The old SharpClaw said nothing. He stared at out the morning-lit cracks of the boarded-up windows, claw tapping the table.

"No…" He said in a low, barely-audible voice. "No, I'll always take their laughter and shouting over that noise. That horrible noise…"

His eyes became distant…clouded in a haunting memory.

"Sauru?" Fay placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Sauru-ji, are you alright?"

The old reptile cleared his throat, and resumed his rearranging of books.

"I'm alright. I'm old, but I'm not sentimental." He bent down and poked his head under the table, groping about for any books in the cobwebs. "Miyu! Any word on this Ghost of ours? Or maybe a solution to those threats Shinto's been sending us?"

"Er…" Miyu glanced at Wolf, eyebrow raised. "A little bit of both. It was a busy night."

"Is that so?" Sauru, who hadn't turned around yet, and continue to wheeze through dust and webs as he climbed under the table, sweeping beakers and jars up. "Well, that's good to hear. I was afraid he started another ruckus somewhere, and we'd only have a blood trail to follow."

Wolf looked around them, still trying to process how calm everyone was acting.

"Your Field Advisor's a SharpClaw?" He hissed to Miyu. "What are you, nuts?"

CLUNK!

The table rattled, every object on top of it tumbling off and falling, as Sauru's body jerked and he hit his head on the wooden underside. His hands shot out, clawing the table and causing it to shake.

Fay bit her lip and shot an anxious look at Wolf, shaking her head frantically.

Sauru bolted from under the table, whirling around, seething through his fangs and glaring at all of them. His maddened face darted about, trying to pinpoint the culprit.

"Who said that? WHO?" He extended a gnarled claw accusingly, eyes searching the group murderously. "Who _dares _associate ME with those barbaric, unintelligent, low-life-"

Suddenly, he froze. The anger disappeared from his face in an instant, and everyone turned to align his startled look to Wolf's direction.

Wolf was already standing there, somewhat uncomfortably, wishing he hadn't opened his mouth.

But the enraged look in Sauru's face was gone. His yellow eyes looked more stunned than anything else, not in surprise….but in some kind of recognition. "Well, well…what have we _here?"_

Wolf shifted his feet, and took a breath, trying to sound confident. "Are you Sauru?"

"That I am. I assume you've heard about from these four." He nodded at Miyu and the rest.

Miyu stepped forward, glancing at Wolf nervously. She had already witnessed one unfortunate introduction to his presence, and was anxious to prevent another.

"Sauru, this is someone we found hiding I one of our storage warehouses. He's a refugee, but he claims to be-well, actually, I know for a fact that he's-"

"The Gray Ghost," The old SharpClaw finished for her, his eyes still large and mystified. A small, knowing smile played on his lips.

Miyu stopped midsentence, eyebrows furrowed. Wolf's eyes widened incredulously, feeling equally baffled.

"Uh, yeah." Miyu blinked. "The Gray Ghost."

"Or at least, he _says _he is," Mason sneered. "You all can buy whatever he says, but it'll take more than claims to convince _me _that he's the real Ghost. The one from the stories, anyway."

Miyu looked at him. "He _is _the one. I'm sure of it."

"Pfft, are you kidding?" Mason folded his arms. "Just look at him, Sauru. He's just some roguish punk in rags…people like him litter the city more than the trash."

Wolf scowled at the Snow Leopard, prepared to tell him _exactly _what he looked like, but Sauru drew nearer, making a tut-tut noise.

"Oh, you shouldn't be so quick to judge people based on appearance. I would have never believed that you were a Cornerian SEAL if you never told me…any more than I would've believed that Fay was Cornerian general Pepper's niece."

Wolf turned to gape at Fay. "His _what? _Seriously?"

Fay nodded proudly. "That's right…he's my Uncle." She cocked her head curiously. "Why? Do you know him?"

"I…uh…"

He stuttered awkwardly.

_Shit…I know him alright…._

…_and he knows me…_

_He probably remembers me…that is, if that scar hasn't healed up…_

_Or if he's forgotten about his badge…_

He tugged at his jacket pocket uneasily.

Leon could already sense the steep quicksand that Wolf had gotten himself in, so he jumped in the conversation.

"You're Old Pepper's niece?" He looked at her up and down. "Can't say I see a resemblance."

"Appearances are rarely a factor in identity," Sauru said, slithering around Wolf in an examining fashion. "For one thing, I never would've guessed from the rumors that you'd be an actual wolf…I haven't seen one of your kind in years." He curled his lip in an unimpressed way, as his yellow eyes traveled up and down Wolf's body. "I must say, though…I was expecting more physical prowess. You're quite the runt for your species."

Somewhat spurned by that comment-and embarrassed by how small he looked with less fur and muscle than how he arrived-Wolf retorted heatedly.

"That's pretty rich coming from you." His purple eyes narrowed. "I was expecting more than a decrepit old SharpClaw when I heard about you, 'Sauru.'" He grimaced towards Fay and the rest. "What exactly is a SharpClaw doing with Lylatian Resistance?"

"It was only a Resistance when I formed it to begin with, 'Ghost'," Sauru said, with the slightest, irritated rattle of his serpentine tail. "It became a Lylatian one when these four joined." He pointed at the other TRU in the room.

"_You _started this?" Wolf asked incredulously. "A SharpClaw?"

Sauru raised his eyebrows. "Does the idea of an individual revolting against his own species really perplex you? Or maybe…you distrust me because I bear the face of your enemies?"

Wolf said nothing. He'd seen how this Sauru had reacted before…to something as little as his notes being burnt….and he didn't want to blunder his first encounter with an insult or an unintentional offense.

_I can't get on his bad side…I have so much I need from him…_

_My Inner Power's at stake…_

Raising an eyebrow, the SharpClaw continued. "Well, you have nothing to fear from _me, _boy. I left that pathetic group of berserkers years ago."

"You left?" Leon asked incredulously. "They don't really seem like the type who let people leave their service."

As Sauru turned to notice him for the first time, his eyes lit up. "Ah, a fellow Cold-Blood? Come closer, my boy! Yes…now let's see…" He studied him next. "You'd be one of the _Chamaeleonidae, _wouldn't you? And judging by those intriguing yellow marks around your eyelids, I'd say you're one of the few native to Aquas."

Leon raised an interested eyebrow. "How did you-?"

"I think I know my one of my own distant brethren when I see one. You're a lot closer to SharpClaw than you know, boy."

Leon's expression was normal, but his electric-blue eyes flashed angrily. "I'm not considered the most tasteful mind where I come from, old man…but can assure you…" His voice became low and cold-blooded. "I'm _nothing _like these sick freaks."

"Oh, you misunderstand me." Sauru clenched his fist. "Believe me, my hate for them is even more passionate than you can imagine…. for this _new breed _of SharpClaw…"

"New breed?" Leon asked.

Fay nodded. "Sauru-ji is very old. He's known three generations of these SharpClaw."

"And this current bunch of scum under Talon's control is the third generation," Miyu added. "According to him, they're the worst bunch."

"They most certainly are," Sauru muttered bitterly. "Foul wretches…you'd never catch any of _them _in a _real _SharpClaw battalion like the ones led by General Sting, or General Thorn, or any of the Legions I fought with. _Those _were the days…" He scraped claws together uncomfortably "But even then…we SharpClaw weren't the most pious of races, were we? We slaughtered, we killed, and we conquered." The light dimmed, shadows lining the guilty expression in his face. "Even abandoning their cause for one of knowledge…it doesn't change who we are…or what we did."

Fay cocked her head sympathetically, and placed a small white hand on his wrinkly, scaly one.

"You'll never be like them, Sauru-ji. You're too sweet for that." She smiled. "What counts is what you are now, not what you were before."

Sauru smiled sadly. "Oh, poor naïve Fay. You're too good the wretched vermin of the world. Too good for your own good."

Mason glanced at Wolf coldly. "True enough."

Wolf glared at him.

"I think we're getting side-tracked."

"Yes, I agree," Mason said. "We have the Gray Ghost among us, and whether that warrants for a celebration or a grievance really isn't my business. Sauru!" He addressed the old SharpClaw. "You called all of the Founding TRU Members for this, so I assume this boy's arrival is important. It's time you explained why?"

"To sum it all up…" Riley interrupted. "Could someone tell us what the hell is going on?"

Wolf stepped forward. "You…Sauru. You knew I was the Gray Ghost the moment I walked in."

"Yes, I did. Why?" The old SharpClaw smiled wryly. "Sudden change of mind, and now you're _not _the Gray Ghost?"

Wolf frowned. "Don't patronize me. You knew in advance…you didn't even wait for Miyu to finish announcing who I was. You _knew…_how? You might be the wise and powerful Sauru I've heard about, but no one's perception is that good."

Sauru let out a low, wheezing laugh.

"_Wise and powerful?" _He turned to Miyu. "My dear Miyu, what in the name of Claw did you tell them about me?"

"I don't know where they got that idea," Miyu said firmly, crossing her arms. "Believe me, if you _were _wise and powerful, you'd use your enlightened wisdom to keep this study clean without the need of going batshit insane over some Assistant."

Sauru scowled and muttered something under his breath about being "young and disrespectful."

"You didn't really answer my question," Wolf said through impatient grinding of his teeth. "How did you know who I was?"

Sauru smiled. Wolf saw hundreds of years in his ageless yellow stare, but could still detect the slyness and mischief he probably had in his youth.

"Why simply…you're the only one with Inner Power in this room."

A rupture of shock imploded within Wolf's stomach. He didn't know whether to feel excited or afraid. Keeping a passive expression on his face, he responded quietly.

"I'm sure…" His eyes glanced at him experimentally. "…I don't know what you're talking about

Sauru laughed. "You can lower your defenses now, boy. Whatever vain attempts you've had in trying to hide your Inner Power can be put to rest." His eyes gleamed keenly. "It would be a waste anyway. You're no longer in the presence of common, ignorant people. I can sense your Inner Power as easily as I can sense you standing in this room."

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "You know…_that _much about it?"

"I know as much as I can sense…after all," The Field Advisor extended a claw, and pointed at Wolf shrewdly. "It isn't _my _Inner Power, it's yours. But I can identify small details about it…" He raised an eyebrow. "For instance, I can easily see, by the way you've tempered it, you're already past the stage of confronting your Devourer…"

Whatever defense Wolf had to fortify the emotional suspension in his face shattered in that instant.

_Wait, WHAT?_

_He knows about my DEVOURER?_

"But the unstable fluctuation in your Inner Power's radiation is a good indicator that you defeated it much later than expected," Sauru continued as-a-matter-of-factly. "In fact, I'd say you defeated it….oh, I don't know….at the twilight of your adolescence, maybe later?"

Wolf gaped at him, his eyes massive, now _really _caught off-guard. He was stunned enough that Sauru knew what a Devourer was, but…_when _he had fought it?

How did he know all this…?

What _was _he….?

Leon and the others darted their eyes back and forth between the two, wearing blank expressions at strange terms like "devourer." But they could tell that whatever Sauru was saying was keen and intelligent enough to render Wolf amazed.

Leon. "See? I told you we'd find somebody who knew something about Inner Power. We just had to look…"

Wolf nodded in a dazed way, still staring at Sauru. Whatever skepticism and suspicion he'd had upon walking in was gone. This guy _knew…._he definitely knewabout Inner Power.

He stepped forward. "And you know all of that…just by looking? What, can you _see _my Inner Power, or something?"

Sauru chuckled and slithered over to a stump of candle on the table.

"Ha, see that just tells me how much _you _know about Inner Power, boy…the fact that you assumed that the source of it is in any way visible. No, one merely has to look at your stance, your movement, your expression to know these things. And…"

_Prtch!_

He clicked his two claws together over the candle, the sparks producing a small, wavering flame that illuminated the shadows in the side of his face, giving him a cryptic look.

"…It doesn't hurt that I happen to be somewhat of an expert when it comes to Inner Power. Years and years of study have made me an adept at what I do."

"How?" Wolf's eyes searched him. "You've only just met me, and you know all this!"

Sauru turned to him. "_Just _met you? I've known about you since you arrived on planet, boy!"

Wolf froze. "What?"

The Field Advisor slithered back, and pointed up at the telescope. "On the eve of the twin moons, about four weeks ago, I spotted a glowing projectile split its way through the planet's atmosphere before disappearing into the desert." He waved a dismissive claw. "I would've discarded it as just another meteorite…but this was different. I could tell by its movement that it wasn't propelled by fiery forces…but by _fuel."_

Leon's eyes widened in realization. "That was our shuttle. We crash-landed out into the desert."

Riley shrugged. "Everyone does…at least everyone who's here. What's so special about that?"

Sauru nodded. "It was then that I sensed a tremor in the atmosphere. The wind changed…the stars dimmed."

Riley blinked. "What're you talking about? _I _never felt those things!"

"Yes, I don't imagine you _would," _Sauru said stiffly. "None of you would. It was something only…" His smiled, as if hiding some delicious secret. "…people like _me _would notice. Not with a telescope or a stargazing chart…but with my own instincts. And my instincts told me that someone with Inner Power had finally set foot on planet."

"I'm sorry, your 'instincts' told you?" Wolf scoffed. "That's not very-"

"If you would be so very kind not to interrupt me, boy," Sauru snapped. "I'm not going to bother going into detail, so drop it."

Fay murmured in Wolf's ear. "Try not to dwell on it, Max. There's a lot of things he won't explain."

Wolf looked at the old SharpClaw with extreme skepticism. All this talk of premonitions and instincts reminded him of James McCloud. And that was never a good sign…

"It wasn't the first time I sensed Inner Power on Titania. Anyone can come here with it, and I'd sense them. But it was the first time I sensed its radiation in such a raw and radiating state. It was…unusual. But I knew in an instant that it was within someone who had arrived on planet. I didn't know who, or where, or when…or _why…_" His eyes wandered the ground, as if searching for answers. "But I could feel it nonetheless. But weeks went by…and I had grown restless meditating and waiting for the sensation to return again."

His eyes were locked on Wolf.

"And then…I felt it again. But this time, it wasn't a radiating glimmer…but a thunderous repulse. It felt like the Inner Power had imploded on itself, sending a shockwave over the sands to where I sat in my study. It was as if…the Inner Power itself had awakened…or screamed."

The room had gotten very quiet. The candles flickered and lined the shadows on everyone's uneasy or bewildered expression.

He slithered towards the window, looking the cracks of thee nailed-up boards. "And it was coming from the direction of the barren waste of Drakon's Slave Yard." He looked at Wolf. "It was _you, _boy."

Everyone looked at Wolf, who only furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Me?"

He had no idea what Sauru was talking about. A repulse in his Inner Power?

Then, his eyes became huge.

A mental image flashed in his head.

The sun blazing above his head…his feet buried ankle-deep into the blistering sand. The shards of the Adder Tongues at his feet…and his hand coiled with steam as he stood, in shock, in a crater that he himself created…

…after striking Drakon in the face, and sending a shockwave that caused the sand itself to ripple like water.

"It was the day of the escape…that day when you helped me."

Wolf turned to see Fay standing close to him.

"You remember, don't you?"

He stared at her for a long time, having completely forgotten that she had been there to witness it first-hand.

"Yes," Sauru nodded. "Fay told me everything. About how you took that beating for a mother who just lost her child…and how you stood up to Drakon and wrenched the Adder Tongues from his grip…"

"And what about when he fought a dozen SharpClaw at once?" Riley added excitedly. "Or when he plunged into the fire to find Fay?"

"Yes, he's certainly proved himself," Sauru acknowledged Wolf with an approving nod. "To almost everyone here. I heard a great deal about your selfless actions, because the moment you escaped, the city was overwhelmed with a downpour of rumors and gossip about them."

"I didn't do anything heroic," Wolf interrupted, feeling somewhat uncomfortable for being commended for all this. "I was just…at a certain place, at a certain time, and deciding to act on an urge."

"Yes, and acting when no one else would," Fay finished, with a small smile. "That's called thinking of others."

"Yeah, why are you being so modest about it?" Riley laughed. "

"I'm not _being _modest!" Wolf insisted in an annoyed tone. "And it's not like it didn't come with a cost." He rubbed some of the scars on his shoulders. "You always pay a price for being stupid, blind and heroic. That's why I never do it."

Fay and Riley looked at each other, confused at that comment…but Miyu wasn't. She knew _exactly_ he really meant.

_Anti-heroism in its finest, _she thought. _The kind only Star Wolf would have._

"Well, regardless of your stance on the matter," Sauru continued. "I didn't feel that repulse afterwards. My guess was that you decided to keep it secret once you came into the city, correct?"

Wolf glanced at the corner. "Er…yeah. Something like that."

"Anyway, I knew at once that I had to find you as soon as possible…and before the enemy did. I needed to send someone to find and retrieve you…someone who could keep you safe and could keep you from using your Inner Power out in the open again."

Miyu nodded. "So I volunteered for the mission. Sauru didn't tell anyone about the true nature of the mission, and he told me the specific details…" She looked hard at Wolf. "…and what I was supposed to prevent from happening."

Wolf looked at her, putting the pieces together. "So that it explains it…the handcuffs, the nervous behavior…you were trying to keep me out of any confrontations-"

"…so you wouldn't be rash and use your Inner Power," Miyu finished for him. "Believe me, I trusted you completely-for the most part-but I had my orders, and I followed them."

Leon threw up his hands in exasperation. "Oh, well, you could have at least _told _us about what was going on! Seriously, then you wouldn't have needed to act to cryptic. We could've played along!"

"Yes, but that would've meant explaining how I knew Maxwell had Inner Power," Miyu pointed out. "We have a strict policy not to mention Sauru's name out in the open."

Wolf looked at Fay with raised eyebrows, who began fiddling with apron as she looked away, whistling nervously. "Oh? And why is that?"

A shadow passed over Sauru's face. "The current SharpClaw Empire and I…have a long and bitter history. I left that life behind me for an existence of knowledge-seeking and solitude…" His yellow eyes narrowed at the boarded-up windows. "But they'll never leave me in peace…_Talon _will never leave me in peace. They've been hunting me for years."

Wolf's doubtful look faded slightly, suddenly feeling somewhat empathic. He knew the burden of being hunted.

"So…you've been in hiding for a long time, then?" Wolf asked.

"A long time?" Riley laughed and nudged Sauru playfully. "He was in hiding when he found us!"

Sauru scowled and smoothened his tunic from where the cat's elbow hat wrinkled it. "Indeed. You wouldn't believe it, from the way these four act all high and mighty, now that they're rebels," He looked at all the TRU members in the room, and then at Wolf. "But they were younger, helpless, and ragged when I discovered them…hiding in my sewers, starving and shivering." He smiled fondly. "Regular street urchins, stealing from my wares."

Fay laughed. "I remember those days. We still had our Cornerian Uniforms on from the convoy we got separated from!"

"Yeah, and remember all those stupid survival tactics?" Riley mused. "Like when Mason tried to start a fire for all of us…and then he _burned himself?" _

They both laughed and sighed in reminiscence. Mason continued to look distant and humorless. Miyu tried not to laugh for his sake, but couldn't keep a straight face.

"Yes, and we formed the Resistance, and fought for it ever since…" Miyu said, her knowing smile starting to fade. "We've had our share of victories and losses."

"Yes, and it seems that the latter always tends to outweigh the former," Sauru muttered bitterly. "Too much death…too many deserters. For three years, we've been locked in this senseless, bloody conflict with General Talon…and for three years, we've trudged back into hiding from another defeat. If we could even strike a mild victory against them…." He grinded his teeth longingly. "…it would be enough proof to those bounty hunters that we aren't fighting a fool's crusade….that we aren't just martyrs, wasting blood and sweat on an insurmountable force."

He looked down, his hunched-over back and frustrated scowl making the years in his face show.

"No one believes in our cause. And why should they? We're nothing but twelve boys, two soldiers, a thief, a cook…and an old man." Sauru's eyes glowered at his serpentine tail. "A senile, pitiful old man who can't even fight on the front lines…much less stand on them."

Everyone was silent. Riley tugged on his coat-sleeves and looked at the ground guiltily, while Fay and Miyu looked at Sauru sympathetically.

"Sauru…"

The Field Advisor looked up, a sudden smile breaking the forlorn creases in his face.

"Still…it's always as refreshing to see that we aren't the _only _ones with the nerve and brass pair to skin those bastards." He turned fully to nod approvingly at Wolf. "Especially when that person's an off-worlder, no less."

Wolf glanced at the side stiffly. "You paint too heroic of a picture. I wasn't thinking of your little Resistance, or any of the people in it when I did those things."

"No, you didn't," Sauru said, his eyes twinkling. "That's so remarkable about it."

"What?" Wolf asked.

"He's right," Fay agreed, with a small smile. "You and your friend dove in-complete strangers, without any knowledge of the SharpClaw _or _the Resistance-and you strove to fight to help people."

"Well, I hate to say it, but we were fighting for _our_ freedom back there," Leon said tartly. "Not for the welfare of widows and children."

"Maybe so…" Sauru straightened at both of them. "But regardless, you've proven your strength and might on foreign terrain, and against a most unorthodox and superior enemy. And even though you're…" He gave Wolf's ragged attire another unimpressed look. "…_lacking _for what I've expected from the Gray Ghost, all praise aside, you went out of your way to be thorn in the scales of Talon and his filth. And anyone who does that…" He smiled. "…is a friend of the Resistance."

"Well, I guess that's good to hear," Wolf said, not knowing whether to feel content or displeased with that comment. "I mean-"

"Yes. You've been a good friend to all of us," Fay joined in. "You've fought and suffered many cruelties. And despite how little we know about you, or how little you know of us, you stepped in to help me and Riley." Her face shone with earnest. "Such kindness and selflessness like that is so rare these days. It's nice to see that on a planet like this, there are still good, honorable men."

Wolf felt his stomach squirm, torn between gratitude and guilt.

"Look, I'm happy you think that. Really. But the truth is-"

"Yeah, true to that," Riley added eagerly. "Even _we _didn't have the balls to confront the SharpClaw head on when we first arrived on-planet. I'd have shit my pants over a confrontation with just one of them. But a dozen? _Two _dozen?" He whistled. "That takes a brass pair bigger than Lylat and Solar put together." He gave Wolf a sideways smile. "And I would've never been able to get that escape going without your help. Good work, man."

"Listen!" Wolf pleaded in exasperation. "I didn't come here to discuss this with you all."

Riley blinked, and then rolled his eyes with a facepalm. "Oh, of course not! Here we are, wasting time, and we haven't even offered you a place on the TRU!"

Wolf felt his face drain itself of color. "What?"

Fay nodded cheerfully. "I second that. He's been so much help to us…why not let him join?"

Miyu's eyes shifted about nervously, biting her lip.

"Um…guys…"

But they were too engrossed in the idea, and both looked at Wolf eagerly and excitedly.

Wolf stood there, feeling guiltier and more uncomfortable with every warmhearted, grateful batch of praise lingering in his eardrums. He knew that all the praise and warmth would disintegrate in an instant once he would open his mouth and tell them the truth. It was a shame. Despite what they looked like-and how lackluster they compared to his expectations when it came to a Resistance-they all seemed alright.

Riley was annoying, but at least he liked him. And Fay, despite her simple-minded shortcomings, seemed honest and kind.

And all the while, Mason had remained silent throughout the conversation. Wolf had wondered why he hadn't objected openly when all the praise had been rushing in….why he hadn't exposed Wolf to Sauru as a Venomian yet. But judging by his cold glare that had been fixated on Wolf the entire time, his intention was clear.

_Go on…_ His eyes seemed to say. _Tell them yourself._

Wolf looked over to Miyu, who looked just as nervous as he did. She gave him a reassuring nod, as if indicating that she'd have his back on this…

But that was doubtful considering how unsure she was when he needed her help before.

One fact…one name, and they'd all despise him just like everyone else did. He was finally going to reveal his identity, let his existence be known again…

…only to be welcomed with the disdain and fear that he'd had as Star Wolf.

_Maybe I should just keep the alias…_

Then, he shook himself.

No…that would just make it look worse. There was no way he could keep it a secret. He wouldn't feel right asking for help, and then revealing who he was afterward.

That's something a rat would do. Something Pigma would do.

Sauru slithered forward, suddenly looking objective.

"Now, wait a moment. This boy has performed some eventful things, to be sure, but we can't recruit based on that. We don't know-"

"I'm not joining the TRU. That's not what I came here for."

All of them turned to look at him in surprise, Sauru included.

"Oh," Riley said, looking somewhat disappointed. "Well-that's fine. I was just….I was really hoping-"

"Why not?" Fay asked for him.

Wolf sighed, trying to find a suitable way to approach this. "Look…I'm happy that you all think of me that way…_and _that you'd consider me for recruitment, when you barely even know me. But the truth is…" He looked down guiltily. "All those things I did, the stuff with the slaves and the SharpClaw and everything…those aren't things I usually do. At all."

Fay blinked, but then laughed understandingly. "Oh, well, that's perfectly alright. We weren't heroes or saviors when _we _first starting fighting in the Resistance. None of us will expect you to perform those acts repeatedly." She extended a warm hand. "And if you don't feel like helping us, we can still help you."

Wolf backed away from her hand.

"You wouldn't want me here if you knew who I was…or where I come from."

Fay's smile faded, and her blue eyes teemed with confusion.

"Yes, I couldn't agree more," Mason said suddenly, rising from the wall he had been leaning on this whole time. "Now's a better time than ever to say it. He's duped you…_all _of you." He glanced at the old SharpClaw. "Sauru, I tried to make these others see reason…but apparently, the war didn't make them suffer enough to learn first-hand, like I did." He pointed at Wolf. "The reason he can't join us…why he _won't _join us…" His cold eyes glinted at him. " Is because we can't trust him. He's a Venomian."

Fay and the others looked about uncomfortably. Sauru raised his eyebrows.

"A Venomian?" He asked in a stunned voice. "Are you sure?"

"Definitely. And not just a civilian either…he was part of Andross's Army."

Sauru didn't say anything for a moment. He turned to face Wolf, with a different look in his eyes. He didn't look more stern than he already did, and he didn't blast into a fit of rage that Wolf had dreaded, but he still looked wary.

"Is this true?"

Wolf kept his eyes on the floor. "Yes. I was."

"Mason, we've been over this," Fay started exasperatedly.

"Quiet, Fay!" Mason snapped. "This isn't your business. This isn't some homless refugee for you to give a bowl of soup and a warm bed. This is a security matter."

"But, Mason-" She stepped forward.

"Fay," Wolf held out his hand, urging her to stay where she was. "Please, stay out of this."

"A member of the Venomian army…" Sauru murmured. "Yes, that does change a few things. That would explain how he was so vigilant against the SharpClaw. A side-effect of the Venomain combat experience, no doubt."

"Undoubtedly," Mason nodded approvingly. "And even though there are _some _people here that don't see the threat of his presence, I wasn't about to let him walk about this place-especially around our women and children-unchecked."

"Mason, I think we've dwelled on this issue enough," Miyu said, glancing at Wolf with slight uneasiness. "We already decided he wasn't a threat to us. I think he has something more important to discuss with us-"

"But now we're in front of Sauru," Mason cut in. "You said _his _word was law, right? Well, here it is! Even _he's _more concerned about this Venomian's presence." He turned to the SharpClaw. "You always told us never to trust those who ally themselves with our enemies. Here it is…walking proof of your precaution, and he's got the medals to prove it. Can you believe that? They give _medals _to murderous scum like him…awards for betrayal and bloodlust." He shot a contemptuous glare at Wolf. "You can probably smell the dead Cornerians on him."

Wolf quelled the crease of a scowl that yearned to make its way to his face. He tried his best to shrug off every insult.

"Not all Venomians want to start a war," Fay reasoned with Mason. "We can't be sure if this one wants to."

"He doesn't have to. He and the rest of his bunch took their sides."

"Hmm…maybe so." Sauru scratched the scales on his chin. "Still, it isn't every day that a Venomian enters our midst. Willingly, too. That's interesting…"

Mason blinked, not seeing why the SharpClaw was so calm. "Interesting or not, you know what he's capable of doing. And what he's _done."_

"Yes, and what about what he's done recently?" Fay asked. "Like saving us, putting his life on the line…?"

"You seriously buying all of that?" Mason scoffed. "You think a Venomian like him would do that out of compassion, or empathy? They always have something else up their sleeve, some alternate purpose to fulfill. He openly admitted to not wanting to join!"

Riley shrugged, muttering under his breath. "Can't say that I blame him. Look at the image you're giving us."

Mason whirled around, facing him.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Riley blinked, and shifted his feet timidly, but the fur on his cheeks spiking defiantly. "Well, I know he's Venomian and everything… But if he devoured innocents or wore the skin of his enemies, or whatever Venomians are supposed to do with their enemies, he would've done it already!"

Wolf raised his eyebrows, feeling more amused than offended. How far did the stereotypes stretch?

"Care to hand in your badges, as well?" Wolf muttered to Leon.

Leon rolled his eyes. "See, this is why I never kept mine. _This _is what I wanted to avoid." He darted his eyes to the corner mischievously. "Still…I was accused of these kind of things long before I joined Andross's army, so I can't feel _too _insulted."

"Just because he won't do it now, doesn't mean he won't do it later!" Mason insisted. "The war only ended five years ago, Riley, and you're already acting like you've forgotten the way the Venomians are!"

"Mason, we _all _fought in the war," Fay brought up rationally. "We all knew what they were like."

"None of you act like it," Mason said scornfully. "Look at you all…defending the same filth that burned Papetoon and Macbeth to rubble, the same savagery that butchered our women and children…treating him like he's another human being!"

"If he was that kind of person, why would he help us?" Fay demanded. "Why would he expose his back to the brutality of the SharpClaw, for the safety of the same people he supposedly killed?"

"…I'm just saying, he did help us," Riley continued. "He not only took a beating from the Adder Tongues, he also protected each one of us. Considering how remorseless most Venomians are-especially the ones _we _fought-he could've turned out a lot worse."

Sauru scratched chin thoughtfully, still not looking too convinced but not looking judgmental either. While the two argued, he was only looking at Wolf.

"You know what? You're right." Mason threw his arms up, so angry he was almost laughing. "Hell, let's give him a medal for that. I guess one or two good deeds out of a lifetime of murder and deception deserves a couple of medals. In fact, give him a badge for actually having it in him to _pity_ people. I'm sure that's a real accomplishment for his race."

Wolf felt his blood boil again, but kept himself from losing control in front of Sauru. In the end, it was Sauru's verdict that would decide if he'd stay or go.

"Listen," He finally said, his voice layered with impatience. "As much as everyone's…_taken _with the news of my past allegiances," He said through his teeth. "That wasn't the confession I was going to make. I know you're eager to get a fight brewing, but I've got more important things on my mind than the grudges of a bygone war."

"That's rich coming from the same side that egged the war on," Mason retorted. "And honestly, I don't know _what _you have left to confess to us about your identity that would make a difference. What news could you have to tell us, 'Maxwell', if that's even your real name?"

Wolf stepped forward. "Yeah, see…that's the thing. Maxwell _isn't _my real name."

All of them looked at him surprisedly, but Mason sneered.

"Tch. A Venomian hiding under an alias." His face mocked surprise. "Who'd have thought?"

Fay put her hands on her hips. "Oh, come on Mason. We didn't use our names when we first came here… did we, Mr. 'Lance Fitz-Gerald'?"

Mason rolled his eyes. "Yes, well, so what if he has another name? It's not like he has anything else to hide. He's a Venomian." He held up three fingers. "I could probably sum up his entire life in three words: 'collaborate', 'murder', and 'betray.'"

Wolf folded his arms, because he felt that would be the best way to confine the urge to use them to punch Mason.

"You might want to add 'pilot', to that list of words."

Mason looked at him, looking a little surprised. Then, he resumed his contemptuous expression.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess that makes you a murdering, collaborating, betraying _pilot. _Well, _now _my list's complete."

"Wait a minute."

Fay turned to face Wolf, suddenly interested.

"You…you were a pilot?"

Wolf looked away from Mason's quarrelsome stare, regarding the young Spaniel.

"Yes, I was. I joined the Venomian Army after I left the Cornerian Flight Academy-"

"Wait-the _what?" _Mason's expression disappeared. "The _Cornerian _Flight Academy?"

Wolf paused to look at him. "Yes….there's only one Flight Academy right? It used to be run by James McCloud, before he died? We both, went there."

Mason narrowed his eyes, searching Wolf's face for some fragment of deception. "I don't believe you. Venomians never got their training from the Academy."

"As much as I hate to say it, he's right," Riley admitted doubtfully. "That's a pretty big claim to make. I went to the Academy, we all did. If you're claiming that you did too, you'd need some proof."

Leon shrugged indifferently. "Sure thing. We've got proof." He glanced at Wolf. "Go ahead, tell 'em."

Wolf smiled confidently, and opened his mouth to name a familiar feature from the Academy, one engraved into his brain…

But then, he paused, with a blank look on his face. He reached for the top of his mind, trying to retrieve something to recall…

…but there was nothing there. He couldn't name a single thing about the Academy. Nothing, except for…well, the fact that he went there.

There wasn't a single detail or explicit image that he could recall.

His heart pounded again, wondering if this had to do with that weird reflex thing that had happened in the bar with Shinto.

Blinking rapidly, he tried not to look unsure in front of Fay and the others, who waited expectantly.

"I…uh…graduated, from the 72B class. The other graduates were, um…" He rubbed his head, trying to remember. His eyes lit up. "Oh, yeah! Connor Lysander, Fara Phoenix, William Grey-"

"Wait, _Bill Grey?" _Mason repeated.

Wolf looked at him with surprise. "You know him?"

"Anyone who's donned a Cornerian uniform at any point in their lives knows who Bill Grey is!" Riley said excitedly. "He's the Wing Commander of the Husky and Bulldog Squadrons."

"And I fought under Connor Lysander's commans back when I was with the SEALs," Mason nodded, looking less stiff and more surprised. "He's the grandson of Patrick Lysander, the General that came before Pepper." He turned to Wolf. "Alright, Ghost, you _are _telling the truth. Keep going."

Wolf blinked, not recognizing the terms SEALs or 'Husky Squadrons', but kept going.

"Alright. But I'm going to tell you all, before I even keep going," He looked all around them, from Fay, to Mason, to Riley. "Whatever I tell you…whatever I confess about the past-and the war-has nothing to do with any of you. So, don't…" He clenched his fists, which were already sweating. "…don't take it personally."

Mason raised an inquisitive eyebrow. He could tell by the way Wolf fixed his eyes on him, almost imploringly, that he was really talking to _him._

When Wolf felt his confidence return, he cleared his throat.

"When I graduated from the Academy, I didn't head off to war like everyone else. Things happened…complications arose…"

Riley cocked his head. "What kind of complications?"

"I don't know." Wolf looked up. "No, seriously. I either don't remember, or maybe…" His eyes faced the ground uneasily. "…maybe I don't _want _to remember. But what I do know, is that when it was all over…I had witnessed the death of my former teacher." He looked up. "James McCloud."

Riley's eyes grew huge. Sauru sat up from where he leaned.

"Oh, believe me, it gets better…" Miyu muttered.

"When that happened, I was branded a criminal. I was called a traitor, a whoreson, a collaborator…but above all…" His eyes burned hatefully. "…a _murderer. _I was pinned up on the Most Wanted list faster than I could've comprehended. Accusations and lies came from all sides of the conflict, from every corner of Lylat. I was hated…_scorned, _for things I hadn't even done. I pleaded constantly, trying to make them see that I hadn't done anything. But then…" He sneered, almost laughing at his own misfortune. "…who's gonna sympathize with a Venomian, right? Soon, I was being hounded by every dog in the Cornerian Military. Even General Pepper."

Fay's jaw dropped in shock. _"What?"_

Wolf grimaced uncomfortably at her look of disbelief. "Yes. And by then…it didn't make a difference if they caught me." Wolf seethed through clenched teeth. "Where was I going to go? No one in the galaxy would let me be…none of them would believe me. I'd never be able to build a new life for myself…I'd never be able to approach a civilized planet without being recognized and shunned." He looked up, eyes blazing. "My hate for Corneria, and all her people, was the only thing I had left. I wanted to make them pay…and pay _dearly, _for driving me to the edge of extinction like a wounded animal. I wanted to see them suffer…but above all…" His enraged look fixed on a face, one that wasn't in the room with them. "I wanted to make _him _suffer."

Riley stared at him, a little too afraid to speak. "M-Make…make _who _suffer?"

Wolf hesitated.

"Anyway…" He continued, ignoring him. "During that stage of my life, while was running, I had nothing left. My future, whatever potential I ever could have had for a normal life for me and my best friend…was gone. It was buried in a heap of hatred and lies, spawning from Corneria's direction. I had nowhere to run to, and nothing left but my rage and desire for revenge." The regret swelled inside his stomach. "And that was when I joined Andross. That was when I helped him start the war."

Leon felt an uncomfortable tingle in his blood. He, too, could feel the memories coming back.

Wolf looked up at the stunned faces of the TRU members in the room.

"I can't tell you how many sleepless nights I've spent, wishing with every fiber in my body that I hadn't made that decision. I was young, impatient, and angry…but that doesn't justify joining the Venomian Army." His voice raised again, echoing more frustration than rage. "I was stupid and careless…and more importantly, Andross knew it. He _knew _that all I cared about was getting back at the people who wronged me, no matter what the moral or physical cost. And he used that to his advantage…and made me one his top hunting dogs." His tall ears drooped in shame. "And the worst part about it…was I let him."

He sighed deeply before continuing.

"I did many things during the war. Things so terrible…that they honestly make half the things he says," He glanced briefly at Mason. "Seem less far-fetched and spot on. I've probably spilled enough Cornerian blood to fill the Aquatian ocean. It was senseless…I would've at least felt better if I was invested in the war I had been fighting, but I wasn't. It was all just built-up rage, murderous intent reserved for someone else. And by the time I realized what I was doing-and what the war was turning me into-I had hurt so many people. Even the ones closest to me."

He turned to look at Leon, who managed a small, grateful smile.

"The truth is, I'm not an off-worlder," He continued. "And I'm not just a common Venomian ex-soldier, either." He stood a little taller, voice clear. "I'm Wolf O'Donnell…former Head of the 302nd Battalion, Leader of the Star Wolf Team, and rival of Fox McCloud."

The room was silent for the longest time. No one in the room spoke, and a brief but eerie wind creaked through the boarded-up windows to make the candlelight dim slightly.

Then, Mason and Riley cracked amused smiles, and started laughing.

"Hold on, hold on…I need a minute here," Mason said, amidst a chuckle. "First, you waltz in here and claim to be the Gray Ghost, and now you'retelling me that you're supposed to be _Star Wolf _of all people?"

Wolf sighed, having already seen this coming. "Look, I know it's a little hard to accept-"

"Oh, it's more than hard," Mason agreed. "It's _impossible. _Just how stupid do you think we are?"

"More importantly, how _young _do you think we are?" Riley laughed. "Look, Max-or whatever your name is-I like you, and all, but I haven't been fed bullcrap stories about Star Wolf since I was a kid."

"He's telling the truth."

The both of them stopped laughing and turned to Miyu, who spoke for what seemed the first time for the duration of the time.

"_What?" _Riley asked. "You're not serious?"

"He _is _Star Wolf," She said, stepping forward. "I can testify for him."

Riley blinked, and turned to Wolf again, torn between looking shocked and unsure. Apparently, Miyu held enough of an influence in the group to prevent herself from being ever doubted, because Riley actually looked like he was on the brink of believing her.

"But, how-?" Then, the Young Cat shook himself. "Is this a joke? You're not seriously trying to pass this guy off as something that doesn't exist, right?

Mason turned to her in surprise. "You're not actually _buying _this, are you, Miyu?"

Miyu ignored him and addressed the others. "Trust me, I know it's difficult, even insane to believe. I didn't believe him myself when I first met him." She glanced at Wolf. "I just thought he was just another big-shot punk parading under Star Wolf's alias. And while I was right about the first part…"

Wolf scowled.

"…I know for a fact that he _is _the real Wolf O'Donnell. He has to be."

"You 'know'?" Mason asked skeptically. "What, did he come with a certificate?"

Miyu turned to him, her expression more challenging than before.

"I was a Cornerian Guerilla Tactics Officer for a long time, Mason. I brought in a lot of prisoners for interrogation sessions, so I know when a person's a lying." She looked at Wolf. "When I confronted him, and asked for his name…his voice and expression were true, and weren't deceptive. He believes, with every stubborn drive in his body that he's the real Star Wolf." The Lynx's indigo eyes teemed with a keen edge. "That isn't something you can fake. You have to have that kind of faith engraved in yourself, make it a part of your knowledge about yourself."

"But that's impossible!" Riley protested. "Look, _guys-_Star Wolf doesn't exist!"

"I'm standing right here!" Wolf said impatiently. "What do you _mean _I don't exist?"

He was getting a little sick of this. He could understand _why _no one thought he could be real-he knew the reason. But it was too weird and frustrating to literally be in the same room, and then be told that he wasn't as real as the chair, table of books, or whatever other object was in the room with them. It was like everyone was pretending like he was invisible, when he clearly wasn't.

"You can't exist! I mean-" Riley's eyebrow furrowed. _"Star Wolf _can't exist. He's just a myth, now. If he existed, there'd have to be some proof after the war ended!"

"What, so you're saying I was never born, or something?"

"Not necessarily," Mason said. "It's entirely possible that there was a pilot who pitted himself against Fox McCloud during the war-but with there being no sign of him after the war ended, one could only assume he's either dead, or not real." He folded his arms. "He can't have just vanished into thin air."

"I _didn't _vanish into thin air," Wolf snapped. "I was caught and dragged off to prison after the war ended."

"Imprisoned?" Riley asked. "Where?"

"Denique Fatum," Leon said. "The Cornerian supermax facility."

Mason's amused look disappeared. Riley's eyes grew huge.

"The _real Denique Fatum?" _He breathed. "Seriously? Wait, no…" He put on his amused look back on. "There's no way that's true. I have a brother who works there, and the security's-"

"You mean Thomas Gingerback?" Wolf cut in tartly.

Now, Riley's eyes were _really _huge.

"How did you-?"

"Your brother helped me escape the island before I crash-landed here," Wolf said with an approving nod. "He's not the brightest kid, but I wouldn't have made it out alive without his help."

The Young Cat looked too excited to speak. _"He-_helped _you-? _Escape-_Denique Fatum?! _That is the COOLEST THING-"

"Hold on…" Mason interrupted eyes darted about as he put the pieces together. "If you really _were _captured after the war's end, you'd have to be in prison for-"

"Five years," Wolf finished for him. "Five long, bitter years of lying in a dark cell…living off of the nutritional injections they gave me, with a scrap of metal bound to my face."

"Scrap of metal?"

Wolf nodded. "Yes. My last encounter with Star Fox left me scarred…and weak. When the Cornerians came for me, they treated my face by surgical means, and helped me recover. My face changed as a result..." He tapped his snout. "… Nothing drastic, but it was enough to render me unrecognizable as Wolf O'Donnell."

Mason and Riley looked at each other, looking baffled.

"Any more questions?" Wolf asked impatiently. "Or do you just want to accept that I'm telling the truth?"

The Snow Leopard narrowed his eyes. "Hold up. You might have excuses for these minor things-"

"You mean explanations?" Wolf asked in an annoyed voice.

"Whatever," Mason snapped. "The point is, none of them explain why there was no record of your disappearance."

"Record? What, you expected someone to be chronicling everything I was doing?"

"Actually, yes," Sauru said suddenly. "You Lylatians take pride in your sense of security…and it's very likely that the Cornerians would've had you in their databanks, somewhere…details, like DNA, birthdates, biological records…" He folded his arms. "Because apparently, warm-blood technology can hold onto those things."

"Exactly." Mason turned to them all. "If you really _were _Star Wolf, than the Cornerian Archives would've kept whatever files they had on you. And if you were imprisoned-as you claim-then the Defense Force would've tracked you here."

"So, what?" Wolf asked. "I need a damn _file _to prove that I'm Star Wolf?"

"Unless you have some kind of DNA scanner on you, yes," Mason said tartly. "But without a file, any claim you make to be Star Wolf is a ludicrous one. Anyone who exists has a file in Cornerian Logs, and that's that."

"That…might not be entirely true."

Everyone in the room turned at the meek sound of Fay's small voice, as she shifted her feet uncomfortably at so many people watching her.

"Fay?" Sauru asked. "Do _you _know something about this?"

The young Spaniel fiddled with her apron nervously. "Well, um…I don't…never mind. Forget it. It's probably nothing-"

"It's alright, Fay," Miyu said kindly. "Go on. We're listening."

Appearing comforted by Miyu's presence, Fay looked up.

"Well….I have a bit of a confession to make-and please, no one get angry with me," She added quickly, her blue eyes becoming ridiculously big. "I didn't mean to. Honest."

"No one's accusing you of anything, sweetie," Miyu said with a warm pat on her shoulder. "Just go on."

Leon and Wolf raised their eyebrows. They expected as much nurturing from a SharpClaw as from Miyu of all people.

"Well…remember that experiment we had to do in Peppy's Communications class during the Academy?" Fay asked. "The one that was testing us on how well we could intercept weapons diagnostics from attacking enemy ships?"

Miyu nodded with a knowing smile. "Yeah, the project that got the day you partnered up with Bryant. How could I forget? That's when you really pissed off the Academy's top bitch, Brooke McIntire…the day we first met, and I gave her a nosebleed the size of Solar." She sighed in reminiscence. "Good times…"

Mason rolled his eyes. "We get it, it was an Academy assignment. Can we move on, please?"

"Right," Fay said, jumping back to attention. "So I wanted to do some extra research on some military projects that the government had suspended, but there wasn't any record of them in any of the Academy Databanks-so, I, um…" She shut her eyes, as if bracing for the punishment she was about to receive. "…I went into the Cornerian Government's Data Archive from one of the Academy computers."

"Wait a second," Leon interrupted, now looking really perplexed. "You _hacked _into the Cornerian Defense Force's Security Mainframe? All by _yourself? _From an _Academy _computer?"

Miyu gave the girl an approving nod.

"Don't under estimate our Fay. She was part of the Communications Division during the War Effort."

Mason raised an eyebrow. "Yeah…I guess she isn't as simple-minded as she looks."

Fay blinked and smiled obliviously. "Aw, thank you, Mason! Anyway…" Her bright expression reverted back to her serious one. "I went through some old records, and was curious about some of the Academy's past student. So I did some digging around the Alumni page…and founded an encrypted file, one that was fragmented and couldn't be recovered no matter what I did. But after some fiddling around with it…" She smiled craftily. "I recovered the information that was inside. And inside were three names."

"What names were they?" Riley asked.

Fay rubbed her chin. "Let's see…well, it was from an encrypted file, so the letters weren't complete. Only one name was complete. That name was _'Leon Sergei Powalski.'_ The other two were _'L. Barnez'_…" She stopped, turning to Wolf with wide eyes. "_'W.O.D.'_"

Everyone was silent. Even Wolf was stunned by what she had said.

"Wait…" Leon said slowly. "Sergei _is _my middle name, but I _never _included it in my name. _Ever. _Even my Academy Record never recorded it…" His electric-blue eyes widened. "There's no way that file could've been fake. It had to be an official one."

"So, wait-"

Riley paused, and turned slowly to Leon.

"_You're _Leon Powalski? The _real _one?"

Miyu raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, even _I _didn't know that."

Leon scowled. "Really? Just who the hell did you think I was after you found out _he _was Wolf O'Donnell?" He pointed a furious finger at him. "Just some guy, following Star Wolf around?"

"And if the first name was true…" Fay said with a slow nod. "Then, that means…'W.O.D.'…"

Everyone was silent, knowing who that had to be.

But that information didn't solve anything...if anything, it made Wolf even _more _confused.

"Hold on…" He put up his hands, gesturing for a halt in the onslaught of news. "Why would both mine and Leon's names be in an encrypted folder?"

Miyu scratched her chin. "Encrypted folders are usually the result of someone trying to delete incorrect or outdated information. The fact that Fay found it must have meant that someone had _just _deleted it. If that's the case, that file no longer exists in any known archive."

"But I don't understand," Riley said, still pale. "If someone knew that Wolf was-" He gulped, not turning to look at him. "-Wolf, why would they try to hide it?"

"Yes…" Leon's eyes darted about inquisitively. "This would explain why everyone would assume we're dead or non-existent. The Academy was the only official place where our records were kept during the war. So why would someone delete them?"

Sauru looked up, his reptilian stare sparking with some newfound realization.

"Maybe…it was deleted to make sure no one knew you ever existed."

Wolf turned to him suddenly. _"What?"_

"Think about it," Sauru said, slithering back and forth in deep thought. "You were imprisoned _right after _the war ended…and no one's heard of you since. That's too convenient to be a coincidental set of circumstances. And then, this file goes missing…DNA, biological read-outs…everything that could be used to identify you…or recover any sign of you." He turned to Miyu. "How long does an encrypted file take to fully disappear from all known archives?"

"From every databank in the Lylat System?" Miyu shrugged. "It'd take forever…multiple deletions. You'd have to have years-worth of time…"

The old SharpClaw's eyes gleamed keenly. "Maybe it'd take five years…"

"What do you mean?" Wolf asked, heart beating faster.

Sauru ignored him, looking at the ground. Then, he looked up instantly.

"When were you imprisoned, 'Star Wolf'?"

Wolf paused, before thinking back. "It was the night the Star Fox Team broke through Area 6. The eve of Andross's defeat."

"And who imprisoned you?"

Wolf's eyes glowered hatefully. "The Denique Fatum Guards told me it was General Pepper."

Miyu's eyebrows furrowed. "Wait…that can't be true."

"What do you mean?" Leon asked.

"General Pepper wasn't on Venom on the night of Andross's defeat," Miyu said instantly. "He was on Corneria. My Division was guarding him there. Right, Fay?"

Fay nodded. "Y-Yes…my Uncle was still crippled from injuries after getting his flagship attacked…" Her brow creased. "Something that happened at Sector Y…"

The Field Advisor nodded. "That meant that someone _else _ordered for your imprisonment, Star Wolf. Someone who deceived the Cornerians into thinking that it was the order of their General. And with five years of prison…that would've given the encrypted file plenty of time to be deleted."

Wolf's eyes studied the ground before looking up. "What are you saying…?"

Sauru turned towards the candlelight, eyes narrowed.

"It means someone wants you out of the picture, Star Wolf," He said plainly. "The same person who deleted all known information on you made sure you'd be imprisoned. Someone who knows who you are…and it's someone who _doesn't_ want the rest of the galaxy to know."

A repulse of cold shock and prickling fear shot up Wolf's spine, eyebrows furrowed and neck sweating.

It couldn't be…

_Could _someone have done this to him…?

Was there someone who knew everything about him…

…and was trying to keep him a secret?

"Who?" He asked shakily. "Who and why?"

Sauru ran his claws on the skull of some bird-like creature on his table.

"I don't know. But whoever they are, they must be burdened with a severe grudge against you…probably during the war."

"Wait a minute, 'still'?" Wolf repeated. "What, are you saying they might still be out there?"

"They might be…" Sauru rubbed his chin. "But I think on this planet, with this struggle, we have bigger things to worry about." He looked long and hard at Wolf. "We-the Titanian Resistance Unit have some of the most important pieces of information in the galaxy right now…in this very room." He looked around, before slithering over to the open-curtained doorway and snatching the curtain over it. "Star Wolf is both very much alive and existent…and furthermore, he's in our midst."

Everyone in the room looked at Wolf, entirely new looks in their eyes.

Riley was stalk white, his eyes teeming with terror.

Fay had her hands cupped over her mouth, her expression was riddled with confusion and fear, the fur on her head and ears shivering fearfully. Mason's expression couldn't be read. But everyone could tell by the way he opened his mouth that no words would escape from it.

None of them could believe it.

Wolf's stomach squirmed horribly. For so long, he had hoped for a reaction of some sort from people, some indication that they knew who he was…

…but this isn't what he wanted. He felt the tense caution about them, every one of his movements warranting for a nervous grimace back, every set of eyes bulging at him.

"So it's _true?" _Riley asked, in a hushed, shocked voice. "All those stories…those legends…they happened?"

"Stories?" Wolf blinked. "There were stories?"

Mason, still frozen on the spot, nodded slightly. "Regardless of whether or not they were considered true, the long, bitter exploits of the Star Wolf Team are renowned from every corner of the Lylat System." He shook his head, eyeing Wolf up and down with a repulsed look, like he was some kind of foul insect. "Every sin, every atrocity…every crime a man could commit, you managed to do...to Lylat's men, women, and children. How could anyone _not _hear of them?"

The sting of the scalding truth punctured Wolf on the inside, each accusation piling the shame on his shoulders.

"Y-Yeah." Riley began fiddling with his coat-sleeves, his shaking feet already backing up to cower fearfully behind Miyu. "The one who cut down James McCloud in cold blood…The one who committed his life to the extermination of his only son…"

"The one who dove into enemy forces like water," Fay said in a voice muffled behind her quivering hands. "Colliding with them without hesitation or fear… Ripping and mauling men with his bare hands and claws…till the blood coated you like a second coat of fur…."

Mason's expression hardened. "The man who left hundreds of thousands of Cornerian corpses in his shadow…"

Miyu didn't say anything. She had already condensed her shock in the long walk to the Shrine…and had contemplated exactly what she thought. She was already feeling uncomfortable with hearing this, but one look at Wolf was enough to see that whatever _she _had…he had it way worse.

He felt the fear and contempt hammer into him from all sides, feeling exposed and ashamed. He wanted so desperately to stand tall and shrug it all off, to swat aside the accusations with defiance.

But there was nothing to repel. Nothing to swat aside casually with a firm resolve and a fierce insolence...nothing but the plain and simple truth.

Every painful reminder crawled into his skull like a bad dream he was trying desperately to forget…He could already see the awful reality of past sins already showing up on his hands, splattered like the blood…all things from the war, all the deaths he had caused…

…all the things he wanted to forget.

"Please, _stop."_

Everyone paused abruptly, surprised by his pained look.

"Look…I know I've done all those things…I already think about them constantly, and I _don't _need to be reminded about them anymore…" He rubbed his temples with a strained sigh. "…least of all from all of you."

"I know, it's just…" Fay shuffled her feet unsurely. "It's too hard to accept…I mean, I know you're missing an eye, and everything, but apart from that…upon first meeting you, I never that…"

She stopped.

Wolf stared at her miserably. That was probably the biggest blow of all. Fay, the _one _person whose kind approach and forgiving gesture was the only warm sign of acceptance he had managed to get from anyone so far…had managed to slip into the same state of unsure fear and suspicion as everyone else.

_Normal. That's what she called me… _

_She was actually starting to accept me before now…_

His ears drooped, heart wrenching with painful regret and longing.

He had ruined it. He nevershould've told them.

Sauru, on the other hand…didn't look as horrified as everyone else. If anything, he looked intrigued.

"Yes…sounds like quite the cold-blooded bastard." He smiled thoughtfully, tapping a claw on his chin. "Fascinating…_truly _fascinating. I never thought in one…no, _five _hundred years, I'd come face to face with one of the most hated enemies of the warm-bloods."

Despite his ashamed look, Wolf turned to him in surprise. "You know the stories too?"

"Your name is famous even amongst the SharpClaw, boy. Even when we thrived on the edge of the galaxy, an exiled tribe of Sauria, we heard of your exploits. The same way that we dominated the fields of death and decay…you were once the demon who stalked the battlefield of stars and ships…" His eyes shone with interest. "The Scourge of all Pilots, they called you…the berserker of all Lylatian Space, who could've painted the stars red with the dead you brought in your wake. Feats like that would be sung and heralded with praise among our people…" He raised an eyebrow. "And yet, you stand in a melancholy puddle of shame, hanging your head like a guilty child. Why?"

Wolf clenched his fist.

"I don't deserve praise for the things I've done…and I don't need some bard to sing to help me remember them. They won't leave me any time soon… no matter how hard I try to forget them."

"Why try so hard to forget?" Sauru folded his arms. "You should meditate on them. You'd be less uncomfortable on sharing how you feel about them. You're very good at acting ashamed, but the question is: _are _you?"

Wolf hesitated. "How I feel isn't important."

"You're quite wrong, boy," Sauru said in a sharp voice. "The feelings you're trying so hard to lock away are far more important than you realize." His eyes blurred beneath the mist of distance and memory. "If you hide your remorse…you'll no longer know what it feels like. And when that happens, you'll really become a heartless killer. Trust me."

Wolf looked at him sideways. Why did he feel that the SharpClaw was talking out of experience?

"Hold on," Fay interrupted. She was looking at him keenly. "You could've hidden this from us."

Wolf froze, completely stunned on how her words matched what he had been thinking earlier.

"What?"

Her brow furrowed. "You know that we're Cornerians…you know who we feel about you. But you told us anyway…"

Wolf blinked. "So?"

"Why'd you tell us?" Mason demanded. The news had only made him more scornful and infuriated than before. "Was it out of some hope that we'd forgive you, or something? That we'd just overlook everything you've done, and give you refuge and food just like everyone else?" His frosty glare knifed into him. "To treat you like an actual _human, _like everyone else?"

No one objected to Mason's harshness this time. Wolf's identity seemed to make it valid.

"_No, _no…it's just-" Wolf sighed in exasperation. "I'm not asking for refuge or food, or even entry to the TRU organization, I…" He paused, and then sat on a table, running his hand through the fur on his head, as if trying to word everything right. "I can never ask for forgiveness for what I did. I'm not brave or stupid enough for that. I'm just asking for the chance to tell you how much I regret the decisions I've made. If anyone could tell me that they were wrong, it's definitely me." He spread his arms out. "I mean, you all can go about your lives and shrug the war off like the bandages of an old wound. But I actually have to _live _with the things I've done. I was wrong for siding with Andross, and I'm sorry that I didn't see it sooner. But I didn't come here to prattle about how wrong I was, or how right _you _all are…" He looked up, eyes teeming with desperate imploring. "I'm here because I need your help…and I have no one else to turn to. I don't know what's wrong, or how to solve it…" He clasped his forehead, already feeling stupid with the way he was explaining this. "…I guess I just told you who I was because-because with all that people like Fay and Riley have done for me, I didn't want to deceive you…like the way I deceived so many people five years ago." His voice was brimmed with regret. "…myself included."

Now everyone was _really _shocked. The news of this stranger being Star Wolf was overwhelming enough. Despite all of them being scared out of their wits-even Mason, despite him probably refusing to admit it-but the way he sat there, looking lost, confused, and helpless…

…he seemed far less intimidating, and more human.

After a long silence, Sauru, who had kept his keen gaze on Wolf the entire time, spoke at last.

"You seem strong enough to fight SharpClaw…and you possess Inner Power. What help could you require from us?"

"Wait a minute, _what?" _Mason gaped. "You actually believe him?"

Wolf looked up, expression caught between a collision of relief and confusion.

The Field Advisor shrugged. "I can sympathize with someone wanting to wash their hands of their past crimes and blood, being a similar individual myself…although I never moped and dwelled on them as he does," he added, wrinkling snout in distaste. "But still…walking in here and admitting to all those things, knowing that we could shun and turn him away any moment…takes courage. To tell the truth is a task far more grueling and excruciating than taking on a horde of SharpClaw, or whatever shit that turns up in the stories…" He nodded approvingly. "… Maybe this lad is sincere in his pleas."

Color returned to Wolf's face again, and the cold weight of everyone's words shifted slightly from his body. But he was still struck with disbelief.

This Sauru guy must've been either a lot sharper or a lot more insane than he looked to trust Wolf after everything he'd just revealed.

"My only question is…" The SharpClaw tapped his claws together inquisitively. "If you didn't come to join the TRU…_nor _assassinate me or anyone else…" His yellow eyes were fixed keenly. "…what would cause the great Star Wolf to stoop so low, and ask us for help?"

Wolf scratched the back of his neck. "Well, you see…that's kind of the problem. I think my Inner Power no longer works."

Sauru's intrigued look disappeared, his eyes alert.

"What?"

"My Inner Power hasn't worked in a long time," Wolf replied in a disgruntled voice. "Not since before I arrived here."

Sauru's eyes searched him anxiously. "You're sure about this?"

"Yes."

The SharpClaw's alert look faltered, and retreated in a serpentine coil of disappointment.

"Oh…I see. Well, I must say, that isregrettable," He said, with a longing sigh. "I can't express how much I wanted to meet you _with _your Inner Power. That was the whole reason I summoned you here. You could've been a fine asset…"

Riley's eyes darted between them, confused.

"Wait, he _lost _his Inner Power?" He turned to Sauru. "Can you lose that-I mean, if you have it?"

"Believe me, you can," The old SharpClaw said, slithering over to the table. "You can lose it for a number of reasons, but one thing's for sure: there's no recovering it once it's lost…"

Wolf looked up. "There isn't?" A sinking feeling crept into his stomach.

Sauru shook his head. "No way that I know, boy. It's not like receiving lost blood, or replacing dead skin cells. Inner Power is an entirely separate aspect of mortal existence, Star Wolf…its nature hasn't been fully mastered or understood by anyone or any race…not even me."

Wolf's eyes searched the ground, head spinning in a state of frantic nausea. "But…I thought Andross did. He did that experiment, the one that allowed Inner Power to exist in the first place, right?"

Sauru scoffed. "What, that ape scientist? HA! As if…you would think so, though, with the way he gloated about it. Conceited wretch…" He muttered under his breath. "No, Inner Power existed long before he was born, and transpired its influence across countless generations of organisms. He merely…well…" His eyes darted to the corner. "… 'reawakened' it."

Wolf looked at him sideways. "Reawakened? But-?"

"The POINT is," Sauru continued, rather loudly. "There's no pointing in hoping in vain for your Inner Power to return. Once it leaves, its presence and influence on the host disappears with it."

"But, that _can't _be…" Wolf muttered. "How did this happen? And why is everything else happening?"

"'Everything else?'" Sauru repeated sharply. "What do you mean?"

Wolf looked at him. "Is it possible for the loss of Inner Power to have…er, side effects on me?"

Sauru's eyebrows furrowed for a moment.

Then, suddenly, his eyes started to widen. His facial expression warped into entirely different one. There was a glint of alarm in his eyes, startled realization…and fear.

"What….kind of side-effects?" He asked slowly.

"I…I don't know. I hear voices…I can't place things in my thoughts, things that should come so easily on a moment's notice." He rubbed his head, breathing heavily. "My Inner Power ripples, and rises and falls, like it did at the Slave Yard. But above all, there are things in my life that my body remembers, that I myself don't…."

Sauru's eyes became enlarged. He read the expression on Wolf's face, his mottled scales starting to pale

"…things, you think you've forgotten," He finished for him.

Wolf froze, his fur rising. He looked up slowly, staring at the SharpClaw.

"How did you-?"

Sauru didn't say anything. His lips were dry, and his yellow eyes looked like they were going to bulge from their sockets.

"It's not possible…" He murmured, in a voice so low it was barely audible.

Riley stared at them both. "What's not possible? Sauru, what's going-?"

_Fwssh!_

The SharpClaw bolted towards the bookshelf, rummaging through books and scrolls, pulling dusty tomes out with brief glances at them before flinging them aside. Finally, he grabbed the book he wanted, blew dust out of it, and slithered to a nearby table.

Miyu and Fay looked at each other, startled to see him like this.

"Sauru, what is it?"

He swept a pile of papers and dried quills and slammed the book down, opening it frantically.

That's when keener observers like Leon looked harder and realized that the pages of the book were made out of _stone, _meaning it had to be _old…_maybe older than Sauru himself, if that was possible.

He was muttering to himself constantly.

"No, _no, no…_this is NOT good at all…."

Wolf started to feel uneasy about the way he was reacting to this. "Um…what's wrong? Is this…abnormal?"

"_Abnormal?"_

CLUNK.

He slid a stone page down, and looked at him, eyes huge.

"What's happening to you is beyond abnormal, boy," He said cryptically. "You shouldn't have felt anything after your Inner Power was lost in the first place. You haven't lost it…you're _losing _it…."

Leon shrugged. "So…that's good, right?"

"No, it's NOT good," Sauru reiterated impatiently. "It's unnatural! This isn't a process that should happen! This is like someone festering into a corpse while still being _alive! _It's unthinkable…the last thing that should ever happen…"

Wolf stared at him. "Why would it be unnatural? What, is it something Devourer did?"

Sauru looked up. "What? Oh, no-you're Devourer's in place, right where you left him where you defeated him."

"Wait, _what?!" _Wolf yelped in disbelief. "What do you mean, _'where I left him'? _I thought he was dead! I killedhim!"

Sauru mopped his brow as went through pages. "No, boy…your Devourer is what allows your Inner Power to be stable. It bears the burden of existing for that sole purpose, after you put it in its place. And normally, I'd blame its absence or influencefor something like this, but you've already defeated it…" He traced the runes in the stone book with his claw. "None of this should be happening…_none _of it. I would've accepted just the symptoms with these voices and thoughts…but that rupture in the slave yard…"

"What's that got to do with this?" Wolf asked in confusion. "I thought that it was a sign of it coming back, or something!"

Sauru stopped reading, and looked up.

"Come _back? _No, Star Wolf…" He tapped a rune with his claw. "That kind of thing only happens you receive Inner Power for the _first _time…when it first reveals its presence to the Host. But this…this would never happen after one has gained it…much less in the aftermath of losing it." He breathed heavily and looked at Wolf. "I dreaded that it would come to this…I never thought it would be possible…"

A cold feeling slipped into Wolf's blood.

"What?" He asked urgently. "What's happening?"

Sauru breathed through his nose with a pained look, like he was trying to pick the nicest way to tell Wolf what terminal illness he had.

"Boy…these voices, your thoughts, and that repulse are all indicators of a Post-Inner-Power-Loss state of being…one that doesn't occur unless something devastating happened to your Inner Power in the first place." He pointed at the telescope on the Observatory above them. "That repulse I felt when you released some of it during the incident at the slave yard…the one that was like a scream? That was your Devourer. It is losing control of your Inner Power…and that shockwave was proof that it's stability over your Power is waning."

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "So…it _is _the Devourer's fault?"

"No. The Devourer is merely a bystander in this…drowning in the devastating implosion of your Inner Power, the same way other cells in the human body are pulled down into the destruction of a harmful cell. Don't you see? It's your _Inner Power _that's making you suffer these symptoms. It's rampant and wild, and worse…it's consuming itself. And it will consume you, as well."

Wolf stared at him in both shock and horror, too confused—and afraid of what he was confused about.

"What are you talking about? How did this happen? _Where _is this all happening?"

The old SharpClaw sighed, and closed the book with a stony _thud. _He picked up the lit candle, and lit three more next to it, before speaking.

"Inner Power resides in a sanctum far beyond the physical world. It exists where no mortal being or organism of matter can trespass. It is neither mental, nor spiritual...a completely different dimension, between dimensions. Something else entirely… and its touch on the organisms of our world are gifted with the ability to bend the will of nature itself…to harness its talismans of elements and matter to create raw power. But like all energies, it requires fuel, or a field to exist in. To transmute that energy into mortals, that field is generated by one single aspect of our mentality…. Memories."

"Memories?" Miyu asked, entranced despite herself.

Sauru nodded. "Yes. The Inner Power grows with the memories of its Host…it divides, expands, and becomes stronger. It feeds on the experiences that have shaped the mind and soul of the Host, and eventually…draw the Devourer into play when it decides to emerge, and confront the Host."

"Devourer…" Fay scratched her head at the familiar word. "Isn't it that thing that lives in the Inner Power realm?"

"Correct. You've been reading some of the books I've asked you to stack away on occasion, I see." He turned to the rest. "Anyway, without those memories…and the stability a Devourer provides, the Inner Power will not survive. It wilt away…" He looked at Wolf. "…and take the host with it. But that only happens if the memories are non-existent."

Wolf blinked and shook his head. "What are you saying…that I've lost my memory?"

"Not lost." Sauru placed his hand on the stone book. "Losing."

Wolf's eyelids lowered skeptically. "That's ridiculous."

"Think, boy," Sauru said. "Has there been anything in your head that you could no longer remember, because of something you couldn't explain?"

"Wolf…maybe he's right…"

Leon turned to him slowly, a look of growing shock and realization forming on his face. "Maybe you _are _losing your memory… that would explain everything that's been happening."

"Nothing's been happening," Wolf said in sudden denial.

He tried to pretend not to know what was going on, but a creeping feeling in his chest was starting to repel all skepticism and doubt from his mind.

He was starting to see exactly where this was going…he was just too scared to accept what was going on.

"Think about it!" Leon exclaimed, eyes darting about. "Why is it whenever I talk to you about certain things…small details, incidents we experienced together…things we _did _during the war…and you never know what I'm talking about? Maybe you can't remember those things because you're memories fragmented!"

"I _can_ remember!" Wolf insisted. "I remember Fox McCloud, and James, and Andross and the war…my whole life revolved around those things, and I _haven't _forgotten them!"

"Those are too broad," Sauru said quietly. "They are memories essential to you being yourself. But they aren't the ones you need…the details and experiences for your Inner Power to stabilize, and grow strong." He slithered back and forth. "And it won't be long before you lose those broader aspects of your memory, too…"

Wolf sat up from his table. "I've had enough of this madness…nothing's wrong with my memory, and nothing's happening to it! If I can't remember every face of every person I've met, or every word spoken to me, that doesn't mean I'm suffering some sudden amnesia." He straightened up. "I'm perfectly fine, and I can remember everything I _need _to remember."

"Really?" Sauru raised an eyebrow. "Do you remember the first person you ever killed? His face, the blood on your hands?"

Wolf's skeptical look faded slightly.

"Well, no, but-"

"Do you remember the worst memory of your childhood?"

Wolf rolled his eyes.

"Of course, it's-"

Then, the sureness and confidence in his face broke, as he searched about-as he had done repeatedly-and his face went blank.

"….n-no."

A cold feeling made him sink lower into his own feet. The dreadful possibility was rising quick…

"Do you remember the feeling of your first love, hmm? The first kiss, embrace, or-ahem-_other _means of affection you might have had with her…?" His face creased with some skepticism. "I understand that's a big deal among you warm-bloods, and _not _something you forget..."

The empty feeling Wolf's stomach grew. His breathing became harder, as he looked about, trying desperately…_desperately, _to recall _something…_

"N-No…"

"Do you remember…" who took your eye away…who gave you the scars you harbor from your past battles…and the other life-long mementos you have now?"

Wolf froze.

_It can't be…no…NO…_

_NO!_

_Come on…_

His fur was coated with sweat. He clutched his face, eyes huge and quivering, breathing through clogged rasps.

_COME ON! THINK!_

He drove his claws into his face, countless images running through his head, none of them relating to any warm feeling he could've had…no shining face that he held above all memories-

_**REMEMBER! **_

He collapsed to his knees, tearing off the jacket around his shoulders and shaking. He ran his hands through the fur on his head, trying to hammer the memories out.

Miyu stepped back, eyes widened and brow furrowed, watching Wolf with bystanding, baffled concern at his desperate, confused state. Riley stared in horrified silence, not knowing what to do. Fay looked around frantically, wringing her apron, wanting so desperately to help…but not knowing how. Even Mason was stunned by what was going on.

Leon took an anxious step forward, but Sauru put his hand in the way, gesturing for him to step back.

Wolf breathed harder, feeling cold and feverish.

Then…he remained still.

A sudden, horrible thought hit him.

His hand slipped in his pocket, the horrible possibility climbing up his pine and sticking icy knives of fear into his back.

His fingers brushed the smooth surface of the blue stone in his pocket. The one that was so precious to him…the one he took everywhere he went…

…the one he didn't know anything about: where he got it, _when _he got it, _who _gave it to him, _why _he was given it…

Nothing.

He almost sold for _food_ in the market when he was with Leon earlier…discarding it completely.

The fur on Wolf's body stood on end.

Sauru was right. _This _is what he was talking about…

Deep down, Wolf knew this thing had to be special from somewhere or someone…some odd instinct, or hidden emotion told him it was special…

But he couldn't pinpoint…who, or why.

That "why" was what Wolf couldn't remember. One of the many "why"'s that was crippling him from within…and wiping his memory clean…

Wolf's knees started to shake, as he tried to stagger back on his feet. He managed to stand…

SLAM.

Everyone in the room jumped as he collapsed against a table, looking pale and nauseous. Glass beakers and oozing inkwells toppled off the table, shattering at his feet. He shivered, his quaking face speckled with sweat…his entire body hot with frantic confusion but frozen stiff with terror.

"Oh, God…" His voice was feeble and terrified.

He put his face in his shaking hands, his widened, fear-stricken eyes teeming between the cracks in his fingers.

"Oh, _God…._I've lost my memory…b-but how…?" He looked up at Sauru. "_Why?"_

"Memory is what feeds Inner Power," The SharpClaw said, the candles illuminating his face. "The only way for Inner Power to die, is if there was something to make the memory slowly vanish." He slithered forward, arching slightly, like he was coming to his knees to speak to Wolf. "You understand me, boy? This didn't just come about. Your Inner Power didn't cause this. Something happened to your memory, and _that _caused your Inner Power to rupture."

"But what?" He looked at his own body quickly, searching in vain for some wound or indication. "I haven't done anything. I haven't bumped my head, or sprained my skull…or anything like that. How did I lose my memory?"

Sauru rubbed the scales on his chin. "I don't know. There must've been a way…the brain must've linked its failure to process the memories…"

"But I _didn't _do anything to my brain!" Wolf almost sobbed helplessly. He didn't know what to do…or _what _was wrong with him. "What could've possibly happened?"

Fay took a timid step forward. "Maybe… the only way for such a thing to happen would be if your memory was placed somewhere other than your brain…"

"But that's ludicrous!" Mason exclaimed. "What kind of idea is that?"

Fay glared at him reproachfully.

"I'm just _saying," _she mumbled in a hurt voice.

Wolf looked up instantly. "Wait a minute…"

He froze, his hand creeping to his arm…still marked by the deep scar that had been placed there…

His heart almost stopped.

"Oh, God!" He sprung to his feet, clamping his arm. "Leon! The _chip!"_

Leon turned pale. "Oh, God, NO!"

Mason looked at both of them oddly. "Chip, what chip?"

"Jesus Christ…" Wolf placed a hand on his hand. "Andross planted some kind of chip inside my body to observe me from childhood. He had it in me for as long as I could remember…"

Riley's fur spiked up, and he backed up against the wall like Wolf was going to explode.

"Oh, SHIT! Is it still there?! IS he watching us, _right now?!"_

Miyu rolled her eyes. "Calm the fuck down, you moron. Andross is dead. Star Fox killed him, remember?"

Wolf paused.

"Uh-ah, yes-more or less-anyway…that chip had been in me for years. Andross said it would be encrypted with data overtime with biological data…it would become a living organ over time, one that could be extracted like an appendix. It would hold whatever data it could recover…DNA, bloodtypes…" Then, he stopped mid-sentence. "…and memories."

The answer hit his body with a jolt.

"JESUS CHRIST! _Leon!" _He whirled around to face him. "A part of my memories must've been on that thing! And when we removed it-"

Leon was so pale, he looked like was going to pass out. He held out an imploring hand. "God, Wolf, I'm _sorry,_ I didn't know that-I never meant to-"

Miyu's eyebrows furrowed. "'Sorry'? Why, where is it now?"

Leon clapped his face with the palm of his hand. "I extracted it on the last ship we were on-_and sent into the garbage chute into space!"_

Sauru's eyes widened. "You **WHAT?** There's no way to recover it now!"

"I know…_I know…" _Leon rubbed his temples, walking back and forth. "I had no idea-I didn't want anyone to track us, I didn't know it had his Goddamn _memories _on it…"

"This is bad…" Riley turned to Wolf. "This means that…that…"

Wolf sank to his knees. "Whatever I can't remember was on that chip…and now it's lost somewhere in deep space…" He held his head, rocking back and forth. "And now I've lost half my MEMORY, and I can't get it _back…"_

"Not 'lost'. Star Wolf, 'losing'."

Wolf looked up. "What?"

Sauru stood in front of the windows, facing the barring planks of wood nailed across them so that the slivers of sunlight lined his face.

"Just like your Inner power, your memory is dying. It's a decaying process, and it won't happen overnight. It'll happen in stages." He turned, the sunlight at his back, making him a shadow. "Now that small details of your memory are gone, larger ones will disappear. Your inner power will grow weaker and weaker, imploding on itself…"

Wolf felt his heart drop and collide with his stomach. His fur shook, his ears open with horrible anticipation for whatever he was about to hear.

"W-What's going to happen to me?"

Sauru narrowed his yellow, reptilian eyes.

"How the process will take shape is unknown to me. I've studied the preservation of Inner Power, but never its death. All I can say is that it's probably taken three weeks for your mind to be in the state it's in…."

Wolf's breathing became heavier and heavier. His head spun madly, his vision blurring and his blood churning to the point where he was both nauseous and on the verge of collapse.

"…Which means," Sauru continued his ominous diagnosis. "If you don't recover your memory before another three weeks go by…your memories will disappear."

Riley's jaw dropped. Miyu's eyes trembled with fearful empathy. Mason's blue eyes expanded in disbelief. Fay rose a shaking hand to clutch her mouth.

Wolf didn't move an inch. His body wouldn't let him.

"You will forget your past, your life, your name…even your own face. And when that happens, your Inner Power will release you…and die. You will be reborn into an empty shell of your former self, without memory, or knowledge of functions. You will be mentally crippled, and unable to preserve yourself…"

Sauru's facial expression was grave and still.

"You will slip into a coma, Star Wolf…and when you do, just as the entire galaxy presumes now, you truly _will _no longer exist."

_End of Chapter_

My God, if only I could _see _the looks on your faces right now.


	22. Chapter 22

For some reason, I imagine Sauru to be voiced by Anthony Hopkins in my head. Isn't that weird?

What do you all imagine he sounds like?

_Chapter 22: The War Begins Tomorrow_

_Sargasso Shrine on Titania, 5 ALW (HMD Period)_

It was only moments after Sauru had delivered the news that everyone emerged from the tense aftermath with looks of shock.

"You mean-" Riley blinked in stunned confusion. "Wolf, here…he's gonna _die? _For _real?"_

Fay stifled her terrified gasp between her clamped hands. "Oh, my God…"

"Jesus…" Mason murmured, astounded despite himself. "Seriously?"

"And in three _weeks?" _Miyu asked, her voice torn between astonishment and disbelief. "Sauru, are you _sure _about this? I mean-" She looked around unsurely. _ "_I know absolutely nothing about this Inner Power stuff, but you're making it sound like a Goddamn terminal illness!"

The old SharpClaw nodded with a stone-cold expression, absent of the overwhelmed concern on everyone else's faces.

"I'm not sure. I know." He glanced at Wolf. "His symptoms are as plain as the missing eye on his face. And judging by how quickly his memories are diminishing, I'd say three weeks is being generous. He could have even less time."

"Now, just hold on one minute!"

Leon stepped forward, his staggering fright clouded with confusion and anger.

"You're telling me that Wolf's going to die because you just happened to say so?" He asked angrily. "What kind of proof is that? What kind of biological, or scientific proof do _you_ have?"

"I've already pointed out the symptoms," Sauru said quietly. "But from your voice, I can only detect a certain…skepticism."

"_Skepticism? _The whole THING's beyond skeptical, it's impossible!" Leon insisted. "You know a person's Inner Power's waning just by pure insight? If it's as 'invisible', or 'inter-dimensional' like you claim, than it's like analyzing an amoeba without a microscope!" Eyes on the field advisor, he shook his head. "Don't believe a word he says, Wolf. You aren't dying…not without any anatomical reason, or precise science."

"Anatomical reason?" Sauru repeated, almost laughingly. "His _brain _is what's going to shut down, young Powalski, not his blood or his digestive tract. And if you don't believe me, you can just wait a few weeks until he's dead at your feet." His eyes glowered. "Then you might think twice about questioning my insight on the matter."

"_Stop it, both of you!" _Fay's face and cheeks were flushing as her blue eyes teemed with frantic, helpless tears. "A human _being _is in _our_ midst, about to _die,_ with his life in _our _hands!" She turned desperately. "Sauru, what do we do? What _can _we do? We have to try to heal him, at least!"

"There isn't anything any one of us here can do, child," The Field Advisor said sincerely.

"Oh, _come on,_ there must be something!" Miyu insisted, trying to put on a confident face despite her frustration and helplessness. "We can't just sit back and watch as he dies in front of us!" She turned to Wolf. "Star Wolf or not, what kind of Lylatians would we be, letting one of our own-"

Then, she stopped. Her eyebrows furrowed.

"Wolf?"

They all turned to look at him, and realized that he was dead still, staring ahead at Sauru-no, _past _Sauru, into nothing.

_Thump-thump. Thump-thump._

The entire last five minutes had been straight-up deafness and dazed shock for Wolf. He hadn't heard a word anyone had just said, or felt anything when anyone nudged him for a response.

He was paralyzed in one spot.

_Thump-thump. Thump-thump._

Sauru's words lingered in his empty ears, still processing the horrifying truth of it all.

He was deaf to everything around him, except his own thunderous, nauseating heartbeat. His breath was raspy and chopped into short, deprived gasps.

_Thump-thump. Thump-thump._

His head became heavy, and his limbs started to churn and twist underneath his skin as if they had turned into white-hot iron, numbing his entire body. His stomach felt like it had dropped through his feet and into the ground.

_Thump-thump. Thump-thump._

_Oh God….__**Oh….GOD….**_

He couldn't breathe, or think, or stand. He could barely even see…everything in front of him had blurred into faint, disorienting shapes, dancing in front of his eyelids and tormenting his eyeballs that bulged in terrified states of trepidation.

_Not now…not here…._

_I've done nothing…I haven't accomplished anything-_

_No success, no freedom, no redemption-it's all gone…_

He froze, sweat dripping down his trembling chin.

After years of avoiding death, scraping through countless battles and enduring the most grievous wounds, the harshest terrains like the desert…

…all for nothing.

All just to die here…beyond his control or whim.

THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP.

Wolf's eyelids fluttered dazedly, his knees becoming weak as he staggered back slightly.

Something nudged him and made a noise.

"…_lf! …'t's wr-ng? W-lf!"_

Wolf focused his disoriented gaze on the blurry shape, as it took form past his nauseated line of vision.

"Wha-?"

"Wolf! Wolf, what's wrong? Answer me!"

Miyu grabbed his shoulders and shook him until his eye-balls rolled in their sockets. He shook his head dazedly and looked at her.

Fay looked around. "What's wrong with him? He looks like he's about to pass out!"

Wolf stared around at their baffled faces, sweating and panting uncontrollably.

"No…_no…."_

He panted and rolled his head back, hands reaching for things that weren't there, his minded fixed on the traumatizing mental image of his own body lying face down on the floor….the idea of feeling heavy and dormant…

…right before sinking into mental breakdown…

"Wolf!" _Snrrk! _Miyu snapped her fingers sharply in front of his face. "Wolf, look at me! _What's wrong?"_

Riley paled. "Do you think….he's slipping into the coma _now?"_

That very suggestion only made things worse. Wolf froze where he stood, his knees shaking and his heart pounding in stark, frantic fear. Leon's mouth dropped open, and Mason drew back, without the slightest idea of what to do or how to react.

"_No!" _Fay rushed over, dabbing Wolf's face with a hankerchief. "Max-Wolf-don't die! _Please, _don't! Just keep it together, you'll be alright! You're among friends, we'll help you…just don't die!"

CRASH!

Wolf pushed himself away from Miyu's angry and confused grip, staggering back into a table and making piles of books and glass beakers topple to the ground. The glass shattered around Wolf's feet, as he slid against the wall.

"WOLF!"

Leon darted forward, but Sauru held up a restraining hand.

"Wait!" His eyes narrowed. "He's not slipping into the coma."

Wolf gasped and clutched his chest, feeling his insides somersault and throw him into a state of nausea. His mouth became extremely dry, tasting something horrible in the absent back of his throat…

"What's he doing?" Mason demanded suddenly, as Wolf's grab of his own stomach extended to the back of his pants.

From where he stood, it looked like Wolf was drawing something out of his pockets…

…like a weapon.

Miyu already saw the alert look in the Combat Instructor's eyes before he bolted forward. "Mason, wait!"

Miyu tried to stop him, but the Snow Leopard already rushed forward.

Wolf fell to his knees, face drained of color. Mason pulled him up to his knees, wrenching his arms into plain sight and bellowing down at him.

"_What are you pulling out?!" _He demanded. "You DID come in here armed with a concealed weapon, didn't you?" He narrowed his eyes. "What is it? Another blade? Stand down, _now, _or I'll-"

Lips quivering and face stalk white, Wolf groaned and gave a canine pine, his fur rising on end while his breath continued to rasp weakly.

That's when Leon recognized his sudden change in movements. His face went from shock…to wary recognition.

"Mason…I think you better let him go." He glanced at Wolf, already seeing the dry-heave that he himself underwent from when he had malaria. "And…possibly take a few steps back."

Mason turned to him. "Why? Does he have some kind of explosive?"

Leon shut his eye, as if bracing for something. "Yeah…the worst kind."

Mason's eyebrows furrowed.

"GRRLK-!"

Wolf's cheeks hollowed as he gurgled, his eyes flickering slightly.

That's when Riley saw it coming, too. "Oh, _shit…"_

Mason's eyes widened as he released Wolf, and recoiled back.

Wolf felt the bubbling feeling rise up his throat, his stomach tightening and his head thrown into a state of spiraling dizziness. Even though his mind didn't prompt him to do it, his arms jerked out without his consent and grabbed a dusty vase from one of the rickety shelves next to him. He buried his face into it.

Fay cocked her head. "What's he-?"

"_GUUURRRAAAALLLAAACCCCGGGHHH-!"_

Whatever intense anxiety, traumatizing fear, and frantic disorientation Wolf had built up inside himself at the hearing of the news were emptied out into the vase. The excess was more like a pumping-out, leaving a concave feeling in his stomach that made him feel light-headed and sick.

Fay's mouth was small, as she looked around awkwardly. "Oh, my…"

"_Ugh…" _Mason gave a repulsed scowl. "So, that _wasn't _the coma then. Well, that's a relief…I suppose."

Wolf coughed and spluttered into the vase, before raising his head and blinking about through eyes that were barely open.

Miyu squatted down behind him, patting him on the back. "It's okay….just let it all out. There you go…" She looked back at the rest. "Well, he, uh….took the news pretty well. It could've been worse."

Wolf exhaled into the pot, the horrible after-taste lurking in his mouth and throat. His stomach rumbled sickly again….feeling more empty and incomplete than full. He lulled about weakly, and slid on the floor on his back, releasing the vase from his hands.

"Mmmm…." His eye-lids quivered dazedly, before his stomach rose and fell.

Mason nudged him with his boot. "Great. Looks like he _did _pass out. He could've at least held onto his dignity."

Leon folded his arms. "Oh, really? I'd like to see _your _reaction to finding out you only have three more weeks to live. I'm sure you'll take it much better."

Fay turned to Sauru imploringly. "Sauru-ji, _please…._what are we going to do?"

Sauru scratched the scales on his chin, staring off into the confines of his own mind, scanning the open air for a solution.

"I need time to think. In the meantime…." His reptilian eyes shifted to Wolf's limp body. "Carry him upstairs to the Observatory. If any of the refugees ask about, tell them that he's another refugee with cholera. But don't tell them anymore than that…any exposure on his real identity will only cause a great deal of attention." He turned to Fay. "Fetch some water and towels, child. He'll need attending to when he comes to. And Riley…" He glanced at the vase with a repulsed scowl. "Clean out the vase, if you please."

The young cat wrinkled his nose. "Why the hell do _I _have to do it?"

As Fay rushed out to fetch the items (tripping slightly in her frantic scramble), and Miyu hoisted Wolf up on her shoulders with one powerful arm, Mason turned to Sauru privately.

"You think this wise, Sauru?" He muttered. "We aren't just aiding a Venomian anymore. We're aiding the Venomian of Venomians." His cold blue eyes followed Wolf's unconscious body as it swayed on Miyu's back. "This won't end well."

Sauru slithered over to a table. "Perhaps your anxiety would be put to rest if we would just let him die, hmm?"

"I didn't say that," Mason said quickly. "All I'm saying is that the entirety of Lylat has had reason to fear him for the last decade. Maybe we should to…"

Sauru ran his claws on the surface of the massive stone tome on the table, yellow eyes teeming.

"Yes…all fear and detest that boy. Every Lylatian race, every civilized world hate and fear him. But, Talon and the SharpClaw fear and hate him as well…"

His face wove a smile.

"…. And that, my loyal First Lieutenant, is why his death would not only be unfortunate, but counterproductive. He was the last hope this Resistance could've had."

_Span of time lost in nausea…._

Wolf felt his stomach rise in fall, from the low sickness of his stomach to the high tranquility of his lungs.

For a moment, the world's troubles didn't bother him. He even felt a small, refreshing breeze brush its cold surface against his face.

He didn't know where and how it came to be, since they had to be still inside the Shrine, but he relished it nonetheless.

That's when his ears perked up at the sound of inquisitive voices.

"….yeah, his lips are moving! He must be awake!"

"I dunno…he still looks kind of queasy to me. I didn't think he'd puke and pass out in the same hour."

Then, he felt something light and damp press against his forehead, soaked in cool water that dribbled down his pulsing forehead.

"He probably was too devastated by the news…the _poor _boy…."

Wolf recognized that voice instantly. It was the second time Fay's gentle voice had eased him with its concerned warmth, while he remained in the blackness of fatigue.

Then, he heard a cheeky snicker.

"Hey, who knows? Maybe this a side-effect of his Inner Power failure…"

"_Riley!"_

"Alright, alright!" The voice said defensively, before dropping to a mutter. "I was only joking…"

"I don't think the wet towels are working guys," another voice said. "He still isn't coming to."

"Hmph, as if. If this boy _is _Star Wolf, the sight of death should be nothing for him. Here, this should get him moving!"

Wolf only had time to creak his eyelids open in confusion, before he heard a distant spash.

"GARGH!"

He sat up bolt upright, the freezing water stabbing into his short fur like icy fingernails, before reducing to chilling drops that seeped into his clothes and left him shivering. He was wide awake, the stomach-churning feeling and weak sensation in his body gone.

He looked around, sopping wet, at all the faces above him.

The company hadn't changed. Miyu stood there, arms crossed and looking skeptical, with Fay wrinkling her apron uncomfortably beside her. Mason wore his unchanged scowl, and Riley stood afar, keeping a safe distance in case Wolf decided to "release the burden" of his newfound condition once more.

Sauru stood above him, holding a dripping bucket.

Riley shut one eye, grimacing painfully. "Ooh…that looked cold as shit."

"I-It w-was!" Wolf chattered his teeth angrily. "D-Damn it…"

Sauru pursed his lips. "You don't look like you've recovered fully. Perhaps another dowsing would-"

"NO!" Wolf stood up immediately. "Thank you, I'm fine. I'm over the news….I guess." He looked around, and he noticed it was a lot breezier than it was before, suddenly realizing that they weren't in Sauru's study.

"Where are we?"

Fay slipped a towel around his shoulders kindly. "We thought you could use some open air after the news."

"Open air?" Wolf looked around. "What, are we outside?"

Sauru placed the bucket down and slithered aside.

"See for yourself."

Wolf furrowed his eyebrows, and took a few steps forward. He realized from the stone pavement and reinforced cluster of balusters that they were on some kind of open-ceilinged balcony, overlooking the outside. It had been carved out of the red mountain-rock, just like the rest of the shrine.

He took a few ginger steps forward towards the balcony edge, drinking in the cool air. It was hard to believe he was still in the desert, with such fine air-

Then, he looked down, and realized why the air was so brisk.

It was because they were extremely high.

The balcony stuck out of the very peak of the mountain which the Shrine was comprising of, overlooking a tremendous view of the massive mountain pass that walled up the treacherous area around them. The desert canyon cliffs and jagged peaks cast black shapes in front of the rising suns, which sent a gleaming streak of morning dusk in the open air. The air itself whistled and hummed at the high elevation they were at, causing the tall winds that swept the mountaintops to smash into the open balcony with their deafening but tranquil presence.

Down below, cradled just in view between the opening in the rocky passage, the vast river sparkled in a fluster of morning ripples as it slid down the treacherous rocks and through the walled city of Catalaya, sitting like a sprawled set of marble blocks that some massive child had scattered into the sand.

Every shape and form…the river, the desert, the mountainous canyons, the City…all stood out from the sand, all gleaming under the twin suns that emerged drowsily on the orange horizon.

Wolf stared at it, his eyes large and overwhelmed.

"Yes, it _is _quite the sight," Sauru nodded, tracing the path of Wolf's eyes with his own. He patted a brass telescope on a rusty stand next to him. "If there's one thing I'm thankful for, it's that whoever built this wreckage of solitude managed to include this Observatory."

"Yeah, I made the same face when _I _saw it," Miyu said, smiling at Wolf's expression.

"It's incredible," Wolf murmured. "Reminds me of the Fichinese Slopes. The winds, the view, the open air, the sun…"

Then, his heart sank horribly. The free-falling feeling his stomach had by looking over the edge and into the massive scaled mountains below seemed to dive lower from the painful realization.

"I guess it's one of the few things I can recall." He slid against the balcony ridge, letting his arms dangle over it sullenly. "But that'll probably fade away like everything else…"

Leon planted a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "Wolf…"

He turned suddenly to Sauru. Maybe…_maybe…_in his frantic, paranoid nausea…he hadn't heard the full truth.

"Is it true?" He asked slowly, dreading what he'd hear next. "Is everything-about my memory, and my brain-is that all really going to happen?"

Sauru said nothing for a long time.

"Nothing in the equation has changed in the minutes you were passed out. Your condition is the same…and will remain so, till the end."

Wolf buried his face in his hands, clawing at the fur on the side of his face. He felt so lost, wounded with an injury he couldn't shrug off, trying to scrape out of a battle he knew he wouldn't win.

"Hey," Miyu scooted next to him on the balcony ridge, patting him with unusually-empathic sympathy in her eyes. "It's okay…we'll help you get through this. We haven't abandoned anyone who's come to us for help, and we won't abandon you."

Wolf looked up sadly, disheartened but touched. "Even if I'm Star Wolf?"

Miyu rolled her eyes. "Meh, screw it….you could be Andross's Goddamn son, and I wouldn't flip two shits. You've shed fur and blood to help us, in and out of convenience. That means you're one of us."

"Yeah, we'll help you out," Riley said, somewhat unsurely. "If we _can…"_

Mason didn't say anything and kept his eyes on the rising suns. He didn't _look _to engaged in the conversation, but that didn't mean he wasn't apart of it.

Wolf threw deep breath of resigned hopelessness and sorrow in the palms of his hand.

"What could you do? What could _any _of you do? What could _I _do?" Frustration and rage, both tainted with anguish, stung his throat to the point where he almost sounded like he was sobbing. "Both in the Desert, and that punishment stone at the Slave Yard…I was at my wit's end. I was weak and without resolve both times…but I climbed out of each abyss, only because I had the small glimmer of hope, that-" He stopped, swallowing. "-that I'd have a life to live, as a reward for scraping by another hopeless situation. But there's nothing like that, now…there's no oasis for me to find, or some scourge to fight against. For the first time, I can't do a damn thing-"

_KRNCH._

He brought his fist down on the stone balcony surface, shaking with throat burning.

"I can't fight back…I can't try to escape. All I can do is just, just _sit _here, and _wait_…until-"

He stopped. He looked down at the empty crevices at the foot of the moment, losing his trail of thought and speech into them.

Everyone either exchanged grim looks or looked down. He didn't need to finish his sentence.

Fay cupped her hands, eyes planted in the ground in painful sadness.

"Is there nothing that can be done, Sauru?" She pleaded again. "By any of us? At _all?"_

Sauru remained motionless, and free of expression.

"There isn't anything any of us can do, regardless of our combined efforts."

"So, that's it, then?" Leon asked fumingly. "He's just going to sit here and _die, _and all we'll be able to do is _watch?"_

"Leon, please," Wolf held up a resigned hand, already looking dead with pale gauntness. "Yelling at them won't help me live. There's nothing left to-"

"_No!" _The Chameleon turned to him fiercely. "I didn't pry you out of depression just to let you die here! I didn't follow you my whole life just to see you decay into a death you can't stop! You're our Leader, you're _stronger _than that! You have to fight it!"

"Why are you acting like I have a Goddamn choice in this?!" Wolf bellowed in helpless frustration. "You think I _wanted _it to end like this?! It's _useless! _It's OVER! I can't even-!"

"It isn't over."

Everyone paused and turned back to Sauru, who was looking at the horizon, tapping the scales on his chin.

"What?" Leon asked quizzically. "But you just said-!"

"I said there isn't anything _we _can do," The Old SharpClaw said, a smile growing on his face as he stared off into the distance. A plan was concocting in his yellow eyes… "And I meant it. This boy's Inner Power is fading fast, and there's no means of stopping it that's in any of our power. It's not some scrap of information Riley can retrieve, not some technique Mason can master. It's not some wound Fay can stitch, or lack of confidence that Miyu can whip back into shape." He nodded at them all, and then turned to Wolf. "It's something _you _can do, and you alone."

Everyone blinked, confusion and amazement growing on their faces. The sunlight rose from the huddled peaks, illuminating the growing, stunned look on Wolf's face.

"Me?" The color returned to Wolf's face. His heart quickened with excited relief… "I can stop it? How? Is there a way?!"

Sauru nodded and slithered to a small table next to the telescope. He opened the drawer on the bottom, muttering to himself as he rummaged through its contents.

Everyone leaned forward, Wolf especially, expecting him to pull out some ancient tome or papyrus scroll that would have the remedy scrawled on it….

…but the object the Field Advisor drew was somewhat less mystic than everyone expected.

He drew an old-fashioned, wooden, long-stemmed pipe from drawer, placed it in his mouth and turned to them.

"If you had already lost your Inner Power completely, there'd be no physical way of restoring it. Not by science or ritual." He sunk his hand into the pouch on his belt, and drew a very dry-looking carcass of a long-dead insect. "However, your Power's decline is because of its lack of memory to feed upon…"

_Krnnch!_

Everyone grimaced sickeningly as he ground the insect into bits in the palm of his hand, sprinkling the remnants in his pipe.

"And there is one, quick way to restore memory to one who has lost it."

_Klik! _He flicked his claws together until a spark appeared, igniting the pipe and causing smoke to coil out of his dragon-like snout.

"What method could someone use to repair amnesia?" Riley asked incredulously, despite cocking his head at Sauru's odd choice of tobacco. "That's almost impossible to do, isn't it?"

Sauru blew a fume of smoke, and talked around his pipe. Miyu wrinkled her nose and fanned the smoke out of her face.

"Scientifically speaking, with the time we have, yes it is," He nodded. "But if the boy wants to live, he can't rely on scientific means to help him." He grinned slyly. "He'll have to do it _my _way. He'll have to cheat."

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "How?"

Sauru inhaled around the pipe, and blew out a puff of smoke.

"The process I have in mind-one I'd be more than happy to teach you, given that certain conditions are met-is an ancient and risky one. It involves crossing the boundaries of dimension and mind, and involves linking your brain to your Inner Power. It's the only known method of complete memory retrieval in this scenario, but it's a fragile and unstable process." Blowing fumes of smoke out of the corner of his mouth, Sauru shot a narrowed glance at the horizon. "The only reason I'm recommending it is because it's the last option you have. No one has attempted it in the last thousand years."

"Why not?" Wolf asked suddenly, feeling hesitant and unsure about this process. "What kind of process is it, exactly?"

"Oh, but if I told you that, you wouldn't even try it," Sauru mused around the stem of his pipe. "There's no need for you to know _now_."

Wolf felt like smashing the stone balcony in exasperation.

"My _God, _do you plan on elaborating _anything?" _Wolf asked in disbelief. "Why're you so cryptic and intentionally keeping information? What is the point of proposing an idea, if you plan on _keeping it under wraps?!" _

Sauru wrapped his lips around his pipe. "All good things to those who wait."

Wolf groaned, and looked at the others. "Is he like this _all _the time?"

Riley scoffed. "You have _no _idea. I probably know even less about him than you do."

Miyu folded her arms. "This isn't the time to joke around, Sauru. We have a human being's life at stake. Are you certain this method of yours will work?"

"Oh, it'll _work," _Sauru clamped his pipe in his teeth and slithered back and forth. "But only just. Remember, he has three weeks before both his memory _and _Inner Power give out. That means he'll have to double his efforts in order to save himself, and even _that _won't guarantee his survival. His fighting against the chances of his own death, and the odds aren't very well in his own favor. In fact, I'd say that at the very best, my instruction and his effort will only be enough to just barely slip out of death's jaws."

Fay's eyes widened. "God…" She looked at Wolf worriedly.

Sauru shrugged indifferently and put his pipe back in his mouth.

"Of course, I can understand if you feel that it's too hazardous of an alternative. Most sane people would turn down the only option that involves treading on a razor's edge. Who knows? It might even get you killed quicker."

"Sauru, please!" Fay said indignantly. "Don't talk like dying is just some kind of inconvenience that can be shrugged aside! That's something a SharpClaw would-"

She stopped midsentence. Everyone grinded their teeth uncomfortably at the awkwardness of that sentence, and Riley shut an eye with a painful grimace.

Sauru raised an eyebrow. Despite his face being so calm, the smoke from his pipe wasn't the only smoke rising.

Fay cupped her hand over her mouth, blue eyes huge. "Sorry," she squeaked.

Wolf stared over the balcony into the cliffs below. The chilling sensations of both the high-altitude winds and the pit of his own fears were repelled by the growing feeling of confident willpower in his chest, spiraling up his body.

He straightened up. "I'll do it."

Riley gaped. _"Seriously?"_

"Wolf, are you sure?" Miyu turned to him. "Think about this. None of us will be able to help you. Sauru said you have to do it alone-"

"And I will do it alone," Wolf said intently. "If there's a single opportunity to escape this new fate placed on my shoulders, no matter how fragile or brief it is, I'll take it. I've endured this kind of struggle before." He shot a knowing smile at Leon. "My friend here knows that better than anyone."

Leon nodded approvingly. "Hmph. Overwhelming odds, not enough time, and only one, seemingly-impossible option left?" He shrugged. "Sounds like another day at the job for us."

"Slipping through in the last minute and snatching success?" Riley laughed in agreement. "Sounds an awful lot like Star Fox to me."

Wolf frowned. "I wouldn't go thatfar."

"No, he's got a point," Miyu said suddenly. "That's kind of what they do. In fact, that's _exactly _what-"

"Yes, so _anyway,_" Wolf continued loudly, trying to grind Fox out of the conversation. "If there's a risk in this 'ancient process', then I'm fine with it. I'd rather die sooner than later if it meant having the slim chance of survival in my grasp." He turned to the Field Advisor. "If this is the only way, then I'll treat it that way. I'll learn it to the best of my ability after you teach it to me, and give it twice the attention I'd give if-"

"Hold on a second," Sauru cut in sharply. "I never said I'd teach it to you. Where in Claw's name did you get that nonsense?"

Fay blinked. "Wait, Sauru-ji, are you serious?"

Wolf's insides yanked with confused anger. _"What? _What do you MEAN you won't-?!" He looked at him fumingly. _"You literally _JUST _said-"_

"I said I'd teach you _only if certain conditions were met," _Sauru repeated. He knocked some dried tobacco out his pipe and rolled his eyes. "One who desires knowledge must work for it. He tapped the stem of his pipe on his purple tunic. "Look at me. I worked centuries for all that knowledge in that study of mine. It's only sensible that you do the same. Honestly, you didn't think I was just going _hand out _that kind of knowledge, without asking anything in return, did you?"

Wolf stared at him. This backwards, constant change of statements and cryptic hints that Sauru kept spewing was really getting on his last nerve, but he controlled himself, and continued trying to be rational.

He kept himself at ease. He wouldn't blow up today…not now. Not with his life at stake….

Riley scratched his head. "I don't remember anything about conditions, but alright..."

"Alright, then," Wolf said patiently. "Fine. I suppose it's fair that you want something in return, since you're handing out information so graciously-"

"Although I can't imagine what Sauru has in mind," Sauru said with a slight sneer. "Venomians aren't worth much…so they can't have much either."

Fay sighed irritably. "Mason, enough."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Mason said tartly. "I suppose after pillaging and masquerading around with Andross must've left him with _something. _Some heirlooms stolen from some wretched family, maybe?"

"If I had _anything _of value, you think I'd be walking around in rags?" Wolf asked icily.

"And besides that," Sauru slithered between them, firmly preventing another feud between the two. "As an alchemist, material things _have _no value to me."

Wolf shrugged. "Well, what do you want me from me, then?"

Sauru smiled slyly around his pipe. "Exactly what I wanted from you in the first place, 'Gray Ghost.'" He blew rings of smoke that disintegrated in the brisk morning wind. "I want you to become an asset to our Resistance."

Mason's scornful looked disappeared instantly, eyes wide.

Miyu looked up in confusion.

"_What?" _They asked simultaneously.

"Wait, wait," Wolf held up his hand, equally baffled. "You want me to join your Organization? What, be like them?" He pointed at Miyu and Mason. "Do your guys' kind of jobs? _That's _what you want?"

"No, not just as an asset," Sauru set down his pipe. "We have few but fine members of the TRU, and we plan to expand, without a doubt. But your involvement is different."

"Different, how?" Wolf demanded, already hating this idea. "I don't know anything about defending the innocent, or feeding the needy, or caring for refugees!"

"And I don't expect you to. You'd be terrible at it," Sauru said coolly. "No, your role in the TRU won't be for the welfare of the refugees. No, it's much, _much _more than that." His eyes grew large and ambitious. "The task I-no, _we _need for you to accomplish, can only be done when you get your Inner Power back. A task that no one among us can accomplish… one that none among the slaves or bounty hunters of this planet, or anyone on Titania is capable of…except you. An act of selfless valor, and pure strength, beyond the capability of any Lylatian alive in this galaxy."

All of the members of the TRU were in mystified silence. The twin suns themselves couldn't warm the chilling sense of curiosity and bafflement that their expressions were ridden with.

Wolf himself didn't speak, staring at Sauru, intrigued and astounded despite himself.

Sauru smiled, the dawn casting a hew on the scales that dotted the side of his face. Mad scheming and intense determination shown his reptilian eyes. He extended a claw at Wolf, both of them casting dim silhouettes against the glow of the horizon.

"You will make history for us, Star Wolf. History so immense and set in stone, that the sands won't be able to bury it. You will be the lone Champion of the Titanian Resistance. You, alone, will bring the SharpClaw Dynasty to its knees…and by doing so, allow the people of this planet-both in the shackles of slavery, and the shackles of their own ignorance-to taste freedom again."

Wolf stared back at him, drawn back and eyes filled with bewilderment.

"I think now would be a good time as ever to question what exactly you're smoking there, Sauru," Wolf said, an almost laughing scoff in his voice.

The SharpClaw chuckled. "Believe me, boy…I've had my sanity questioned long before I picked up a pipe in old age. But I assure you, I'm perfectly serious."

Wolf's smile faded. "Wait, _what?"_

"Sauru, you can't be serious!" Riley protested. "I mean, letting him join the TRU is one thing, but having him fight _Talon? _What _are _you smoking? We only just MET this guy, confirmed who he is, and now you want him fighting _SharpClaw?"_

"His identity as Star Wolf is of no relevance to me," Sauru said. "I only heard of his exploits against the SharpClaw as the Gray Ghost…" He glanced at Wolf keenly. "…and I knew in an instant that he was exactly the individual I need for our plan of attack against the SharpClaw."

"Hold on a moment," Miyu said suddenly, eyes darting about, putting the pieces together. "That plan you've been talking about for months…the one you've kept under wraps and only gave hints about…" Her eyes widened. _"This _is that plan?! This is IT?"

Sauru pursed his lips. "I detect an air of skepticism."

"Yeah, hell, it's more than skepticism!" Wolf said, arms wide in disbelief. "You're expecting me to go toe-on-toe with an enemy I've just barely recovered from fighting? I _still _haven't healed from my last battle with them!"

"I actually agree with the Venomian on this," Mason said reluctantly. "This is an absurd strategy. Going to war now, with less resources and troops than before, and only _this _kid as a weapon of choice…" He pointed at Wolf, keeping his glowering look at Sauru. "…is going to get us all killed."

"Sauru-ji, they may be right," Fay pointed out timidly. "I know it's not my place-I'm just the cook, after all-but, fighting with the SharpClaw now would-"

"I said _nothing _about going to war _now," _Sauru said loudly, trying to calm everyone down. "By the Claw, _no. _This boy would be utterly useless in his current condition."

"Forget about me being utterly useless," Wolf held up a hand. "Whatever the hell that even means. Look at me!" He pointed at himself. "I'm barely a step over those scrawny recruits that your Combat Instructor was sparring with!" He gave a brief glance at Mason. "I have no Inner Power, I'm on the brink of _dying, _and you want me to confront the SharpClaw, and their _Leader?"_

Sauru smirked around his pipe. "No need to rile up your fur, boy. I wasn't going to make you fight the SharpClaw in your current state, much less confront Talon. I don't need your help now, and I probably won't need it for weeks to come, either. No…the task I have in mind for you must be carried out only _after _your Inner Power has completely rejuvenated."

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "What, having my Inner Power is a must for this?"

"What exactly are you planning on having him _do, _Sauru?" Miyu questioned suspiciously. "How is _one _person going to win this war for us? You haven't told us a thing about this 'new strategy.' As the standing Commander of the TRU's Forces, I'd like some idea what kind of siege I'm leading." She folded her arms. "I'm owed that much. And I'm pretty sure Wolf here wants to know what kind of suicide mission you're sending him on."

There was a thick concrete in her voice, and her indigo eyes flashed with such a commanding air, that Wolf was starting to understand why _she _was the Leader, and not Mason or anyone else.

Sauru picked up his pipe and exhaled a long fume of smoke, as everyone looked at him expectantly.

"I wasn't going to keep my plan of attack from you, Miyu. Not from you or _any _of you all." He looked at all the TRU members in the room. "You've had my full confidence in the past, and you have it now. I summoned you all from your daily activities to witness what I have to tell this boy, because it's the strategy we're going to carry out in battle, and end this war."

Mason, Fay, Riley and Miyu looked at each other, all enveloped in the same look of curiosity and sudden attentiveness.

Miyu kept herself level-headed and calm, forcing the high-pitched excitement out of her voice and forcing out a firm, inquiring tone.

"Very well, then, Sauru. Speak out and tell us your plan….we're all listening."

The Old SharpClaw blew some thoughtful puffs of smoke, sending them adrift in the mountain air. He had his eyes fixed on the horizon, before turning to them all with a cleared throat and conscience.

"We have fought against the SharpClaw for a good three years…but I myself have fought among them for a longer span of time. I started this Resistance with the naïve hope that maybe…as a former of the enemy's army…I would have some experience, and advantage in predicting how they operate. But after two failed attempts at victory-and one recent battle…" He stopped smoking, eyes hardening. "…so miserably miscoordinated and devastating, that I would hardly call it a battle-I have learned through pain and wallowing in the aftermath of defeat, that I made my first mistake in categorizing Talon as a typical and predictable SharpClaw. And I make very few mistakes, my young friends…"

His expression was still, but his hand shook with so much rage that he looked like he'd crush the pipe and grind it to bits.

"…Talon is far cleverer and more cunning than any SharpClaw than I've encountered in our race…more powerful than his father, and his father's father. He even outmatched his larger and more physically-capable brother when their feud for the Throne broke out. And by treating him like just another SharpClaw General, I've lost us many soldiers…and far more morale. Our own proud Leader, Siegfried, died trying to maintain morale on the field of battle. And while the rest of you can mourn the passing of the dead…I assure you." His pained expression grazed deep into the stone below, his mind lost in the abyss. "Any defeat or shame you feel doesn't strike you as truly painful, until you realize it was _your_ fault.

Everyone shuffled their feet as the melancholy effect of Sauru's words sunk in. Fay looked up sympathetically.

"Sauru…"

Veiling his shame with another cloud of rustic-scented smoke, he turned suddenly, the mad gleam of sure success radiant in his eyes.

"But this new strategy, the one I've been planning, will change all of that. We won't play our tactics straight into Talon's…not _this _time. We'll do the most irrational, unorthodox tactic that he won't see coming for a thousand miles. You see, my friends…the SharpClaw General's _real _advantage is not his vast armies or supreme wealth…it's _our _predictability. We've attacked him so many times, that he has a specific attack pattern in mind for each and every one of us."

"Is he _that _keen?" Leon asked, despite himself.

"More keener than many realize," Sauru nodded. "The Elders of the SharpClaw Dynasty claim that our race were evolved descendants of the Tribes of the Ancients, and the SharpClaw Royal Family shares its lineage with both the RedEyes and the ShadowHunters." He took a long dose of smoke before continuing. "Talon is a testament to the lineage of ShadowHunters. He analyzes and watches his prey, just like they do. He spent years calculating his own brother's defeat before carrying it out, and over the recent battles, he's done the same to us. And this will we reoccur as many times as he wills it until _we _give up, or _he _wipes us out."

Mason got up from the stone pillar he was leaning on.

"Neither of which will happen, old friend. Go on."

Sauru smiled knowingly, and continued. "Hmph. Stupidity and confidence…both one and the same, and elements of youth….elements I wish I still had room for." He blew out more smoke from his pipe. "But in Talon's overwhelming strength in his observance over us, a weakness has arisen, probably without his own knowledge. A weakness we can use to our advantage…to cripple him, once and for all."

Miyu's eyes lit up, voice quiet and trembling. "What weakness? Is it a physical one?"

"No, my dear girl." Sauru smiled, smoking coiling between his reptilian fangs. "Physically injuries can be bandaged and fixed, removed and remedied, as our cook, Miss Weldon knows well. Talon's weakness is his own arrogance. It has been lodged in his brain since his very first victory over us…" His eyes darted about thoughtfully. "…and I believe it remains lodged in there. He believes that we can no longer surprise him, and that we're exactly what he sees us as."

Riley blinked. "And what does he see us as?"

"He sees us as a group of self-righteous, gutless group of unorganized rebels, who spend more time caring for orphans and widows than planning strategies or prepping for battle. We aren't a threat to him…we're a _joke. _He smirks down on us like we're mere children, grabbing at a victory that's beyond our reach."

Mason stuffed his hands in his pockets, grumbling.

"Well, who can blame him? We're not giving him much reason to believe otherwise, at this rate…"

"Yes, that's what he thinks as well," Sauru said, a smile playing on his lips. "And that's where we have our advantage. He expects a group of heroes, patriots, and humanitarians to attack him. Soldiers who fight fair, who show weakness in their knees from being concerned with those they have to protect. People who fight beside an honorable code of conduct. A code, like your 'Cornerian way'…"

Mason narrowed his eyes, detecting the distaste in Sauru's voice.

The SharpClaw held up a proposing finger. "But what he _doesn't _expect is a different force to come after him. A force outside our circle of moral values and organized wellbeing….one that doesn't capture and question, but kills remorselessly. A force that's cold, and calculating…and fights with a brutal savagery, and contemptuous murderous intent that rivals the SharpClaw's itself." Sauru's eyes gleamed. "A force that will shake Talon, and make him lose his calculating edge. And once he loses it, we'll rekindle something our enemy hasn't felt in years: _Fear." _He spread his clawed hands out, the coming dawn casting a shadow on the side of his face, and severing whatever sane look he could've had. "But this force can't consist of any one of us…or anyone of the TRU. And it won't be the vast force of do-gooders that Talon expects…the force we'll send with cold-blooded, fearsome beyond his reckoning." He smiled, exposing all of his teeth. "We'll only send one person to kill him."

Miyu's eyebrows furrowed. "Who?"

Sauru smiled slyly.

And that's when the confused, intrigued looks on everyone's faces disappeared, and were replaced with shocked, doubtful ones. They didn't even need to turn around to see where Sauru's clever eyes were targeted at.

A cold flush of shock and realization hit Wolf straight in the stomach.

"_What?" _He looked around. "You can't be-No. NO. Absolutely not!"

"Wait a minute…_Wolf _is going to kill Talon?" Riley repeated in disbelief. "How? _When? _WHERE? How-do, and when-did-" The baffled young cat spluttered in a stuttering mess. "WHAT?!"

"Sauru, you've officially _lost your mind,"_ Mason confirmed angrily. "I mean, Drakon and his Scourges were one thing-but their _Leader? _You actually expect this kid to-"

"_Expect?" _Sauru laughed. "I don't 'expect' anything, Mason…I _know _he's going to. He's the last, true advantage we have, and I plan on employing him. If it's a morally-conscious and honorbound fighter that Talon expects, we'll send in the polar opposite. And who better to send than the Harbinger of Hell himself, the demon of countless Lylatian battlefields…Star Wolf?"

Wolf stared at the old SharpClaw, eyes bulging from trying to find the rational sensibility in anything he was saying.

"Listen, 'Sauru'-I'm _not _the 'fearsome Star Wolf' anymore!" He insisted. "Hell, I'm not in the condition to fight _anyone. _I'm without Inner Power, I'm malnourished from both slavery _and _the desert-"

"Yes, and as I've pointed out, I will only require this task of you _after _you've gotten your Inner Power back," Sauru said, the patience waning in his voice. "And even when you gain it, I won't make you or even _allow _you to face Talon until I believe you are ready. And that could take one day or the next decade if I will it."

Wolf scowled. He didn't know what this old reptilian meant by "ready", but he was already starting to hate the way Sauru talked about him. He referred to him like he was some shiny new tool, an object whose only sole purpose was to be used.

It made him agitated…and worse, it reminded him of Andross.

Fay looked around timidly, before voicing her concern. "Sauru, are you truly _set _on this? Please, _think…_this isn't some weapon for us to use for our advantage, this is a _human being." _She looked at Wolf empathically. "I admit he's proven himself to us, and I'm grateful for it, but…" Her eyes teemed unsurely. "We don't know if he's strong enough to face Talon, Inner Power or not."

"I agree," Mason said firmly. "We'd be sending him to his death."

Sauru plucked the pipe out of his mouth, looking annoyed. "Not if we know what we're up against. Not if we're prepared! You're all using your heads, but I'd prefer the use of your _ears _right about now!" He started to growl under his teeth. "This a plan in the _making,_ and I'm well aware that it needs construction."

"Hey, forget about construction, reptile," Wolf said in a voice brimming with a real rage. "Don't I get a say in any of this? What, am I supposed to stand awkwardly while you all plan what kind of death-trap you throw me into?"

"I'm afraid you have little choice in the matter, Star Wolf," Sauru mused. "Or should I say, 'Gray Ghost', since that's your name among the SharpClaw."

Wolf growled, irritated at the way Sauru dismissed him. "Really? And what if I refuse? What if I think this plan is too insane for me to carry out? What then?"

Pipe still in his mouth, Sauru raised an eyebrow.

"You aren't exactly in the position to refuse. Every breath you draw is marked. Time isn't on your side on this day."

Wolf's narrowed eyes shifted, and his scowl faded slightly.

"What do you mean?"

Sauru blew a ring of smoke in his direction.

"I mean, if you choose to live without my conditions, you choose to live without your precious Inner Power…in fact, you'll choose not to live at all." He drew his pipe out, looking sincere. "If you don't do as I instruct, then I'll refuse to reveal the secret of getting your Inner Power back before your time is up. It's that simple…" He held out a negotiating claw. "So let's keep this as plain and rational as possible: Swear that you will perform this task for me someday, when you're called upon, Star Wolf…and I'll show you how to rejuvenate the memory and Inner Power you have lost…otherwise, you'll get nothing. That is my condition. Consider it quickly."

Wolf glowered down at the ancient, grizzled, serpentine SharpClaw before him, pulsing hatred bubbling in his stomach.

"So, that's it," He spat scornfully. "You're _blackmailing _me into your service? It's a shame you keep a distance from Talon and his SharpClaw in these mountains, old man…you're a lot more like them than you pretend."

There was a tense silence in the room, both Fay and Riley wincing at whatever was about to break out.

Sauru kept his mouth closed, and smoke escaped out his nostrils. His eyes were became cold and dagger-like.

"I would tame that fiery attitude of yours, boy," Sauru said quietly. "I'm not blackmailing, or threatening anyone. I'm merely trying to weigh out options and get your cooperation, so you'll get mine. You have something _I _want, and I have something _you _want. If you're allowed to live, we'll be allowed to live." He shrugged. "Everybody wins."

"No, everybody _doesn't," _Wolf corrected him angrily. "I live to dive in and kill _your _enemy so you'll live…placing _me _in _more _danger."

Sauru paused, before nodding. "Yes, exactly! You _are _catching on!"He laughed and slithered over to Mason. "And you said the boy didn't deserve any medals…look how quickly he figured that out!"

Wolf stepped forward with a dangerous growl, before Fay barred his way hurriedly.

"Hold on, Wolf. Let _me."_

She turned to Sauru.

"Sauru-ji, as much as I'm willing to go to extreme measures to help us win, I don't feel right in forcing someone to join our cause. That's not the way we should recruit people to come help us! That's _never _the way to ask for help!"

"We aren't recruiting any common refugee," Sauru pointed out. "We're recruiting Star Wolf. Besides, what has he to lose? If he helps us, he lives!"

"That's _not _what I mean, Sauru," Fay said indignantly.

Sauru sighed. "Fay, my dear, _why _can't you see the effectiveness of this plan? I thought _you _of all people-"

"_Effectiveness?" _Fay shook her head. "Sauru, how is marching _one _person against Talon and his whole army effective?!"

"Yeah, don't get me wrong, I _love _the idea of sitting behind the lines and letting someone else do all the work," Riley shrugged and rolled up his sleeves. "But this sounds like a bad plan no matter how you slice it."

"_One _person? _Whole _army?" Sauru almost screamed. "By Claw-_when did you warm-bloods stop using your infernal ears?! _More importantly, when did _I _say ANYTHING about marching this boy against the _whole army? _I said _Talon, _not his _army!"_

Mason shifted up the column he resumed leaning on. "And how do you suppose we deal with his forces, oh Great Scholar?"

Sauru gripped his pipe with both hands.

"Simple. _We _sway Talon's Army away from him with _our _army, and we'll let young Star Wolf here take on the General unhindered by any SharpClaw reinforcements."

Everyone in the room stared at him, gaping uncontrollably like fish with their mouths hanging open.

Suddenly, a tidal wave of protest came in like the striking mountain wind, carried off in furious echoes off the balcony.

Riley chattered frantically, while Mason barked angrily about how crazy this whole scheme was. Wolf shouted and cursed things that were probably best left buried in the inaudibility of all the yelling, while Fay tried to cordially dissuade Sauru from the idea in her unheard, timid voice.

Leon just kept staring.

"QUIET! ALL OF YOU!"

Everyone stopped immediately at the sharp voice that cut through all the noise, and stepped aside gingerly. Miyu's thick boots clunked on the alabaster surface of the balcony floor, as she took some authoritative step forwards, unmoving sternness fixed in her eyes.

"If Sauru's going to get his helping of common sense and logical thinking, he's going to get it from _me. _So all of you, sit back…and let _me _talk to him."

Nobody protested, but were silent in simultaneous anticipation. They all knew that despite their futile efforts to get through to Sauru, it would be Miyu that would enforce it.

Mason and Riley nodded at each other, thinking the same thing: _She's got this._

She stopped walking and stood to face him, the two of their silhouettes casting a confronting shape on the sunlit, mountainous horizon behind them.

Sauru removed his pipe from his mouth calmly, and faced her, looking more curious than intimidated.

"Very well, Miyu. If you have a problem with this arrangement, I implore you…voice it now."

The Lynx raised her eyebrows. "Voice my problem? Okay…well, as the Leader of the TRU, I'll make my opinion as subtle and professional as possible." She nodded, the rage brewing in her deep breath. Then, she looked up. "This bat-shit insane scheme you've concocted will _not _work, and I flat-out refuse to have any part in it."

Sauru nodded, still smoking. "Oh? Is that right?"

"Yes," Miyu said in a hard voice. "It's very easy for you to concoct risky ventures like this, and I would've gone along with it years ago as a younger and more impulsive soldier. But it is _not _the old days anymore, Sauru. We aren't those street urchins in that sewer you found us in, reckless and separated from our convoy." She brought a firm fist into the palm of her other hand. "And we aren't just fighting to save one or two orphans. We have whole _families _depending on our success. We can't afford to take the risks you dream up-not with the lives of women and children on the line, and certainly _not _with a complete stranger diving in to fight our battles for us," She jabbed a finger at Wolf. "So _what _if he's Star Wolf, and he has Inner Power? Talon's a SharpClaw of the Royal Family…bred from the cradle to tear out throats, and to do it as quick as the desert wind. He'll crush this boy like a roach, and you know it!"

Wolf's blood turned cold at the way Miyu talked about this Talon. He was sounding more and more worse all the time…

Her indigo eyes flashed. "I won't gamble his life or anyone else's on some mad hunch, so rethink this battle strategy of yours and come back to me when you have!"

Everyone blinked, both impressed and shocked at Miyu's blatant honesty with him. But Wolf knew if she didn't speak her mind, she wouldn't be an appropriate leader.

Sauru sighed, smoke emerging from his mouth by the coils.

"So, that's your final verdict?" He shook his head. "I can't say I'm surprised. But I am disappointed. I would've expected this kind of lack of faith from someone else…but not from you. You've heeded my word on every other occasion, and have remained my most loyal soldier. So, _why _do you stand against me now?"

Miyu looked exasperated enough to tear a chunk out of the stone they were on. "Why? Who else will you listen to, if not me? Sauru, this plan is irrational, rushed, and ludicrous!" She sighed, and her voice trembled in helpless frustration. "Sauru…I _can't _let you do this. You'll get us all killed…we need a proper strategy!"

"This _is _the proper strategy!" Sauru insisted. "For Claw's sake, just _listen-"_

"_No, _Sauru, _you _listen!" Miyu scrambled her voice over his. "You have no tactical advantage! No written plot! No laid-out plan! You don't even have a back-up plan if this one fails! Can't you see? The SharpClaw will gain an advantage on us if we use this in the final offensive!"

Leon blinked. "Final offensive?"

Miyu stopped, and didn't say anything.

Mason stepped forward. "The 'final offensive' is what we use to describe our head-on battle against the SharpClaw…the inevitable one that we'll eventually launch against the SharpClaw."

"You see," Sauru continued for him. "Both we and the SharpClaw have fought each other for years….and while we hold onto different scraps of knowledge about each other…there's something we both know." He directed his gaze over to the orange horizon. "No matter how hard Talon tries, he can't locate us. He might be good and conceiving our every move…but he himself didn't build this city, and doesn't know all of its secrets. But that being said, we can't ever attack _him. _Not as long he's walled up in his palace, where he has the advantage."

Leon's eyebrows furrowed. "So….if neither of you can get to each other, how have you both confronted one another in the past?"

"We meet on an open field," Fay said. She was standing close to the balcony edge, the wind carrying her streaming red bow and bushy ears as she stared off into the distance. "The one battlefield on this planet, where terrain can't give anyone the advantage. It's a lot like space, during the Lylat Wars…" She looked at Wolf. "Only your numbers, weapons and strength can help you win the battle."

Wolf's eyes were locked on the dunes that scraped the horizon beyond the outskirts of both the City and the mountains. Despite his reluctant role in this conversation, he could still understand.

"The Desert," He said with a nod. "You fought each other in the desert…all those times before."

Sauru loomed near the balcony, the stressed lines of past dilemmas wearing at his face again.

"Yes... far too much blood and strife has been swallowed up in those infernal sands. For years, we've returned to that spot to face the SharpClaw, and we've fled in scattered, defeated remnants every time. Fleeing back to this hole in the mountains…" He placed a hand on the balcony spire. "…and wait for another chance."

"Another _chance?" _Leon repeated. "What, you're going _again?"_

"We have to, and we will…eventually." Sauru glared at the gleaming upper-most speck of a tower of the SharpClaw's Palace. "We know it, and Talon knows it. It's only a matter of time before we make another stand."

"Yes, but we won't make it with _this _plan!" Miyu urged. "Not on the slim chance that Talon can be killed! And even if-" Miyu sighed, hiding a slight, hopeless scoff. "-if by some _miracle, _this Star Wolf guy can pull it off, what are we supposed to do with the rest of the SharpClaw Army? There's an entire _empire _of them out there, Sauru!"

Sauru whirled around suddenly, facing her.

"The rest of the SharpClaw do not matter, girl!" He snapped. "Trust one of their own, when I say this: Only Talon matters. If he's eliminated, we can win!" His eyes teemed imploringly. "Just _listen _to me, Miyu…try to grasp what I'm saying! It's not just the ramblings of some addle-brained old fool." He straightened up, looking sincere. "This was Siegfried's plan, too."

The familiar name rang in Wolf's ears for a moment, and everyone looked up with sudden interest.

Mason's eyes shot up instantly.

"Wait-this was also _Siegfried's _idea?" Riley exclaimed.

"Siegfried….?" Fay murmured.

Even Miyu, despite her unwavering expression, looked taken aback with shocked disbelief.

"Are you being honest, Sauru?" She said quietly. "Did he _really _have a part in this plan?"

"If by part, you mean construction, then yes," Sauru confirmed. "Remember, this plan was never finished. The two of us came up with it just moments before we launched our latest offensive..."

"But why?" Miyu looked at the ground, confused. "Why did he never tell us? Why'd he never tell-?"

She stopped suddenly, looking anguished. The more Wolf saw them all talk about this Siegfried guy, the more important and incomplete the group seemed without him. He couldn't help but wonder who he really was…

_Klink-klink._

Sauru emptied his pipe by tapping it on the balcony spire.

"He never told you all because this plan was never to be employed. That back-up plan that you so-desperately require, Miyu?" He glanced at her. "This is that plan. This was Siegfried's back-up plan. To cut the enemy serpent at its most crucial point…its head."

"But that'd be suicide!" Riley said. "Wouldn't that just provoke the SharpClaw into unleashing even _more _of their wrath on us? As if we didn't have enough _already?"_

Sauru chuckled.

"On the contrary…the extermination of their Leader would make them scatter like insects, fleeing an overhead, crushing foot." He crushed some more bug powder into his pipe, and ignited it. "Because you see, my friends, for the last thousand years, the SharpClaw-not just as an army, but as a species-have been dictated by the primitive instinct that they inherit upon birth. They are like pack hunters- similar to even wolves, if you will-"

He gave a brief nod to Wolf, who didn't know if that comparison should've made him feel comfortable or not.

"They exist to follow their Alpha Lead. And once that Lead is dead…they won't attempt to take his place. If they watch their General die before them, their morale, confidence, and drive to fight will disintegrate like water under the Twin Suns. They will be hapless….divided." He puffed out some smoke and watched it glide within the mountain air. He eyes became pained. "I thought that-that _maybe…_telling Siegfried about this, would help him develop the plan slowly and gradually, until it would surely work. But it was a _mistake _to tell him…"

Riley cocked his head. "Why? Siegfried was our Leader…didn't he have the right to know?"

Sauru twiddled his fingers around his pipe, looking uneasy. "After countless defeats, that boy wasn't the same confident, level-headed youth I had made Leader all those years ago. He had changed… he had become frustrated, desperate, and resentful of himself for losing constantly…and in the months before the final offensive, he became cold to everyone…even me. Finally, he decided not to wait any longer."

Miyu looked up in slow realization.

"Wait a minute-so at that last battle, when he was killed-?"

"Precisely." Sauru nodded gravely. "The foolish, _brave _boy wanted to eliminate Talon himself, while the rest of you fought tirelessly against his Army. And the worst part about it was-" He stared painfully at the ground. "He would've _succeeded. _He was strong enough, skilled enough…but circumstances prevented him from ever meeting Talon. He was killed…before he could ever confront him."

Everyone was silent, the air heavy with the dense sorrow of the truth. Riley plunged his hands in his pockets miserably, and Fay cradled her arms as if she were cold.

But Miyu didn't even let a glimmer of sorrow enter her expression.

"What happened to Siegfried was not because of thism," She said firmly. "Lots of things contributed to his death…circumstances out of our control…out of _my _control." She clenched her fist.

"But they're in our control now!" Sauru urged her. "Miyu, after that battle, I dwelled in my studies for months, trying to concoct a new plan, not speaking to anyone-"

"And neglecting your meals!" Fay added reproachfully. "Which you _still _do!"

Sauru kept going. "…I still pondered whether or not I'd ever find that one person that could take Siegfried's place…and be the one to eliminate Talon, as he intended!" He turned to Wolf excitedly. "And when I heard the stories of the Gray Ghost, taking on numerous SharpClaw single-handedly, with only a short blade and with even shorter strain of mercy, I knew in that instant, that we had at last found the person we need to confront Talon."

"And what makes you think this punk kid is up to the task?" Mason asked skeptically. "One of _us _should do it. We've been planning the elimination of the SharpClaw Army for years, and we're supposed to rethink our strategy, just because _he _shows up, with some faint promise of having Inner Power?" He jabbed a finger at Wolf. "We're leaving it to _him? _Some backwater Venomian?"

"We don't have a _choice, _Mason," Sauru said firmly. "We're running out of options. We have countered the SharpClaw using every means possible. Reinforced armor, ranged techniques…. but until we find a way to compete with Talon and his Strongest on a physical level, we'd never be able to walk away from a battle with victory in our grasp." He pointed his pipe at Wolf. "This boy is that physical strength. _He's_ our hope for victory."

"No, Mason's right," Miyu interrupted. "He _is _too weak to fight Talon."

Wolf furrowed his eyebrows at her. Why was _she_ standing against him all of a sudden? If anything, he expected her to be on his side.

Fay raised a timid hand. "I think we should hold off from accusing anyone of being-"

"No, we _shouldn't," _Miyu said icily. "It's for his own good to know, and Sauru's as well, since he has some incorrect assumptions about his strength."

Sauru looked from the Lynx to Wolf. "What incorrect assumptions?"

Miyu folded her arms. "I've _fought _him, Sauru. When I first encountered him, without knowing his identity or him knowing mine, I got a taste of how he fights. And later on…" She glanced at him. "I got a chance to see how he fights from afar."

Wolf remained silent, catching the gesture. Apparently, the flames of that crumbling bar and the snap of Shinto's neck hadn't been washed out of Miyu's memory yet.

"And from what I gathered, he _isn't _as deadly and threatening as the rumors make him out to be," Miyu continued, somewhat scornfully. "In truth, he's just a kid. He maybe in the same age and mentality as us, but deep down, he's just another rookie. I did notice, however, that he doesn't avert or recoil to attacks like you or I do…or respond to the same kind of pain." Her indigo eyes were set on Wolf, peeling through analytically. "When he gets cut or bruised, he brushes it aside with raw reflex…and damn fast ones, too."

Everyone looked at him, both surprised and impressed.

Sauru scratched his chin thoughtfully. "But you talk as if those are bad factors…_crippling _ones…"

"They are," Miyu insisted. "It might be a splendid ability to him now, but that also acts as a double-edged sword…it makes him too confident. And that's something the SharpClaw will use to their advantage..." She turned to the Old SharpClaw. "It'll break him, Sauru. And when it does….his blood will be on _your _hands. "

Sauru was silent for a long time, but then shrugged indifferently.

"Things like this can remedied, with time and patience…two things we'll have once his Inner Power is restored." His eyes narrowed keenly. "But I sense that isn't your only issue with this boy, is it?"

"No, it isn't_," _Miyu said in a scalding tone. "He's not just an overconfident fighter…he's also a poor one. When I fought him up close, I found that he's _full _of flaws- he has a complete lack of any straight-forward form or technique…he's sloppy, amateurish-"

"He's beyond trusting, for one thing," Mason muttered, completely audibly.

Miyu ignored him. "Bottom line is, he's not _ready, _Sauru. Not for the SharpClaw, and notfor Talon. He's barely above the average rookie. Now, I don't care _what_ kind of advantage his Inner Power will give him once he gets it back, I can't go to war…and sacrifice my men, and let the SharpClaw bury them like cockroaches because of your misplaced faith in this kid!"

Sauru slithered back and forth, pondering on Miyu's honest but harsh words. Then, he finally turned to Wolf.

"You're awfully quiet, O'Donnell," He observed. "Especially for someone who's the subject of the conversation."

Wolf remained silent, just like he did for the majority of the conversation. He had been processing everything that everyone was discussing…from Talon, to this Siegfried, to the whole, unlikely scheme that Sauru had planned. He had been in deep thought about his role in all this…how it all concerned him, and affected him.

Fay drew closer, worried. "Wolf, if there's something bothering you, tell us. We'd be more able to help you that way."

Wolf looked up.

"There's nothing to discuss. I've heard your decision on this matter, and I've listened to it-despite the fact that you've neglected to hear mine." He shot an irritated glance at Sauru. "But frankly, none of this concerns me, despite whatever presumptions you or your Field Advisor may have. I never said _anything _about joining this Resistance of yours, and I don't plan to at all."

There was a stunned silence. Fay looked between Sauru and Wolf, caught between confusion and immense disappointment.

"But-I don't understand," Fay looked at Wolf. "I thought…you wanted to help us. I thought you'd leap at the chance to help us, after everything you've done…"

Sauru raised his eyebrows. "More importantly, you seem to imply that you have a choice in the matter…which you _don't, _Star Wolf. The cure for your Inner Power's condition will only-"

"I don't want it."

Sauru stopped. "Excuse me?"

Everyone turned to face Wolf, facial expressions beyond the levels of baffled and shocked. But there wasn't any deception or humor in his face. He was being dead serious.

"I don't want your cure, Sauru," Wolf said plainly. "Your remedy, your method…whatever you planned on giving me…you can keep it. You aren't giving me a solution to my problem….you're giving me a solution with a condition, and an absurd one, at that." He spread his arms wide. "But now that I've heard it, I want nothing to do with this plan, or this final battle, or _any of it_."

"_Wolf, what're you _DOING?" Leon hissed.

But Wolf ignored him. "I came here with the naïve hope that you'd help me…but I was wrong. And since you're unwilling to part with this cure of yours unless I agree to your terms, I see no reason to stay."

"Wolf, wait!"

Fay dashed in front of him desperately.

"Don't do this! Look, we don't have to end things like this-we'll _get _your Inner Power back, I promise-if you don't want to fight Talon, it's alright, but please don't-"

Wolf felt a squirm of guilt at her upset face, but brushed past her. "Fay, please-I have to leave. It's not your problem, so don't worry about it."

"No, I'm actually kind of curious," Sauru said suddenly. "Do tell us, Wolf, since it's 'your problem', and you obviously have an alternate solution. What do you plan on doing to get your Inner Power back, and not letting yourself die?"

Wolf stopped and turned. "I don't. If my Inner Power has this kind of effect, then it's more of a burden than an advantage…a burden I can live without. But I _need _my memory…and clearly, my brain needs it. So I'll have to search for a way to restore it…"

"But, Sauru said that he knew the only way to-" Riley started.

"That's what he _said," _Wolf said. "But I don't believe it. There has to be. There can't be just one, sole, imcomparable method like the one he claims to have." He glanced skeptically at the SharpClaw. "And to be frank, I don't think you're keeping it from me to ensure that I'll stay and help you…I think you just don't have one at all. So I'll find my own way…"

"No, you won't." Miyu turned to Wolf and grabbed his shoulders. "Listen, Ghost. I don't have to wait three weeks, or whatever….I'm on the brink of killing you right now." Her indigo eyes blazed angrily. "This is the kind of blunt thinking that gets people killed…and it _really _pisses me off, because I know you're smarter than this. If you don't want to go along with these conditions, then fine. I don't blame you…none of us are up to facing Talon alone, and I highly doubt you are…" She rolled her eyes. "Even with your Inner Power, being Star Wolf, and all that fancy shit." She jabbed a warning finger at him. "But don't you dare do this. I didn't spare your life for you to throw it away!"

Wolf looked down at her with a stone expression.

"I know…but I don't have a choice. You don't understand."

"_What's _to understand?" Miyu shouted. "God _damn, _WHAT is going through your head?!"

"I think I know why he's so reluctant to help," Sauru said. "And honestly, the boy hasn't done much to hide it either."

"What do you mean?" Riley asked.

Sauru laid his pipe on the small table next to him.

"Oh, there are a lot of things that could contribute to him backing out. For one, he's a mercenary, as he's confirmed by stating his identity so prominently…" There was a thick layer of distaste in his voice. "And mercenaries like him can't be expected to be committed to our cause. I mean, you would _think _that after the SharpClaw scarred him, like all the others, that he'd be more interested in going to greater lengths to make them pay…that maybe, after witnessing those things in the Slave Yard…" His eyes were set on Wolf, a keen and harsh edge to them. "…that he'd feel even a shred of compassion for the other Lylatians around him, instead of burying himself in his own selfishness."

Wolf didn't move or change his expression, but he felt his own, low growl vibrate up his throat and through his teeth. He knew what Sauru was trying to do…

Fay noticed his shift in mood, watching his fur rise and fists clench, and started backing away fearfully.

Sauru waved a dismissive hand. "But, no. He's just a common thug, just like all the other inhabitants in this city. His allegiance is bought and paid for. His prey and enemies are bought in blood, and paid with gold. I can only imagine how meaningless it is for him, the mere_ thought _of risking his own worthless hides for a bunch of starving, flea-bitten refugees. It's not like he can feel shame, or remorse, or guilt." He laughed scornfully. "Expecting those things from someone like him…things he's incapable of even feeling…would be a hilarious and fruitless expectation."

The rage bubbled in Wolf's stomach like molten magma, the cold hatred blaring in his purple eyes as they were fixed furiously on Sauru. Already, the claws on his fingers were starting to retract…

Miyu was starting to take notice. Her wide, cautious eyes were enough to indicate that much.

"Sauru…" She said slowly.

But the SharpClaw turned to Wolf, calm but with a contemptuous look.

"Or maybe…he's _afraid."_

"Sauru, stop it!" Riley said suddenly, starting to look nervous. "Don't-"

"Not just afraid of the commitment…afraid of the very idea of risking his life for others…" Sauru's eyes narrowed. "But he must be afraid of Talon, as well, and not facing the same grunts he conquered in the Slave Yard. Maybe the thought of facing him….without help, and having to rely on his own weak and feeble skills to aid him….is too much for his non-existent spine." He shook his head with a sneer. "I always knew you weren't half the person you're made out to be by all those stories, Star Wolf…but I would've _never _would've figured you for someone so cowardly, that you'd _run _from the enemy."

**CRASH.**

There was a sudden blur of movement that made everyone jump, as Wolf bolted forward. He snarled through his teeth and brought his arm down, the fleeting light of the distant suns glinting off his claws as he brought them down.

Wolf stood there, with his claws embedded in the wooden surface of the table, carving enraged lines into it, just inches from Sauru's own gnarled hand.

He panted and seethed through his clenched teeth, his shoulders rising and falling in shaking aggravation. But he controlled himself…he restrained himself from lashing out any further, just like he had forced himself to miss Sauru completely.

The SharpClaw hadn't moved an inch, or even recoiled, like he was almost expecting Wolf to do that.

But everyone else was frozen in shock. Fay's blue eyes were huge with terror, and Riley was drained of color.

"SAURU!"

Miyu rushed forward, with the others right behind her.

Mason drew his knife in an instant, prepared to lunge at Wolf. "GET AWAY FROM HIM, VENOMIAN! OR I'LL SLIT YOUR THROAT-"

But the SharpClaw raised his hand calmly. "Stand down, Mason...and the rest of you. I didn't call for your involvement."

Mason blinked. "But, Sauru-he-?"

The SharpClaw turned to Wolf, who was staring at him with a glare rancid with revilement and hatred.

"_You wretched, insufferable fool," _Wolf hissed, his face masked in fury, inches away from the SharpClaw's. "Is THAT what you think this is about? Do you think my personal problems or squabbles have anything to do with how I fight, _who _I fight, and WHY? It has NOTHING to do with it, _or _why I won't fight Talon!"

Sauru raised his eyebrows, looking less confronted and more interested.

"I've never picked the enemies I've had to fight…the situations have always done it for me. The only time I chose who I waged war against was when I feuded with Fox McCloud…" He clenched his fist in enraged brooding. "…and that son of a bitch had it coming. I'll fight anyone, and anywhere if I deem it necessary…" He glared at Sauru. "And I've _never_ run from a battle!"

The SharpClaw's scornful smile faded, and he cocked his head curiously.

Finally, as the stiffening winds of the mountain air soothed his fur, he let some of the anger in his stomach bubble down. He sighed, and stared at the claw-marks he had made in the table.

"But this…what you're asking me to do…isn't the same. When I fought in the Lylat Wars, I didn't have any fears or regrets of failing. If I died, or failed on the field of battle, the Legion I commanded wouldn't suffer for it. They'd pull back to safety, or secure the victory without me. My failure would be unimpactful and meaningless."

He looked up at Sauru. Fearful premonition brewed in his eyes.

"This is different. If I fail against the SharpClaw…if I die trying to accomplish what you want me to do…I won't be the only one to suffer for it. You will, these TRU members will, and everyone in this place will suffer and die if I fail…their lives would end with mine."

Sauru looked at him, hard, scarcely believing the concern in this boy's voice. Miyu had been right when she said that Wolf wasn't dishonest in the way he talked.

Wolf turned to face the still-frightened TRU members behind him. "I barely know you all. And I don't know _any _of the men, women and children in the walls of this place. But do you think I'd be able to live with myself if one or all of you died because of me, and every last person died with you?"

They all looked at each other, and back at him, stunned at his sudden shift his expression. None of them spoke, but they were starting to feel the immense, sickening weight on his shoulders.

Wolf looked down for a long time, the dawnlight casting a shadow of doubt on his face.

"I'm not going to do it Sauru. I'm not fighting with that kind of burden on my back…not when I have no chance at winning."

"So you yourself think you're too weak to confront Talon?" Sauru asked, in a sudden, cold voice. "Do you have that little confidence in your own strength?

Wolf scowled. "Don't patronize me, old man! I don't care who in this room decides how weak or strong I am. I can listen to my flaws get listed from anyone's mouth and accept it…from Miyu's, yours, or even that skulking Cornerian in the corner, and I won't care!"

Mason shot a venomous glare at him. "Watch it, kid."

"I _know_ what I'm capable of doing and not doing," Wolf continued. "I know which enemies are in my reach and which aren't. But none of those things are a factor here…this about decision. Success and failure. And the price of failure is too great…" He let out a discouraged sigh "…even for me."

"I see." Sauru didn't have a glimmer of sympathy about him. "So you're going to let your selfish fears get in the way of helping hundreds of innocent people survive? _That's_ your reason for not helping? It sounds more like an excuse…"

Finally, the last nerve in Wolf's restrained grudges snapped. He had grown sick of this meddling old reptile, pretending to know everything about everyone. He was snide, and callous, and unfeeling, and he _still _was accusing him of cowardice.

Who was he to accuse _him? _

"Don't you DARE try to make it sound like I'm the selfish one!" Wolf jabbed a claw at Sauru. "It's so easy for you…you can't possibly know how I feel, to have that many people depend on your success!"

"Actually, I do," Sauru said tartly. "I partake in the caring of starving and suffering refugees, remember?" He shook his head. "Don't try to victimize yourself. I, too, know this feeling. You're not the only one who's been burdened-"

"No, YOU DON'T!" Wolf spat. His voice had become harsh and relentless, the rage flooding from somewhere inside of him. "You've _never_ had the dead weight of human lives in your hands, SharpClaw…the burden of making a choice to either _ensure_ or purge their lives, the weight of every breath that you could end with a _single, horrible_ choice. _CRNCH._

Wolf ripped his claws deeper into the table, lashing into it like a large stress reliever. But his gaze seemed to be buried past the table…and past the abyss below.

Miyu's eyes widened quizzically, looking even a little afraid.

"Wolf…?"

But Wolf ignored her.

"You've never endured the dread of making that choice, and then writhe in the nightmares and dread of making the wrong choice, constantly yearning for the guilt to go away, only to close your eyes and still see your mistakes smoldering in front of you."

He clawed deeper and harder into the table, face contorted and shaking.

And that's when Fay, looking up from all of the astonished and terrified faces around, looked closer at him…studying the tension in his expression. Nobody knew people like she did, and no one could detect undermined emotions like she was doing now. That's what made her realize, widened eyes, that he wasn't losing control, or in a psychotic fit of rage.

He was…in _pain. _He was agonized by something…a vision, an idea…something inside his head.

He looked up, shaking, staring at Sauru madly.

"No… You've never felt that feeling, old man….you never suffered the same nightmarish cost, and be forced to live with it, like I have. To always hear the cries of the sinless women and children in the corners of your sleep, hearing them get punished for the mistakes you've made. You don't know that feeling, SharpClaw! YOU'LL NEVER KNOW THAT FEELING!" He panted for a long time, the anguished flame in his eyes dying down, as he lowered his head. "…and I pray to God you never will."

Fay put her hand over her mouth.

He was _remembering _something. Something that caused him shame. But what on earth could possibly shame someone like Star Wolf…?

Sauru must've been thinking the same thing, because he only continued to stare at Wolf with the same, unchanged expression of baffled bewilderment.

"By the Claw, boy…whatever are you talking about?"

Wolf's intense, burning stare remained for a second, before it slackened and faded in cold realization.

Leon could see it too. Maybe everyone else couldn't, but he could see it….the ashy streets, the towering ember-ridden smoke…the millions of corpses of civilians, burnt black by Venomian missiles…

KRNCH.

Wolf didn't answer. He wrenched his claws from the table, and turned away from all of their astonished looks.

Sauru looked at him hardly, detecting the heaviness in Wolf's movement. "You seem to voice less of your emotions, and more of your experience, Star Wolf." He glanced at the claw-marks in the table. "You seem to suffer from memory loss, and yet you can still recall some of the ones that won't leave you…" He looked at him. "…can't you?"

With his back still facing them, Wolf breathed heavily, before closing his eyes.

"Never mind. Forget about it." He turned to face them. "Just…_please. _Don't make me do this…I _don't_ want to die, but I don't want to live with that knowledge if I fail. The knowledge that I was responsible for the death of thousands a-"

He stopped suddenly, but Fay detected his trail of words before he could hide them. Was he about to say "again"?

"I can tell that I'm asking a lot more than I anticipated," Sauru decided. "Especially with the risks involved. But my decision hasn't changed…" He folded his arms. "If you choose not to fight Talon, you choose not to live."

"But, Sauru-" Fay started in protest, but he raised up a hand for silence.

Wolf sighed, with a disgruntled lowering of his head. "If that's your final decision." He nodded to Leon. "C'mon, Leon. We're going."

As he started to turn for the door back to the Shrine's first floor, the TRU members looked about each other frantically.

"Sauru, don't let him _leave!" _Miyu hissed.

"And what do you plan on doing with the rest of the SharpClaw?" Sauru asked in a voice that sharpened as he watched Wolf's hand reach for the doorknob.

Wolf stopped.

"What does that matter?"

"You don't honestly think Talon will stop looking for you, do you?" He asked keenly. "Remember, you made yourself his enemy _before _you met us. And even if you refuse my conditions and leave to face your Inner Power alone…that doesn't change that you're a wanted fugitive." He pointed a claw at the miniature city in the distance. "Out there, you'll face the SharpClaw alone….you'll be in _their _nest, and they _will_ pursue you."

Wolf turned to face him. "I was only reluctant to fight Talon. I can handle whoever else he sends after me."

The SharpClaw sneered. "You make too many presumptions about your own strength…and skill. I don't know what makes you more weak…your failure to admit weakness, or you failure to mentally detect it on your own."

Wolf felt his irritated anger rise in his stomach, but he was too miserable to care.

"That didn't stop me from killing all those SharpClaw in the Slave Yard. Even if they were just common grunts, they were still a taste of what's to come…and I proved myself reasonably well against them."

The SharpClaw's amused smile disappeared.

"Those aren't the Army's grunts, boy. They're the second-to-lowest in intelligence in the SharpClaw hierarchy…so simple-minded and so unsuitable for battle, that their only use is flogging helpless victims on the ground with whips." He looked down at the city below, the dozens of adobe houses glowing in the rising suns. "No, boy. Out there, in Catalaya, is where the _real _SharpClaw dwell-armed to the teeth, toned with an unmatched physical prowess, and bathed in the blood of countless battles since before we arrived on this planet." He glanced at Wolf. "They'll _murder_ you, boy…and grind your bones into talcum powder in their teeth before you can even pull another rebellious, demented scowl on that insufferable little face of yours."

On instinct, Wolf was about to scowl angrily at him, but refrained from doing so and resorted to a glare **instead.**

"Not to mention that the so-called 'victory' you obtained came with a price of your own split, bruised, and bludgeoned flesh, as a direct result of your own wrecklessness. You barely won, and were almost killed by having a length of restraint and control! You were hapless out there! Almost _dead!"_

"You're wrong," Wolf growled. "I made it out alive…that's proof enough that I was on par with them. It was _my _victory!"

"Is that right?" Sauru asked daringly. He pointed at the bandages visible under Wolf's jacket. "Look at yourself…this is all a result of you rushing in without thinking. You _barely _got out alive, in a battle against _grunts! _You don't think or contemplate your actions before you execute them…you just run in head-on like a drunken swine!" His eyes wandered over the scars, spitting contemptuously. "You call _this _a victory, you fool?!"

Wolf felt a furious wave of impulse travel up his insides again, building with every lash and insult Sauru threw at him.

"You act like I had control over the whole situation, old man. Not even all my scars I obtained were by choice…as your associates might've told you," He gave a brief nod and Fay and Riley.

Sauru folded his arms with cold indifference. "If you think that batch of lashes from the Adder Tongues excuses you from your own incompetence, you're wrong, boy."

He would've almost laughed in scorn if he wasn't so disgusted, slithering around Wolf in an agitating circle, adding coals to the brewing fire of anger in his stomach.

"No…you got what was coming to you. You acted without thinking…on emotional drive! You were _asking_ for Drakon to carve your back like a scrap of meat, because you dove in without stopping to _think!"_

"I _got _what was coming to me?!" Wolf spat in an infuriated voice. "I didn't _ask _or a damn thing! I wasn't going to stand there without acting! He had murdered a CHILD!" He shook his head, scarcely believing the utter lack of understanding in the SharpClaw. I don't regret that choice…I would've done it the same way a thousand times over if it meant making him pay! What was I supposed to do?!"

"You could've _waited_," Sauru hissed. "…and _then_ made him pay. You could've controlled your emotions, waited for the right moment to strike, and then take him down with patience and precision. But you DIDN'T. You raced in, head-on, foolishly! You fight without strategy to fall back on, honed skill, experiemce, true training…you had _nothing_ then, and you have _nothing_ now!"

The other TRU members watched at a nervous distance, wincing uncomfortably as the two spat fire at each other.

"You dare challenge my fighting skills?" Wolf demanded angrily. "_My _experience? I'll have ten times the skill your crippled hands do!"

Sauru sneered. "You have no place to mock anyone, _boy._ You embody everything that cripples a warrior on the battlefield! You're stubborn, brainless, hot-headed, impulse-driven and without even the slightest balance of skill! You're nothing more than a common thug, coming from nothing and worth nothing! You aren't fit to fight Talon, the SharpClaw, or anyone in this room!"

He pointed at Miyu.

"My newly appointed Leader beat you-"

The Lynx shrugged. There was no lying in that statement…

"-My Combat Instructor who hasn't tasted battle in months could crush you into a pulp-"

"That and _more, _I assure you," Mason said icily.

"-even this needle-thin fool could kill you!"

Riley glanced at Wolf nervously, and waved his arms defensively. "Hey man, don't drag _me _into this!"

Sauru slithered up to a fuming Wolf and jabbed his accusing claw in his chest repeatedly.

"You're an absolute disgrace to warfare, a shameful mockery of a bygone era of war!" He said scaldingly. "In battle, you'll only stumble about without anything to aid you, waiting for someone with better skill and knowledge of battle to cut you down, just like that child!"

He jabbed his claw deeper into Wolf's stomach, but his words dove even deeper. Wolf was torn with angry refusal to listen to him…but no defiant ignorance came to his aid.

Slowly, he was already seeing how true Sauru's scolding was…how serious his wounds had become…how much of a failure he was in battle. He felt like staggering with the weight of exhaustion, just like he had done after fighting the SharpClaw in the burning remnants of the Temple…

…but this time, it was out of the hollow burden of the truth that Wolf had ignored for so long. The old reptile was right about him…about _everything. _It was almost scary how much of it was what Wolf had blinded himself from believing this entire time…every flawed move, every mistake, spilled out in front of him, exposing his own weaknesses…

"You'll be just as helpless, just as vulnerable…and killed even _quicker! _You can brag and toil about all your 'legendary attributes' of being the mighty Star Wolf, but out here, on this planet, you're _nothing!_ To Talon and his SharpClaw Army, you're just another inconvenience to be swatted aside. You have confidence in your skills and endurance, but I assure you…you'll fall. Your methods developed over the course of the war, even your way of thinking will get you killed. It's already brutalized you already…"

Wolf's furious glare and hateful brewing started to fade, and a cold realization in the Old SharpClaw's words sprayed new salt in his fearful wounds.

"In your battles, the fruit of reinforcements, the reliance of comerades will not be yours…you will fall in battle, swifter than the wind. You'll try to escape, but your weakness and lack of battle-forged hardness will grip you like a new pair of shackles." Sauru's cold, ominous words clouded Wolf's mind in a veil of chilling premonition. "No one will help you outside this place…no one will care. No one will come for you when you're slaughtered or begging for salvation when the SharpClaw stomp on your festering corpse. And finally, the sands will bury your grave for you, without remembrance….not that anyone remembered you in the first place, 'Star Wolf'."

Everyone else remained silent, locked in the bleakness in the long lecture's bitter aftermath. Fay's eyes were huge, and Riley whistled.

"_Damn…"_

But Miyu couldn't help but raise a skeptical eyebrow, not seeing how Sauru could've painted a bleaker image.

Sauru slithered back next to his table, picking up his pipe and leaving Wolf with a hole in his stomach.

"And remember, boy…" He stuck his pipe between his teeth. "Savor the twin suns' merciless heat…because there's no warmth of the sun where _you're_ going."

Leon scowled. "Pfft….don't listen to him, Wolf," he said with reassuring distaste. "He's exaggerating beyond all hell. You're not _that-"_

"No, Leon, I _am," _Wolf said, to everyone's surprise. "I _am_ weak. I've lost my edge…and I've been denying it for a while now, even though my body makes a point of reminding me with more wounds, with every mistake I make…"

He looked up at Sauru with a disgruntled look.

"So, why? Why are you so sure I can fight Talon?" His eyes narrowed. "If I'm as weak as you say, why are you so hellbent on making me do this? If I have nothing…" He clenched his fists, shaking. _"…then what the hell do you want from me?! _What can I offer, if I have NOTHING?!"

His frustrated shouts echoed over the balcony, and traveled over the mountain winds.

Sauru blew a calm stream of smoke. "Well, you see, Star Wolf…you _do _have something to offer me."

"Forget about my Inner Power," Wolf said miserably. "If Talon's as devious as you say, he'll just find a way around it and kill me."

"No, not that…" Sauru nodded. "Your Inner Power is only a necessary boost, and can't substitute for primed thinking or actual skill." He smiled slyly. "What I want from you isn't what you have or previously possessed…it's what you can receive."

Wolf's looked up. "What do you mean?"

"Well, O'Donnell, I'll be honest…" An amused cloud of smoke wormed out of his mouth. "When I see you, I don't really see a man. Most men wouldn't have the balls or the stupidity to make the mistakes you do…"

Wolf looked down gloweringly. "Thanks."

"To me, you look more like a blade." Dawn-lit shadows and wavering smoke casted a cryptic look on Sauru's face. "One that's been pulled out of the forge a tad bit too early."

Wolf's frown faded slightly, and he turned to him with confused but curious intrigue. Everyone else looked just as baffled as he was.

"A blade?"

"Yes." A mad, hidden wisdom glinted in Sauru's yellow eyes. "You're hastily-forged, barely crafted….and rough around the edges." He circled Wolf, eyes wandering over him skeptically. "You're battered from overuse, you're barely functional, and above all, you're still molten-hot." He blew a ring of smoke. "And if you continue the way you're going…"

_Fff!_

There was a light hum as Sauru thrashed his pipe gently, and the smoke wavered away, disappearing into wisps before vaporizing completely.

"…you'll melt."

Wolf watched the smoke pass out of visibility.

"How do I keep myself from melting, then?"

Sauru smiled. "The same way all blades are forged. They're _tempered_…just like you will be. If you don't have the means or skills to fight Talon, you must gain them, Star Wolf…. from physical and mental training."

"Training?" Wolf blinked. "What kind of training?"

"The training that is necessary for you," Sauru replied. "If you aren't capable of fighting the SharpClaw with skill and strength alone, then you must obtain it through discipline, time, and patience. And with enough commitment and time, you'll be able to confront not just Talon, but be enough of a force to surpass his strongest warriors. But don't develop any false hopes of becoming strong enough to withstand unlimited damage from them….you are just a warm-blood, after all."

Wolf's hopeful look faded slightly. "You mean….you don't know a way to…repel their strength?" He gripped his bandaged arm uncomfortably.

"Of course not," Sauru said stiffly. "Invincibility is not a tactic, physical state, or technique within my or anyone else's field of knowledge. And the SharpClaw will outmatch you in strength and build, regardless of how you change yourself." He smiled reassuringly. "You might not have the SharpClaw's muscles or skeleton, but that's a mere setback of your species. You still have the most powerful weapons of the mortal organism."

Wolf looked up. "What're those?"

Sauru glanced at Miyu. "I think our Leader can answer that question."

"Mind," The Lynx said, pointing at Wolf's forehead. Then, she drew her finger down to her own forearm. "…and reflex. When a man is stripped of all his weapons, he will always have those two to rely on." She tried to a hide an amused smirk. "Though you have a tendency to favor the latter of the two, Ghost."

"Maybe so," Sauru continued, chuckling at Wolf's irritated scowl. "But those are the only things that have kept him alive so far."

"I'm not too sure," Wolf said miserably. "You said it yourself. I've only barely made it out of battles."

"That isn't just because you're a poor soldier, O'Donnell," Sauru pointed out. "That 'barely' you hold in such low regard, is the invincibility you possess. While Miyu made a point of highlighting your flaws, she _did _mention how you managed to shrug off the damage you took…and kept on going. And you know how you did that?"

Wolf hesitated. "Mind and reflex?"

"Exactly." The Old SharpClaw showed lines of wisdom in his face. "Don't be so hasty to wish for invincibility when you have the next best thing. You _have _the potential to overcome your flaws, because you let your raw reflex absorb the pain of new wounds…and use quick thinking to plan your next move. It's something I've never seen in a warm-blood before, and is only obtained anatomically from getting used to your body's speed and decline." He put down his pipe, and faced Wolf. "Now, what if I taught you how to _master _that ability…and make it a completely passive one?"

Wolf stared at him, trying to detect deception or insanity.

"You can…do that? You know how?"

"All that and more, Star Wolf," Sauru mused. "How would you like to become ten times what you are now…and instead of narrowly escaping death that would kill one man, how about becoming strong enough to escape the destruction meant for entire armies?" He stretched his hand out, casting a dim silhouette against the rising dawn. "To become the one-man army, that you're only _rumored_ to be?"

Riley blinked incredulously. Fay cupped her hands in awe. Miyu's skeptical look wavered slightly…and even Mason looked interested.

Wolf tried to contain the excitement in his voice, the possibilities thumping wildy inside himself.

"I'm listening."

"Good." Sauru raised a warning claw. "But remember that this but another thing that comes with the cost of you staying to aid our cause. You'll have to swear allegiance to us if you desire this training…bound to the promise of confronting Talon when your time comes. That's the price for all things…your training, your Inner Power…everything."

Everyone turned expectedly to Wolf, who kept his arms wrapped around himself in unsurness.

Then, he looked up. "I think I'd like to know about this training, first, before I think about agreeing to anything. Some details would be nice…"

Sauru raised his eyebrows. His expression turned cold.

Wolf looked around at them. "I've got that right, don't I? It wouldn't be a risk just to _tell _me about it, since I'll be dead in three weeks if I refuse, and it won't be any good to me then." He raised his arms defensively. "Good enough?"

The Field Advisor blew a long, considering fume of smoke, before he finally spoke.

"Very well." He curled his lip reluctantly, before glancing at the City below. "Right now, you're but an irritation to the SharpClaw: an annoyance too easily remedied by a large bounty and a greedy city." He turned to Wolf. "But I can teach you how to pose yourself as a living threat to them. I can teach you more than just to endure another battle…I can teach you how to counter _any _attack, _any _enemy, in _any _given situation. To make yourself versatile in every known form of combat, mental focus, and agile prowess. I can't teach you how to become the strongest…" He smiled slyly. "But I can teach you how to fight the strongest, and live."

Wolf stared at him. "But how do you know all this? What, are all those books down there-?"

He glanced at the door leading back to Sauru's study.

The SharpClaw chuckled.

"Don't be naïve. I wouldn't store that kind of knowledge by a book…I didn't even _receive_ these secrets from mere books.I _uncovered _them, from every corner of every abandoned civilization that's ignored by the galaxy's prying eyes." He smiled. "…ignored, or unknown. It was before and after my departure from the SharpClaw Empire that I went searching for this knowledge. And after ten centuries of traveling and searching, I had garnered over twelve _thousand _years -worth of knowledge. Ancient secrets and techniques…lost arts, once heralded as the greatest combat styles in history." He pointed his pipe stem at Wolf. "Those aren't things you can record or scrawl down…you have to _learn _them, make them your own. Besides, what should happen if someone unworthy or treacherous would discover it?"

"So…where are they, then?" Riley breathed.

Sauru smiled fiendishly, and drew a finger to his head.

"The securest of treasure troves. The one place that young whelp Talon won't be able to crack. And these aren't just methods of warfare, either…" The shadows creeping through the balcony columns shed a cryptic shade over Sauru's body, as he held out his hand schemingly. "These are _old_ secrets…how to move quietly without being seen, how to catch incoming darts with your bare hands, how to endure the pain of suffocation and respiratory depravity, like being under water…secrets that have been stowed away from mortal eyes for generations. To remove common obstacles like fear and hesitation…to live and breathe as a figment of battle, in the form of flesh and blood." He pointed at Wolf. "And if you commit yourself to make them your own…" His eyes gleamed mysteriously. "…you will know these secrets yourself."

Wolf remained silent, overwhelmed by something like this. He couldn't believe Sauru was offering him something like this…

"And you _remember _these things?" He asked in amazement. "Just-from pure recollection?"

Sauru straightened up his snake-like stature rather proudly. "My mind was never bred for the petty savagery of SharpClaw. To remember every detail, to have it engraved in my mind…that is my gift." His eyes darted to the side. "…and sometimes, my burden."

"How do you do it?" Riley asked interestedly. "And where exactly did you find these secrets?"

Sauru narrowed his eyes. "I'm afraid those are secrets that I won't pass to you or anyone else, young Gingerback."

"I have a better question," Mason said in sudden, walking to the front. "You had this knowledge, Sauru-tucked in your head, as you claim-and we've fought alongside you for this Resistance for five bitter years!"

Sauru looked about, failing to see the point. "And?"

The Snow Leopard's face was stone-cold. "You didn't think _once _of sharing these secrets with _us? _Your loyal commanders, your personal allies? What, are we that insignificant, and unworthy of knowing these things!" He clenched his fist furiously. "Could you imagine the problems we could've solved, or the sacrifices we could've prevented, had you shared it with us earlier? And yet here you are, giving them to this Venmian!" He pointed angrily at Wolf. "What makes some _outsider _worthy of it, and not the people you've fought with and bled since the beginning!"

Wolf looked around, suddenly realizing the unfortunate and awkward situation he had been thrust into.

"Mason's right," Miyu agreed. "If you had these secrets with you, why not tell us?"

Sauru looked about at them, remaining quiet.

"Is that the way you all feel?"

Mason folded his arms heatedly, and Miyu put her hands on her hips expectedly. Riley shuffled his feet uncomfortably, and Fay avoided eye contact.

"Well, then," Sauru continued, in a slightly stiffer voice. "I can assure you all that it has nothing to do with how high or low I regard all of you."

Fay looked up. "It doesn't?"

"You've all struck me as capable soldiers." Sauru blew on his pipe admittedly. "You've all proven yourself on countless occasions that you're perfectly capable of taking down the SharpClaw yourselves, without confronting them head on and using your heads. And believe me, I know for a fact that each or all of you could bind down and kill this boy yourselves…" He snorted some amused smoke. "…so you can be rest assured that strength isn't a factor."

"Yeah, but can we not test that theory here and now, please?" Leon asked uneasily.

"But the most important reason is because all of you are beyond teaching," Sauru said. "You all fight because of years of hardened experience and training of your own….which means your minds have already been tampered with."

"Tampered with?" Miyu asked inquisitively.

Sauru nodded. "Each of you has spent years in that Cornerian Academy, or were sharpened during that war of yours. In short, your minds and reflexes have been shaped on what you've learned over years of experience." He tapped his head. "Secrets such as these reconstruct the basic knowledge of fighting….and you already have knowledge placed in your mind and reflexes. It's almost impossible for any of you to make use of these techniques, because you're already accustomed to the techniques you already know. You'd have to unlearn everything you know about fighting to embrace these new forms, and that would take years…years we don't have."

The TRU Members demanding expressions changed, and they shifted their quarrelsome stances simultaneously.

"So you're saying," Mason said slowly. "That it's too late for us..."

"Precisely." Sauru pointed at Wolf. "This boy here, on the other hand, is forgetting everything he once knew, even his own name. He is capable of learning anything at this point, because he's losing everything he learned before."

Wolf's intrigued look faded. All that work, all that training for years at the Academy…had he forgotten _all _of that? _Everything?_

Miyu folded her arms. "Sauru, if he's forgotten even a _fraction_ of standard training he's received at the Academy, it's going to take forever to train him on anything new!"

Sauru paused for a moment, and put his pipe in his mouth.

"How observant of you, Miyu…I can't teach him all your modern basics, can I? I don't know anything about your Cornerian basics."

"So, wait," Wolf said suddenly. "If _you _can't teach me all that back, who can?"

And then, he smiled the slyest, most manipulative, most hateful smile Wolf had ever seen on a moving expression.

The Lynx's questioning look faded, and her eyes started to enlarge with realization.

Mason rolled his eyes. "Oh, _Christ. _So THAT'S why you wanted us to be present for this thing…you scheming _bastard…._"

Riley blinked, and then looked around. "Wait a minute…he's not talking about-?"

"Yes, Riley," Sauru said as-a-matter-of-factly. "I want _you _to teach him the Cornerian basics of military combat. _All _of you."

Miyu, Riley, and Mason looked at each other in dumbfounded shock and confusion.

There was only a minute of processing the request before the protests came flying in.

"Sauru, we aren't Academy instructors-" Miyu started. "We were taught by the likes of James McCloud and Peppy Hare-"

"Yeah, and I'm _pretty sure _that no matter HOW good of an instructor Mason is," Riley added. "He's not gonna be able to teach Wolf every form of basic combat in a couple of weeks-neither him _or _Miyu-"

"He wants _you _to teach the Venomian, too," Mason interjected.

Riley's eyes got huge, and he spun around. "Wha-_me?! _What the hell could _I _teach him?"

Sauru emptied his pipe and pointed at all of them.

"You three are some of the best Cornerian soldiers that fought in this war. There are _no _better teachers than you." He nodded at Riley. "Gingerback, you were part of your military's Special Operations, you maneuvered over entire minefields with just your feet!"

Wolf turned to the young cat, impressed. "You bypassed a _minefield?"_

Riley rubbed his temples. _"Jesus-_That was ONE time. I mean-"

"You're the nimblest, most agile individual among the TRU, Riley!" Sauru insisted. "You could teach him how to master control of the spine, how to sprint past enemy lines, how to make use of every function capable of human limbs!"

Then, Sauru turned to Miyu.

"And who better than to teach him marksmanship, than you?" He asked. "You wield laser-arms with the swiftness and proficiency to challenge an entire army! You were the strongest Cornerian Beret that ever served…if anyone can teach this Star Wolf boy how to become deadly and unpredictable with a blaster in his hands, _you _can!"

Miyu laughed knowingly. "Oh, Sauru-come on. I'm not…I'm not the _best…_I couldn't teach him anymore than I _know…"_

"That's _all _I'm asking for," Sauru pleaded. He turned to Mason. "And what about you, Mason? There isn't a stronger and more skillful opponent on this planet that could counter your skills in close combat! You're a Cornerial SEAL…you've mastered the use of _every _weapon at your disposal! If you take in this boy as another one of your pupils, you could mold him into a leveled, and matured warrior."

Mason glanced at Wolf with distaste. "That won't be as easy as you make it sound, Sauru. And personally, I don't know how I feel about passing my techniques to some _Venomian."_

Wolf looked around at them. "Look, guys….if you don't want to teach me anything, you don't have to-"

"We haven't made up our minds yet, Ghost," Miyu said sharply. "This is too fast, and to sudden of a decision. We don't even have Sauru's guarantee that it'll be enough to help you…."

Sauru spread his arms out. "That's all he needs! That's _exactly _what he needs! My ancient teachings…your modern teachings…together, we can make Wolf here the right type of fighter that can balance the odds in our favor. He'll have everything he needs to confront Talon."

"And these…'secrets of yours'," Mason bit hard on the words with distaste. "They'll be enough to counter Talon, with all his strength?"

Sauru leaned over the balcony, eyes on the tallest jade tower of the Palace in the distance.

"This was never a contest of strength…and it has taken me time to realize this. The average organism can counter any obstacle with his hands. The stone, the branch, the flesh…and bring it down to his feet. And the SharpClaw are no different."

He looked down at the mountains, the wind tugging on his purple tunic.

"But there are things he can't crush or grab…like the spiraling chill of a bolt of lightning….or the piercing, swift winds of a howling gale that evades his grasp…" He smiled at Wolf. "…like a ghost."

Wolf gave him an odd half-smile, detecting the first sure sign of confidence from the bitter SharpClaw.

Miyu leaned against a pillar, arms folded. "You know this for a fact?"

"They're leader is a testimony to cunning over brute strength," Sauru said with a reassuring nod. "He sits in his throne not because of the muscles in his body, but because of the ideas in his head, the skill in his reflexes…the intent in his brain."

All of the hesitant-looking TRU members turned to look at Wolf, who stood far away from the group. His eyes were on the stone pavement beneath them, dwelling nervously on everything he was hearing.

After a long pause, Miyu let out a reluctant sigh.

"Alright, then. Looks like my decision's already been made for me." She nodded at Wolf. "If teaching this kid will push things forward, then I'll do it." She jabbed a warning finger at Sauru. "But you better be right about this, Sauru."

"I'm in too!" Riley said eagerly. "Good God…teaching the one-and-only Star Wolf _my _tricks?" He let out a thrilled exhale. "I swear, my brother is _not _gonna believe this!"

Mason kept his arms folded. "I'll do whatever I'm ordered to do with this Venomian. But I'm callin' it right now: this is _not _going to end well…"

"Look, if you aren't up for it, fine," Sauru reasoned. "I won't force any of you to teach him. But think of the potential he has, to _help us…_it's all of yours decision in the end." He glanced at Wolf. "But only his decision matters in the end…he has to agree with our terms, to follow our teachings."

Miyu, Riley, and Mason looked at Wolf, who was standing near the balcony quietly. He could tell from all the skeptical stares and unsure looks that Sauru was probably asking a lot out of all of them.

He almost felt spoiled and overprivelged to have four different teachers, but he couldn't help but yearn for the chance to improve himself.

_I don't want to disappoint them…_ Wolf thought. _I can work hard…earn the right to all of this…_

But a lone possibility was still troubling him, even though he hadn't voiced it yet.

Miyu raised her eyebrows in surprise, half-expecting him to leap at the chance. But he looked more troubled than relieved…and was thinking before he spoke.

That put her in some ease. That meant he was _thinking_ before he did something…something she hadn't seen him do, yet.

Finally, Wolf looked up.

"This is all very generous…really, it is. I'd be an idiot not to admit that. It's possibly the greatest…_probably_ most fantastic thing anyone's offered me…"

Sauru's sly smile faltered. "But…?"

"But…" Wolf sighed, looking to the side uneasily. "Even if I become strong enough to fight Talon, there's no guarantee that I'll win." He looked up. "Right?"

The SharpClaw was quiet.

"That's true. There isn't." He scratched the scales on his chin. "The most prepared and able warrior in the world could fight an opponent and still lose…because of one overlooked mistake."

Wolf nodded. "And that mistake could claim the life of thousands."

Sauru frowned slightly. He could see the discomfort still present in Wolf's expression.

"Do you have a final answer, or not, boy?"

"I don't-" Wolf looked down, over the balcony. "I don't know-"

"That isn't an answer!" Sauru snapped. "You have resources, time, and lives on the line for this decision, Star Wolf. Every minute you waste still deciding, is a minute closer to our final offensive against Talon's Army. You _have _to know. If you plan to join our cause, then I need a _yes_ or _no_." He drummed his claws impatiently. "Decide, _now."_

Wolf gripped the balcony top, eyes darting about as he sunk his mind into deep thought and consideration.

"I need time…time to think about this." He turned to the other TRU members. "Do you mind if I step outside to dwell on this?"

"You've had _plenty _of time to dwell!" Mason said fumingly. "Just tell us if-"

"No," Fay said suddenly, eyes keen like she detected something. "We should let him decide when he's ready." She nodded at Wolf. "Stay where you are, Wolf…_we'll _leave. This isn't a choice to make in haste…just come down to the Study to us when you're ready."

"But, Fay-" Sauru began to protest.

"Come on, come on," Fay urged, scooting them all out through the door. "He'll come down when he's ready. There's no need for us to rush him-oh." She turned to Sauru. "Do you mind if I have a word with him, alone? There's, uh…something I'd like to discuss with him."

Wolf looked up from his deep stare at the abyss, shooting a confused look at the young Spaniel. _Didn't she just make everyone leave so I can have some time alone and think?_

Sauru raised an eyebrow. "What could you need to discuss with him that you can't with all of us present, my dear?"

Fay paused for a moment, and then smiled cheerily. "It's nothing too confidential-after all, he listened to you, the Field Advisor. I doubt anything uttered by the _cook _could sway his mind at this point."

Sauru pursed his lips. He seemed to receive some private hint or message by Fay's words, and didn't object.

"Indeed…very well, then. Let's take our leave, then."

Riley's eyebrows furrowed skeptically. "But you just said-"

"MOVE!" He commanded.

All of the confused TRU members slipped through the door, leaving it to creak open.

Fay turned to Leon.

"Maybe you should stay, Vincent-er," She stopped and blinked. _"…Leon. _You're his friend. You have a right to listen in."

Leon looked from Fay to Wolf, sensing something with his electric-blue stare.

"No, I, uh…I'll leave…" He straigtened his coat and opened the door. "I think that whatever you need to tell Wolf…well, it's better he hears it from you."

With another glance at Wolf, he went through the door and closed it.

Finally, it was quiet, and the decrease of multiple presences gave more room on the balcony…the high winds churned in, and the vibrant echoes traveling down the mountains broke in to offer their distant voices to the stillness of the air.

Wolf didn't say anything. He kept his eyes on the riveting canyons and treacherous rocks below…all of which resembled the jagged tips of the risk factor in every uneasy choice turning about in his head.

Slowly, Fay walked over to the balcony, and leaned over the balcony with her arms slid over, so she was alongside Wolf.

"You were about to say 'no', weren't you?"

He looked up instantly, and turned to her. "What?"

Fay's face wasn't with that brimming smile anymore…her eyes were teemed with concern. She wasn't wearing this expression in front of the others…

"You were going to refuse Sauru's request?" She looked at him, hard. "Right?"

Wolf held himself from answering, puzzled by how she guessed that.

"I know you were going to," Fay said quietly. "I could see it in your face…and in your voice. Despite the chances in front of you, the opportunities you have…you still have no faith in yourself. No matter how hard Sauru or anyone else assures you, you still believe in your heart and soul that you can't defeat Talon." She sighed. "…even though, you're just letting your doubt limit yourself, not your capability."

Wolf let out a deep breath, edging slightly away from her.

"Are you saying that because I can, or because you _want _me to?" He asked. "That's why you're here, aren't you, Fay?"

Fay laughed softly.

"Wolf, what I want isn't important. I want a _lot _of things…" She gazed at the horizon longingly. "I want to make sure every belly is full at the end of the day…I want my friends to be less stressed and be themselves once in a while…I want this war to end without any more bloodshed or suffering…I want every child in this conflict to be loved and happy, to know that he or she isn't alone." Her smile faded. "These are things I _want, _Wolf…not things that'll happen." She turned to him. "What I wantis for you to tell me the real reason you won't take this offer. What'll happen is up to you."

Wolf didn't look at her, but a cold tingling wafted up his body. She was a lot more perceptive than she seemed.

"How much do you know?"

"I know a haunted man when I see one…I know the look of one burdened with many deaths, the face my Uncle wore coming back from the war…" She looked hard at Wolf. "The one that you wear now. But I know that it isn't what pains you, what holds you back from being confident."

She leaned closer to him, blue eyes imploring deeply.

"So what is? _Why _are you not sure of yourself?"

Wolf sighed for a long time.

"I guess I can't hide the truth from you…even if I can hide it from everyone, even myself." He smiled at Fay. "You're an odd girl, you know that?"

Fay looked at him, still waiting.

"Alright…" He looked down into the cold of the rocky abyss below. "The truth is…I'm not the person you need for this. It doesn't matter how strong I am or skilled I get, because in the end, those things weren't what drove me to ignore the pain and win every battle I've fought in the past." He etched his claw into the chipped masonry, absentmindedly outlining where the conversation was going. "I've always scraped by because I was motivated, determined…with one goal in mind. And that's always pushed me forward, regardless of the wounds I endure, and the mistakes I make."

He looked at his outstretched hand.

"I don't have that, Fay. I don't have the drive, not this time…and it's because I'm not fighting for the same things you are…"

"What do you mean?" Fay cocked her head sideways.

Wolf curled his hand into a fist, keeping his voice steady.

"Fay…you need someone who cares, someone who doesn't hesitate to put his life on the line for the lives of all these people…someone who deserves all this attention and training, someone who actually cares about all those widows and orphans back in that shrine-"

"I don't understand," Fay said, somewhat uncomfortably. "Don't…Don't _you _care if any of those people live? If this plans work?"

Wolf sighed in exasperation. "Of _course _I do, just-not on the same level as you guys." He looked at her. "I mean-look at you all! You, Miyu, and everyone else go to great risks just to rescue and help people you don't even know! You _live _for things like this. If any of you were given the task I've been given, you'd push forward like I've done in every other battle I've fought, with the same determination." He looked down, the shame making his face look tired and worn. "I'm not as determined for the same cause as you all are…I've never fought patriotically for others, unless it was for my own benefit. I'm not…I'm not one of you. I'm not _worthy _of this task, or anyone's teachings."

The young Spaniel looked at him, confused and concerned.

"Wolf, don't say that…just because you don't risk your life to save everyone doesn't make you any less dedicated than us."

But Wolf shook his head angrily.

"Be honest, Fay…do you really look at me, and see someone who blends in with the other people in this Resistance?" He looked at her with a hardened expression. "Knowing who I used to be?"

Fay opened her mouth, eyes desperate for something reassuring to say, but remained silent.

"I'm not _like _all of you, Fay…not all of my passion, not every fiber of motivation in my mind and body works with unquestioning concern for others, Fay…I don't fight for the same things. I don't _care _about the welfare of everyone on this planet. I'm not _like _you all…I'm not some brave, selfless rebel who fights and bleeds for the rights of others." He pointed at the door. "And everyone in there is on the verge of putting their faith, teachings and trust in me, when I'm not even the right person to be _doing _this task…when I'm not someone like…"

Wolf let out a deep breath of frustrated hopelessness, guilt swimming up his stomach. He sat down on the floor, the light between balcony's balusters casting sullen lines on his face as he leaned against them.

"…like this Siegfried guy you all keep talking about," He finished miserably. "The person who _should _be performing this task."

Fay looked down at him with sympathetic eyes. She found it strange, but away from everyone else, like Sauru and Mason, where his quarrelsome edge arose…he looked confused and alone, like some pressured child.

"And because I'm not driving myself hard enough, because I'm not invested in what happens to everyone… I'll make a mistake." Wolf clasped his forehead. "I'll fail, because I don't care enough. I can't do that….not to you all, when you're doing this for me."

That's when Fay's eyes lit up. She kept her expression and voice unchanged, however, and kept the conversation going.

"Why would you care what happens to us?" She asked, looking into the distance.

Wolf looked up slightly. "Well… I'd be pretty devastated if I let all these people die, I'm not going to lie. But I'd be more shattered if I got defeated, knowing anything happened to any of _you. _You've all done so much for Leon and I, when we didn't even ask you for help." He smiled slightly. "I mean…we've been running for so long, and I don't even remember the last time anyone was kind to us, or even _considered _us as their friends. But you all did…without even knowing who we were." He sat back, recalling everything. "Riley opened up to me in the Slave Yard when no one else would, and Miyu believed and trusted me, even after she found out that I was Star Wolf. And you…" He looked up at her. "…you sat up for weeks to stitch wounds that I earned through blundering stupidity…and you didn't even wait for me to thank you!"

"Really?" Fay said, hiding her smile. "We did all that?"

"Well, I mean-" Wolf scratched his head. "I know that maybe, you all might change your minds about me, now that you know who I really am…" He glanced uncomfortably at the side. "…but, all I know is…that if my memory is depleting, even as we speak…" He stood up suddenly, facing Fay. "…I promise, I won't forget what you all did for me. And if _anything _made me take up this offer, it would be to defend all of you."

Fay turned away from him, and Wolf felt a discouraged flush in his face that she was put off by what she was saying. But she was only hiding how big and affectionate her smile was.

_Oh, you simple-minded boy…if only you could hear yourself right now…_

_You'd know that you're the EXACT person we need…_

Wolf put his hands in his pockets. "I guess…I'm not really coming through."

He stared hopelessly over the horizon, the icy winds only making him feel even more empty.

"Wolf…" Fay turned to him. "There's something I need to tell you."

He raised his eyebrows curiously. "What is it?"

Fay leaned over the balcony-top, eyes wandering.

"Do you remember what the Slave Yard was like? You must've seen how the SharpClaw were beating people over long spans of time…using savage methods to make them crawl, and beg…until they would lose their voice, their hearing, even their sight…"

Wolf's skin crawled as he remembered those ragged people, with their huddled movement and blank looks.

"Yeah…I remember."

Fay looked at him. "How long were you in the Slave Yard for?"

"I dunno…" He shrugged. "Maybe a week?"

Fay nodded, and turned to face the horizon again.

"When I first came here, and Miyu and I got separated from our convoy, and the SharpClaw found us in the desert…I was in the Slave Yard for eight months."

Wolf whirled his head around to her, jaw hanging open. "Eight _months? _Fay…"

Her eyes teemed with painful reminiscence. "And while I was there…they hadn't realized that I could heal people. So back then, they made me work…" She clasped her fingers tightly. "And I don't know if you know, Wolf…but I make a lot of mistakes when asked to do things. But when I screw up in the kitchen, or with the laundry…Sauru and Miyu will always give me another chance. But the SharpClaw didn't…" She winced, as if physically recalling everything. "They beat me, starved me, tortured me, kicked me around, left me to lay wounded in the sun…humiliated and ashamed…until they started doing other things."

Wolf straightened up alertly, dreading the possible places this conversation was going.

"What kind of things, Fay?" He asked suddenly.

"Nothing serious…" She wrapped her arms around herself. "I was really frail back then, so Drakon ordered them to hold back….but they didn't stop. And soon…the same way all deprived slaves started…"

Her eyes teemed with painful memories.

"…I lost my voice. I could no longer speak."

A cold hand gripped Wolf's insides and wrenched them horribly, as he looked with immense sympathy at his girl.

"What?"

Fay sighed. "I was already turning into…one of them. The SharpClaw had forced the speech out of me…by telling me things about myself, horrible things, accusations….things I didn't want to hear, but was forced to listen to. They made me…believe things about myself that weren't true, until I was wrought with shame." She looked over to the rising suns. "By the time the sixth month had gone by, I had already forgotten how to speak…but truthfully…" She looked down sadly. "…I think it was because a part of me was ashamed, I _couldn't _speak ever again."

Wolf stared at her, feeling outmatched with the problems and woes that this girl must've had. He felt selfish compared to her…and wanted to offer a hand, or a shoulder, or some means of warmth and comfort.

But before he could do or say anything, a small, warm smile grew on her face, illuminated by the golden glare of the suns that rose behind the distant peaks.

"But…I wasn't alone for long. When I was in the lowest heap of depressed misery, someone stood up for me. He fought back…and he stood by my side for only a moment, and helped me fight back as well." She looked fondly at Wolf. "He was someone who refused to let the SharpClaw take his voice away…and helped me regain mine. That person…was Siegfried."

Wolf looked at her sideways with curiosity, but leaned on the balcony next to her, suddenly interested.

"But you know, Wolf…he wasn't fighting for the welfare of others, either." She looked ahead, the scene of that day replaying in her eyes. "He wasn't trying to be brave, or defiant, or noble. He wasn't even a soldier…he was a mercenary, like you. He just fought back to stand up for himself, and the people he cared about."

Fay turned to him.

"That's what you did, back at the Slave Yard, Wolf. You didn't fight for patriotism or heroics. You were just fighting to hold onto your voice, and your freedom, just like Siegfried….and because you didn't want the SharpClaw to harm anyone you cared about. You stepped in to help me, Riley…and you only _just _learned our names." She looked on into the distance, smiling. "Siegfried didn't even wait to hear our names. He dove in to protect us, just like you."

She put her small white hand on Wolf's larger, bandaged one.

"Wolf…it doesn't matter if you don't rescue people, or dive in to help those less fortunate. And if you fight to protect those you care about, it doesn't make you any less worthy than the greatest of heroes. You'll still risk life and limb for those you love, and die to protect them." Her faces shone with warmth. "It's that trait, not random selflessness or constant heroics, that make people like you and Siegfried admirable."

Wolf felt the tension of all the news and pressure of the last hour's conversation drift off into the free wind, feeling comforted and touched by Fay's words. He looked down bashfully, overwhelmed by her confidence.

_She's not buttering her words with niceties or false hope…_

_She really believes in this…in what's she's saying…_

…_in…me._

He stared over into the rocky surface of the mountains below, not knowing what to say.

"You've wandered from the war with the burden of your own mistakes and crimes on your back. You were planning to live your life searching for redemption…this is it. Prove yourself worthy, and no one will doubt you again. Just remember…"

Fay slid off the balcony-edge, and turned to walk back to the door.

"Whatever choice you make, we'll all respect and support your choice. But never forget…" Her face was serene. "…just like I never forgot, when Siegfried taught it to me: No matter what the SharpClaw take away, they can't take away two things, as long as you hold onto them: Your friends, and your voice."

Wolf glanced at his hands, her words echoing in his head.Friends…and voice...

"If you strive to protect those two things, without rest, without hesitation…then you don't have to be a hero. Protecting those things will make you a worthy human being."

She smiled with warm reassurance.

"And there isn't a more worthy human being to do this task than you, Wolf. I'm sure of it."

And with that, she gripped the doorknob and prepared to walk down to the study.

Wolf remained on the balcony-top, eyes on his hands. He dwelled on everything Fay had said…no longer feeling empty and burdened like he had before.

_My friends…and my voice…_

"Hey, Fay!"

The young Spaniel tried her hardest not to whirl around in excited anticipation, and constrained herself to turn slowly.

"Hmm?"

Wolf took another long look at the horizon, before turning to face her, fist gripped in tight sureness.

"Do you think you could go down with me to see Sauru about a room, a bath, and maybe something to eat?"

Fay's excited look faltered slightly, and she cocked her head.

"I hope being a member of the TRU grants me that much…" He half-smiled. "…especially if I'm going to start training tomorrow."

With all her excited restraint, Fay tried to stifle the growing smile on her face.

"I'd be happy to," She laughed.

Then, she held out her hand. "Come on. Everyone's waiting."

The two suns rose fully, and the coming dawn radiated into the brink of a new day.

_End of Chapter_


	23. Chapter 23

_Chapter 23: Churning Cement_

_Sargasso Shrine on the Catalayan Outskirts, 5 ALW (HMD Period)_

Wolf had already lost track what time it was, and was lying face-up on the sleeping mat in his new room.

And while the room he occupied served as being his sleeping quarters for the duration of his stay with the TRU, there was hardly anything "new" about it. True, it had some leisurely touches: a small desk with a heap of paper and an inkwell, and a table with a cracked mirror and a bowl of water. But clearly, the room hadn't been used in some time…judging by the thick dust that coated the window-sill, and careworn marks on the walls. Even the vases of charred incense that had been placed in them couldn't repel the musty smell in the room.

But all Wolf cared about was the sleeping mat. To have an actual bed, with sheets and pillows instead of sand and rock, was enough to make him feel like the wealthiest man in Lylat.

The evening hours had already passed, and the slivers of orange dusk had already faded from the cracks in the shut windows.

Wolf had retired early, and didn't show up to eat anything like he told Fay. Everyone just assumed that he was just tired.

But in the hours he had spent, lying on his back on the bed, turning the mind-jarring sapphire about in his hands, he hadn't even closed his eyes once.

The troubling thoughts and anxious worries kept him awake, and being alone with them in the quiet of his room made him even more restless.

He had looked confident enough when he agreed to Sauru's terms in front of everyone this morning, but he wasn't nearly as sure about it now. He wasn't nervous about what he had to do….the final confrontation with Talon…that was a long way off, and didn't plague him now.

It was the _process _it would take to get him there.

"_If you don't recover your memory before another three weeks go by…"_ Sauru had said. _"Your memories will disappear, and you will no longer exist."_

Wolf turned over in his bed, an uncomfortable pit in his stomach.

_Yeah… _He thought. _And every minute I spend…talking, thinking, training…_

…_is another minute closer to that day._

What was he supposed to remember, anyway? What memories could be so vital, so significant…that his Inner Power fed off of it?

The more he tried to sleep off the discomfort closing in on his restless mind, the more he stayed awake.

He looked down at the sapphire in his hands. Even in the dark of his room, away from any possible source of light, it seemed to glow radiantly.

"_YOU'RE the legendary Star Wolf?!"_

Riley's yelp of disbelief echoed in the silence of the room.

"_The one who left thousands of Cornerian corpses in his wake?! The one who dove into enemy lines without fear or remorse?!"_

Wolf sighed.

_I don't know…_ He thought. _Am I?_

He didn't even know about half the things everyone had said about him…not knowing whether it was just exaggerated rumor the the actual truth…

…because he couldn't remember them anyway.

_Are all those things they said about me true?_

_Did I really do all those things?_

It was so strange…having complete strangers know more about him than he knew himself. He remembered so little…at this point, anything could be true.

It was like wondering about a past life…wondering about the things he had done. There were whole parts of his life, whole identities he could have led, that he didn't remember…

He could've done, or been anyone before he had become Star Wolf.

All would be revealed once he got his memory back…

And then his eyes fell on the small stone in the palm of his hands. The one possession that both intrigued and confused him more than anything…

He hadn't shown it to anyone yet…because he himself didn't know anything about its properties.

_Does this have anything to do with all of this? _He wondered. _It looks too exotic to come from any known planetary world…_

_Where did I get it…? Did I steal it?_

_Or maybe…someone gave it to me?_

As he stared into the cryptic gleam of the sapphire, his eyelids started to droop, his mind delving into all the possibilities…about this stone, about his past…

There was some small comfort in this odd stone…some warmth he couldn't explain. There had to be _some _reason why he was attached to it.

And what was strangest above all, was that he felt…for some reason…

His grip around it slackened, and he breathed softly into the slipping calmness of sleep.

…_I think…I'm supposed to see something when I look at this stone…_

_Track of time lost in unkept muddle of sleep…_

Dust mites rained down in the tranquil silence of Wolf's room, as he lay asleep in his bed.

Only moments later did he feel himself jolt awake with the thunderous crack of his paper-screen door being flung open, letting in a scalding blaze of light and the loudness of someone's voice.

"Okay, Ghost! Rise and shine, lazybones…breakfast, the day's plans, and the rest of the crew is at the morning table…you're the only one missing. Come on out, now!"

Wolf-caught in the sluggish state between being asleep and awake-arched his head up from the flattened confines of his pillow and creaked a groggy eyelid open.

It was too early for him to process anything, but the figure standing in the doorway and the no-nonsense voice was enough to distinguish who it was.

"_Miyu…" _He groaned.

"Come on, now," Miyu repeated, tapping her boot on Wolf's mattress. "It's the first day of your training! You're gonna want some food in your stomach…" She bent down and shook Wolf's shoulder, voice kind. "It smells good…come on, don't you want something to eat?"

Wolf turned over, and didn't see a sliver of daylight creeping in through the windows. It had to have been four in the morning…

He collapsed face-first into his pillow. _"Fitt's doo early," _He protested in a muffled voice.

The Lynx's patient expression disappeared instantly.

"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this."

She rolled up her sleeves, and grabbed the mattress by the corners.

_FWUMP!_

With the strength of her hands alone, Miyu slipped the mattress into a rippling state, sending Wolf toppling off of it.

But he just slid off the bed and landed lightly on the matted floor, face still in his pillow, almost undisturbed by Miyu's harsh turn of action.

"_I'b dired…" _Wolf insisted. _"Vake be up id a few hours…"_

Miyu looked down at him for a moment, and then shrugged.

"Very well, then…have it your way. Do as you please, sleep in the whole day if you want." She started to head out the door. "Leave your training to the last minute, or hell, to the next week if you prefer. Makes no difference to me…"

She looked back with a shrug.

"I suppose I'll just tell Sauru you weren't interested in getting your memory back today. I thought you'd be more interested. But that's fine…sleep well."

Wolf muttered something sleepily in his pillow and waved his hand dismissively for her to leave.

Miyu smiled slyly and closed the door behind her.

A few quiet minutes passed by.

Then, Wolf bolted up in a rapid blur of movement.

"Wait, WHAT?"

_SLAM!_

He tried to leap to his feet but tripped groggily over the smooth surface of the matted floor. He galloped back up and snatched a pair of pants and a shirt from the pile of new clothes Fay had left in the corner of the room.

"WAIT!" Wolf bellowed, ripping the screen door open and trying to sprint and climb into his clothes at the same time. _"Miyu, _WAIT UP! I'M AWAKE!"

_Shrine Mid-Level, Five minutes later…_

"Hold on," Leon laughed. "Let me get this straight. You were almost hunted down by an entire gang of mercenaries, just because you owed one of them _money?"_

"Pfft, no, man," Riley shook his head, dipping the remnants of his muffin in his oatmeal and shoving it in his mouth. "Not just _one _of them…their _leader. _He almost had my tail for a belt if I hadn't escaped."

"You mean, if I hadn't _helped _you escape," Mason corrected.

Leon and Mason were sitting at the breakfast table with him, while Fay busied herself cheerfully in the cluttered confines of her kitchen, stirring and baking while humming an up-beat tune.

"I get pulled into this shit whenever _you_ stealfrom a lot of people." Mason shook his head and started peeling an apple with his knife. He nodded at Leon. "Just remember, Powalski. In _this _city, if you owe somebody a couple of Lylatines, they'll hunt you down into the darkest alleyway-corner and rob you of every cent you got…" He raised the point of his knife earnestly. "…_plus _your virtue."

Riley raised his glass of orange juice. "Amen to that. Besides, I'd be more wary if I was _Miyu_. She owes people more debts than _I _do, and what's worse, she's a woman. Her collectors will probably receive interest in alternative fashion." He snickered. "When _that _happens, she'll lose more than her virtue."

"Oh, really?" Miyu asked tartly. "And what else would I lose, exactly?"

Riley choked on his orange juice and turned in spluttering fear to see her standing behind him, arms folded in an ominous stance.

"MIYU!" He squeaked. "Oh, uh-hey! I was just enriching our guest here with, uh-"

He looked desperately at Leon, who hid neutrally behind his mug of coffee.

"Don't bring meinto this, man."

Miyu jabbed her finger at the young cat warningly, her indigo eyes flashing.

"Let me just remind you, Riley," She said murderously. "Just because we're walled up in a ruin, far away from the SharpClaw, _doesn't _mean something dangerous can't happen to you. Remember that."

Riley's fur spiked fearfully, as he shrunk slightly in his chair.

Miyu sniffed the air, and her concrete expression reverted to a sunny one.

"Mmm, is that cinnamon toast I smell?"

Fay slipped a plate over the counter happily. "That's right. Extra better, your favorite!"

"Oh, Fay, it smells _heavenly…" _Miyu took the plate gratefully and settled down at the table. "Thank you."

Riley gulped and slunk back into his seat, muttering. _"Every time…_ I don't know who's more terrifying. The SharpClaw…or _her." _

Wolf walked in, rubbing his eyes sleepily and muttering something about Miyu being impatient. But as soon as he came within range of the kitchen his nose perked and his stomach churned.

_Holy shit…_ His stomach churned. _Whatever's cooking smells awesome…_

Fay started gathering and counting plates behind the counter.

"Hmm…let's see. One, two, three, four…we're one person short. Who're we-WOLF!" She looked up, and her eyes widened in surprise, the plates almost toppling out of her arms. "Oh, goodness-I didn't even see you there! Good morning!"

Wolf nodded politely. "Good morning-everyone."

But the minute he walked in, the energetic and bright atmosphere that everyone had contributed to the morning air disappeared instantly. The room became quiet, and restless.

The cheerful smiles and warm expressions on the TRU Member's faces faded, and they looked away suddenly. But Wolf already saw the alert, even nervous looks on their faces.

His easy smile faded, and he looked around, wondering if he had done something. Confused, he pulled up a chair next to Leon.

An awkward silence followed, and the avoidance of eye contact and uncomfortable shifts in weight didn't make the air any less tense.

Wolf tried not to stare at each one of them, but he couldn't help it. Was it this quiet every morning?

But he could tell that this wasn't the atmosphere that had been quiet for hours. Things had become rigid, and fast. He just didn't know why…

Riley wasn't cracking jokes or making witty remarks. He kept his eyes on his mug of coffee, occasionally looking up with a nervous, forced smile.

Miyu wasn't her rambunctious, hot-blooded self either. She barely looked anywhere but the table. She'd give Wolf a reassuring nod to indicate that she wasn't ignoring him, but her indigo eyes absent of ease.

Mason was nowhere near as stiff as he normally was, and was almost completely free of expression. It was his cold eyes that almost added a layer of frost to the quiet table.

Leon furrowed his eyebrows and looked about, also sensing the odd shift in the atmosphere.

Wolf placed his hands on the table, looking down at the table uncomfortably. He didn't know why everyone was acting like this…or what he had done to warrant them to act like this. They went out of their way to defend and support him in the argument yesterday.

So what was wrong with them now?

"Well, um…" Fay set her plates down, trying to stimulate a conversation. "Look at you! You're wearing the clothes I picked out for you…" She smiled at Wolf's black T-shirt and jeans. "You know, I was worried about how they'd turn out…I had to find the longest size at the market, since you're so tall…but you pull it off quite nicely."

Wolf smiled. "Do I?"

"Meh, I think he could've chosen a better color." Miyu looked up skeptically through her mouthful of toast. "Black is such an adolescent color. Still…better than rags, any day." She raised her mug promptly. "You better eat something. We aren't sending a scarecrow into battle, now are we?"

"Yeah, if he doesn't sleep through the battle, first," Mason said coldly. "Try not to sleep in too often, would you, Venomian? We're a Resistance, with a schedule and starting time of our own-neither of which we can delay waiting for you."

Leon raised a wary brow over his coffee, and Riley looked between them nervously.

But Wolf didn't have the energy to start a confrontation this early in the morning. Not to mention that he'd earn the tension he was getting if he acted impulsive or quarrelsome.

Instead, he just nodded. "You're right. If I sleep in, I'll never get any training done-how does 3:30 sound?"

Mason didn't say anything else for a second, and then went back to slicing his apple. "Just don't make it a habit."

"How did you sleep, anyway?" Fay asked anxiously. "Were you comfortable? If there was noise, I'm _sorry-_I kept telling Nigel and the others to keep it down while they were up last night-"

"I'm fine, really," Wolf assured her, feeling a bit uncomfortable with all this doting.

"Well, don't be shy, come on!" She tapped the counter "Have something to eat!"

Wolf peered over the kitchen counter. "Well, it smells good enough. What's there to eat?"

Leon smiled. "Oh, hell…here it comes."

Fay beamed, like she had bursting for this moment all morning. "I'm glad you asked. You see, I don't know what you like, and I didn't want to make you the _wrong _breakfast…not on your first day." She spread her arms happily. "So I just went all out, and made everything."

Wolf blinked. "Everything?"

Immediately, the Spaniel started placing numerous plates on the counter-top.

"I thought that maybe you wanted something sweet, so I made chocolate-chip pancakes-and some strawberries, if you're health-conscious. But if you're not, I just whipped up some cinnamon buns—with and without the icing, because I didn't want you to complain that I put too much, and I tend to do that…" She laughed dismissively, and started bringing out more plates. "But I also made a batch of blueberry muffins-you know, if you wanted something smaller. But then, you could be _allergic _to blueberries, so I made cranberry muffins, too."

Wolf looked from plate to plate, stammering between the intoxicating smell of each one, eyes growing bigger with each passing dish. Despite their stiffened expressions, Miyu and the others couldn't help but grin with knowing smiles.

"But all of that's pretty sweet, and you might've been craving something salty-which I can totally understand by the way, _I_ always am-" She added brightly. "So I also made some hash-browns. But since you've got a lot of training, and I didn't want you to get bloated, and you might need something nutritious-" She pulled yet another plate from behind the counter. "I put together a little lightweight omelet, with some cilantro, diced tomatoes, peppers, cheese, poached salmon-you know. The basic stuff."

"Th-the basic stuff?" Wolf said weakly.

"Mm-hmm. I could throw in some turkey bacon, but I didn't know if you were vegan, or anything." She waved her hand dismissively. "But I also have some oatmeal if you're allergic to eggs, and some peach pie if you're allergic to oats, apple tart if you're allergic to apples-some berry scones if you're allergic to peaches _and _apples-and, if you're in the mood for something simple…" She placed one final plate on the counter. "…just plain steak and eggs."

Fay stood proudly over her work, arms folded.

"So, you have plenty of variety. I just hope you'll find somethingyou'll like."

If it hadn't been for the sudden limp feeling in his stomach, Wolf would've keeled over in pure happiness. He hadn't been one for illustrious food, especially from going between war zones to prison to a slave yard…but _this?_

He just remained rigid, eyes huge, mouth partially open, finger shaking. It was almost torturous, having to savor each intoxicating aroma, and try to keep his mouth from watering by turning his head…only to catch a whiff of an even more tantalizing dish.

"_Uh…"_ He almost groaned.

Fay's expression changed to confusion, then concern. "What's the matter?

Leon snickered. "Ha, you should see the look on your face. I made the same one."

"Is there something wrong with them, still?" Fay scratched her head. "I'm sure I made an alternative for all the allergens…nuts, berries, eggs…" She counted on her fingers. "What else could it be…?"

"Fay," Mason looked up, keeping his face straight and serious. "Did it ever occur to you that he might be allergic to milk?"

The young Spaniel's face became overwhelmed with a frozen look of terror, drawing her frantic gaze to the plates.

"_Oh no," _She whispered. "But-_everything has milk in it!" _She was already thrown into another fluster. "Oh, God, I didn't-!"

"Calm down, he was joking!" Leon laughed. "I've known Wolf for years…he isn't allergic to anything, at least nothing he's told me about."

Wolf was still staring at all the plates, drawing his look of jarred disbelief away from them for a split second to look at Fay.

"Fay…I appreciate this gesture, I really do….but I have to know." He looked deadly serious. _"When in God's name did you find the time to _MAKE _all this?!"_

"What, this?" Fay glanced at the plates indifferently. "Oh, I put it all together in the last hour.

Wolf's jaw dropped. "In the last hour? _You?"_

"Mm-hmm!" Fay nodded.

Wolf looked around. "All by yourself?"

"She's a pro at her work," Miyu said, ruffling Fay's ears. "Trust me…if cooking was a branch in the military, Fay would outdo the Star Fox Team. You'd think General Pepper was a gourmet chef with the way _she _cooks."

Fay brushed Miyu's hands away affectionately. "Oh, stop. Besides-" She looked at Wolf with a warm smile. "I just thought he'd feel less like an outsider if he was entitled to the same breakfast as us. You're one of us now…and despite the fact that some of us aren't acting like it…"

She shot a reproachful look at Mason, who folded his arms stiffly.

"I'm giving the kid some time out of my day to train. That's all the benefit he needs."

"…I figured this would be a good way to show that our hospitality is abundant, and never denied." Fay nodded towards Wolf.

"You never made a breakfast like this on _my _first day," Riley grumbled.

"Well, thanks a ton, Fay. I can tell you went through a lot of trouble on my account," Wolf said, looking sheepishly at all the food. "I, uh…I'm not used to this much hospitality. And I'll make it up to you somehow…"

Fay laughed.

"You can start by picking something, and acting less modest." Fay gestured towards the plates on the counter. "Go on, which one will it be?"

"Pick the omelet," Leon recommended. "It's the best thing here."

"No, no, man." Riley pointed at his empty plate with his spoon. "The _oatmeal's _the best. It's the bomb."

"Wrong, the both of you," Miyu corrected, licking her fingers. "The cinnamon toast outdoes everything."

Mason didn't say anything, but before sipping his drink, he said something out of the corner of his mouth.

"_The tarts."_

Wolf looked about each plate. "Jesus Christ, there's so much to pick from. Um…" He looked up at Fay. "Can….can I just have all of them?"

Fay's ears perked up, her eyes caught wide in surprise.

"All of them?" She looked at the plates while wringing her fingers, almost nervously thrilled. Apparently, that option hadn't crossed her mind either. "Really? You'd-? I mean…are you that hungry?"

"I'll MAKE myself hungry, if I have to," Wolf vowed, staring determinedly at all the food.

"Oh, well then…have at it, then," Fay sang happily. "Enjoy!"

Wolf examined each plate, contemplating his new dilemma. "Oh, God…what do I eat first…?"

Meanwhile, Fay patrolled the table and eyed everyone's plates, bobbing about like a frantic mother.

"Is there anything I can get? More syrup? Is there too much flour in the pancakes? I swear, I must've put too much-"

"Oh, stop fretting and worrying over us, Fay!" Miyu insisted. "My God…You're always taking care of everyone but yourself! Why don't you sit down and eat with us, for a change?"

"Me, eat?" Fay sighed longingly. "Not with all the cooking I have left to do. The refugee mothers are going to be up soon, and their children, too. I have to make sure someonefeeds _them."_

Wolf's hand hovered over the cinnamon buns, before he looked up. "Wait a minute-She does _all _the cooking?"

Riley patted his stomach contently. "Breakfast, lunch , and dinner."

Wolf felt himself feel even weaker in the stomach.

"My God…" He turned to Miyu. "And you're saying people _refuse _to take refuge in this place? What the hell is wrong with them?!"

Then, a familiarly-low voice boomed meekly from behind.

"Mornin', everyone."

Everyone looked up to see Nigel wave his gigantic hands down at them.

"_There _you are," Miyu said impatiently. "It's five o' clock. When were you planning to eat?"

"M'Sorry," Nigel mumbled sleepily. "Sauru needed to see me about something. Oh yeah…" He looked down at Wolf. "You, Max…he wanted you to come to his study, right away."

"Me?" Wolf sat up instantly. "Did he say what for?"

"Nah, but he said it was urgent…about yer training for some power, or somethin'…" His droopy eyes moved to the table, before looking back up. "Mmm…biscuits look good. I'd move fast, if I was you. The old man isn't patient."

Wolf, Miyu, and Riley all looked at each other, reading the same look in each other's eyes. They all sat up instantly and headed towards the study, thanking Fay for the lovely breakfast.

Wolf looked back painfully at his untouched breakfast for a long time.

"Crap…" His eyes darted across the spread anxiously and looked up at Fay. "Thanks for the breakfast, Fay. See you later!"

Finally, he seized a muffin, and sprinted off after the others.

Fay stood alone over the kitchen table, and looked at the breakfast spread with a melancholy sigh. She began picking them up and settling them behind the counter.

_The way to a man's heart is through his stomach…that's what everyone says is the quickest way…_

She huddled all the plates close in a lonesome manner, looking longingly at the tray of muffins…at the vacant spot where one was missing.

_But what if he doesn't eat?_

_Shrine Sub-Level, Five minutes later…._

Sauru slithered back and forth between tables, flipping through numerous open books and muttering to himself.

He coiled back over the center table-top, examining the small, black scarab lying on its back on the metal tray. The SharpClaw poked at it with his scalpel, his keen, yellow eyes more precise than the aid of any microscope.

"Hold still, my little friend," He murmured. "You're about to contribute yourself to a fine purpose…far more tasteful than rolling dung about, I assure you…"

The insect writhed and snapped with its pincers, forcing Sauru to pin it down with the long raptor claw on his middle finger. He arched his scalpel delicately.

"Just _hold still…"_

FWMP!

There was the sound of the curtain door rustling, and a loud voice shaking the musty air of the study.

"Hey, Sauru, did you need something-?"

SLRTCH!

"ARGH!"

Sauru jumped at the sudden noise and howled as his finger slipped, the scalpel rushing back to quickly and sending a sickening sound and a gush of black blood on the counter-top.

He smashed his hand down on the table furiously, crushing the unfortunate insect underneath his quaking fist. He spun around to face Wolf and the others, face livid as he clutched his hand.

"_Knock first_, _you pus-brained simpletons_…KNOCK FIRST!" The SharpClaw growled. "Just because I don't have an actual door doesn't mean you can't make your presence known before you enter the room!"

"Sorry," Riley said, scratching his head apologetically. "I keep forgetting, you know-you have that curtain thing, and not a _real _door…"

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "What were you doing over there, anyway…?"

Then, his eyes fell on the black, bleeding stub on Sauru's hand and looked down to realize in horror that the severed, clawed scrap of scaled flesh on the floor was his _finger._

"Oh, GOD!" He staggered back, feeling sick. "Is that…your _finger?!"_

Sauru glanced at it. "Hmph. It would appear so."

Miyu rolled her eyes. "Great…_again. _Handling the experiment tools a little too aggressively, Sauru?"

"You came and startled _me," _Sauru spat. "It's _your _damn fault you people never knock and this keeps happening."

"Maybe you should consider getting a door!" Riley said hotly. "You'd be a little less startled whenever someone just waltzes in!"

Wolf looked from the finger, to Sauru's hand, to all of them, still processing the fact that they were all so calm about this.

"Wait a minute…are you all just ignoring what just happened? _He just cut off his own damn finger!"_

"Yeah, you're all taking it rather well," Leon said, looking a bit disturbed.

Miyu, Riley, and Mason looked at the two of them with bewildered expressions, as if they had asked them what color the sky was.

But Sauru chuckled and held up his bleeding hand.

"Oh, that's right…heh, I keep forgetting how new you two are, and how little you know." His snake-like tail moved over a table and curled around a strap of cloth, coiling back and dropping it into his hand, before he promptly dried the blood off his wound. "See? It's already stopped bleeding."

He held up his four-fingered hand, and Wolf's jaw dropped as he saw the fleshy, closed-up stub where Sauru's middle finger used to be. It was so fastened in reformed flesh that it looked like an old scar than an new wound. If Wolf hadn't witnessed what had just happened, he would've assumed that the Sharplaw had lost that finger years ago.

But as he kept watching, he saw something small, and black, and shiny poke out of the tip of the stump, like a butterfly emerging from a cacoon.

Leon's face scrunched up. "What the _hell…?"_

The stub seemed to grow more scales in fast-forwarded real-time, like a sped-up replay of a tree growing. The stub grew longer and longer, curling as the black nail at the top developed into a full claw.

In moments, Sauru was flexing his re-grown finger, before casually picking up the discarded remnant of his old one off the floor like a piece of strewn litter.

"Sauru, did you have to do that _right this instant?" _Miyu asked irritably. "I didn't really need to see that after I just had breakfast."

Wolf was had his eyes locked on the finger in the middle of the SharpClaw's hand, staring at it like it was still a missing and deformed stump.

"How…?" He said in a dry voice. "How did you do that…?"

_Swa-SHING!_

Sauru retracted his middle claw back and curled his fingers.

"Don't forget that I'm a reptile first, Star Wolf." He flexed his hand. "And like all reptilian life-forms, I can regrow the things I lose to the mere misfortunes and mistakes of others."

He shot a putrid look at Riley, who suddenly was taking an extreme interest in one of the specimen jars on one of the shelves.

Leon furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm a reptile, and I can't do that."

"Hmph, well…I can't be held accountable if reptiles like you evolved in _this _galaxy. We SharpClaw possess all abilities that our ancestral forefathers possessed. Certain traits like spitting venom or shooting spines have either faded from newer generations, or are only possessed by members of the SharpClaw Royal Family. But as a race of warriors, we can't afford to be without raw essentials, like arms, legs, eyes…" He couldn't suppress a snide look at Wolf. "I bet you'd appreciate that kind of spawning, eh, Star Wolf?"

A scalding look passed over Wolf's face.

"Never mind that, SharpClaw. Did you want to see me for something, or not?"

"Indeed I did, boy," Sauru said with a brisk nod. He turned begrudgingly to his squished scarab. "Though I'll admit I called you here a bit early…I was already in the middle of something."

Mason folded his arms skeptically. "You're always spending hours hunched over those dung-rollers. Do you spend this much time strategizing our next plans?"

Sauru's mouth curled in distaste.

"These _dung-rollers _are how I fund this organization. Buying weapons, stocking up food, bribing traders, planning these 'heroic escapades' at every Slave Yard…" He held up the flattened beetle. "…comes from _this. _So remember this skepticism of yours the next time you're handling a shining new rifle."

"Your funding comes from _that?"_ Leon raised his eyebrows, amused. "Really?"

Sauru placed the insect on the tray with a sly smile. "Stick around, my boy, and you'll see how soon enough." He turned to Wolf. "But enough of this meaningless squabble….our Resistance's troubles aren't the first order of today's business. It's your training. After all, That's what's going to be our salvation, right?"

Riley, Miyu and Mason looked at each other with unsure looks, a restless anxiety among them.

"Yeah, um…about that," Miyu started, looking down at the ground uncomfortably. "We were talking earlier, Sauru…and we think-"

But Wolf stepped forward eagerly.

"Yes, let's get started. I was up all night thinking about it. How are we going to go about getting my memory back? Does this method of yours require meditation, or physical prowess, or something?" Wolf's eyes darted about. "Because if it does, I don't want to get-"

"We aren't going to retrieve your memory right this instant, boy," Sauru interrupted.

"We aren't?" Wolf's anticipated look faded. "Why not? Is there something wrong…?"

"There's nothing wrong with the means," Sauru said plainly. "If my calculations are correct, the method I have in store can be assembled and made ready in an instant. I can employ it at any time, if I wish. But I think we should start with physical training before we get into that."

"Why?" Wolf asked. "Getting my memory back would make everything easier, _including_ the training! Wouldn't it make sense just to get it out of the way, just get it all, now?"

Sauru raised his eyebrows.

"'Get it all out of the way now'?" He repeated, almost amused. "You didn't honestly think you were going to retrieve all of your memory in one session, did you?"

Wolf didn't say anything. That was almost exactly what he had in mind.

"O'Donnell, this memory retrieval process isn't an overnight one," Sauru explained. "It's a long and difficult one. We're going to need every day of the next three weeks for it….but it can't be something to rush into. I must remind you that I don't even know if we'll succeed." He placed his hand on the stone book on his table. "The method has never been attempted in thousands of years…let alone perfected. Success isn't a prominent factor in this equation."

Wolf looked at the book and then at Sauru.

"I won't back down from trying it out," He said defiantly. "In three weeks, I'll be dead anyway…it doesn't matter how dangerous or impossible this tactic is."

Sauru shook his head. "It doesn't matter whether you think you're afraid or not to do it, Star Wolf. What matters is if you can meet the demand."

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"Mark my words, boy: this process…the Inner Power, and your mind…" His yellow eyes narrowed. "…will sap everything you have. You're still human…and you still reek of all things that cripple humanity. Pain, fear, loss, happiness, shame, guilt…" He pointed a claw at Wolf. "…and don't let your ego get the better of you, boy. You know all this still applies to you."

Wolf looked to the side, pondering on what he was saying.

"This isn't a trial of flesh and bone, or wit and intelligence. Your strength, your intellect, your skills or traits…none of those things are a factor. The process is an intense one, honing every mental and emotional drive you have. It dives into the very depths of your Inner Power…all the emotion and struggle that you've locked away or discarded." He picked up the thick, stone book, and let its slab of a cover slide open. "This isn't something that can be performed in a day. That is why you'll only recover a fraction of your memory each day, to make sure you don't exhaust yourself, and your Inner Power."

Riley gulped. "Jesus…"

Sauru turned to face all of them. "That's also why we'll have to perform this operation at the _end _of each day. It'll be better to do all your physical training during the early hours…and leave this process for last. Believe me…" He glanced at Wolf. "You won't want to try anything else in the aftermath of this process. All you'll want to do is end the day with sleep to soothe the pain. So it's less of a matter of if you're _able _to undergo the process…the question is, will you_ want_ to."

Wolf looked down.

"I guess that makes sense. So what kind of training will I do during the day?"

"The daytime focus will be on the tactics _I _have in store for you." Sauru pointed at his head. "The techniques I've stored since ancient times. They're centuries old, and require the most primitive of methods to learn. But between the hours you spend under my instruction, you'll spend learning combat necessities from the rest of the TRU." He glanced at Miyu and the other two. "That's where the three of you come in."

They didn't say anything. They remained where they stood, coughing occasionally or looking to the side uncomfortably.

Sauru frowned. "Is there a problem?"

Riley nudged Miyu and whispered something, before pushing her forward slightly. She scowled at him, before saying in a reluctant voice: "Fine!"

She stepped forward. "Sauru, we might have to delay Wolf's training for now. None of us…are really up to it today." She minced her words as slowly as possible, as if constructing the best way to put it.

"And why would that be?" Sauru asked sharply. "You all agreed to it yesterday."

"Well, yeah, but-" Riley wrung his sleeves nervously.

"But what?" Sauru demanded. "If you have something to say, spit it out. Do you feel some measure of recline about training this boy?"

"What? No—we, we just-"

"Then what is it? Speak up!"

Miyu looked at Wolf, and then at Sauru, a slight squirm in her stance. All of them seemed to look at him with the same mixed look of discomfort reluctance, like he was some painful flu shot they had to take.

"Well, we-um…" Miyu started.

Mason stepped in front of her. "We have other duties to attend to, Sauru. And mos"

The SharpClaw raised an eyebrow. "Other duties?"

"Yes. Those new recruits need supervision and guidance if they're going to be combat-ready before the year is out. And that won't happen if I'm here with this boy, and not at the sparring pit."

Sauru nodded rationally. "Fair enough. You get your combat instructing duties out of the way today…and the two of you can spar tomorrow."

Mason turned to leave, before glancing at Wolf with an expressionless look that was betrayed by the provoking, spiteful demeanor in his eyes.

"I'll look forward to it."

Wolf watched him leave, flexing his claws with the slightest glare of contemptuous acceptance to that veiled challenge. _So will I, Cornerian._

Sauru turned to Miyu and Riley.

"And as for you both….I see no reason why you two should be occupied. Fay and the widows are attending to the children and wounded, and the Refugee men are finishing up whatever construction left to make in the upper bowels of the Shrine. And I'm sure that you both have no military operations to plan…not with all the attention that last venture at the Slave Yard garnered. Both of you should be ready to extend whatever knowledge you have to this boy when you're called upon…and that will be soon."

The two of them looked at each other uneasily.

"Definitely," Miyu said, trying to sound assuring. "We'll be ready. Come on, Riley…you, too Leon. We should leave them to it."

"Yeah, totally," Riley said, his voice pitched high as he tried to swallow his nervousness. "Just, uh…tell us when."

Leon looked about and determined that his presence was no longer needed. He patted Wolf on the shoulder.

"Good luck with your training, man," He muttered to him. "I'll see you in a bit".

They all turned, with Miyu glancing back anxiously in Wolf's direction, before they brushed the curtain-door aside and left quietly. He could already hear the shift in voice tones after the curtain flapped closed, before the hushed voices faded from audibility.

It was just Wolf and Sauru, alone in the cluttered study. He looked back at the curtain, discomfort squirming in his stomach.

"What is _with _all them, today?"

Sauru looked up from his table. "What do you mean?"

"Miyu and the rest!" Wolf said irritably. "Seriously, they've been like this all morning! They weren't like this when I met them, or when they were sticking up for me yesterday! Now they look at me like…" He looked at the SharpClaw. "…like I'm some kind of hostile. Did you notice anything strange about them?"

Sauru's hand stopped as he reached for a pair of tongs. He didn't move for a moment, before shrugging.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, boy," He said dismissively. "I think you're letting your morning drowsiness get to you. Now, let's get on with your training, shall we?"

Wolf narrowed his eyes. "You know what's going on with them, don't you?"

"I wouldn't really know, since I'm not a Lylatian, like them," Sauru pointed out, as he pulled out a long, dusty object wrapped in cloth. "I don't bear the same scars they do. That probably is what makes them regard you in that way…and will probably take some time to wear off before they finally get used to you."

"Scars?" Wolf repeated. "I haven't inflicted any scars on them."

Sauru unraveled the cloth to reveal a slim, knobby stick, its sapped wood shining in the dim light cast by the oil-lamps.

"Yes…of course you haven't."

Wolf rolled his eyes, deciding that this was yet another topic Sauru refused to elaborate on. _Crazy old lizard. _

He turned to him, pointing the stick at him. "Now, before we start that training of yours, there's something _you'll _have to perform as a pledge of good faith. Understand?"

"I guess." Wolf shrugged absentmindedly, not really paying attention.What kind of pledge?"

Sauru poked his stick downwards. "Get on your knees."

Wolf turned. "What?"

THWACK!

"_OUCH!"_

Wolf's knees buckled and forced him to crumple down, as Sauru rapped them sharply with a swift blow from his cane-like stick. He looked up at him, scowling angrily.

"What the hell was that for?!" He demanded, rubbing his swelling knees. "Why're you-?!"

Sauru kept his stick leveled between Wolf's eyes, with his face hardened into a steel expression.

"From this day forth, you'll refer to me as 'Master Sauru'…or 'sir'." He held his stick warningly. "Is that clear?"

"You needed a _stick _to enforce that message?" Wolf said in an irritated voice.

Sauru rested his stick on his shoulder. "With your stubborn mindset and unbound arrogance, pain and discipline are the only teachers that will help evolve. I may refrain from using the Adder Tongues, but that's solely because I'm not trying to force fear out of you…." He pointed his stick at him. "…only respect, and cooperation. Neither you nor I have time to pamper you with room to make mistakes or be idle in this training…not with _your_ agenda."

Wolf's impudent scowl faded, realizing that he was being serious. On any other occasion, he would've walked right out of there before anyone whipped him like an obedient dog.

_I have to put up with it… _He thought in disgruntled acceptance. _I need what he has to teach, if I'm going to live…_

"Yes…._sir." _He had to force it out. It was just too odd to refer as this shriveled, ancient, lizard that was a good two feet shorter than him as "sir."

"Good." Sauru put up his stick approvingly. "You're realizing that these secrets I'm bestowing to you are a privilege. They date far back, to a period long before either of our races grew limbs and walked on two feet. I'm not the least bit obligated to teach you anything beyond what you're expected to know…but I'm teaching you other essentials out of the goodness of my heart. This is _me _doing _you _a favor…" He slithered back and forth. "And whatever I say or deem necessary for this training…whether it's keeling over in physical exhaustion, or lying on a bed of coals….you'll do it. In this room, _my _word is law. Understand?"

Wolf grumbled and rubbed his knees.

Sauru whirled around, stick at the ready. "Do you _understand?"_

Wolf jumped. "YES! Sir," he added hastily, with his hands leaping to his knees on instinct at the wince of anticipating another blow.

Sauru nodded. "Good. Just keep that in mind…now, for the pledge, repeat the following: 'I swear fulfill my master's teachings to the fullest…training relentlessly, and gratefully.'"

He turned to Wolf, who kept his eyebrows furrowed as he questioned the necessity of all this.

THWACK!

"MMPH!"

Wolf's fur spiked as he clutched his knees, glowering hatefully up at Sauru.

"Repeat it!" Sauru spat.

In a sting of pain, with his eyes watering, Wolf looked up and kept his scalding look locked on the old SharpClaw, wishing the most painful of deaths for him.

"_I swear fulfill my master's teachings to the fullest," _He repeated through clenched teeth. "…training relentlessly, and thankfully."

"'_Gratefully'!" _Sauru leveled his stick warningly.

Wolf rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

THWACK!

Discarded papers and torn pages that littered the study flew up as Sauru wacked him again with the stick.

"GRATEFULLY!" Wolf shouted furiously, pressing his knees together under him, and clenching his fists.

"Good." The SharpClaw continued. "Now, repeat the rest: 'That I'll hold these teachings closer to myself than my skin, my heart, and my bones. That I'll condemn myself to a suitable death, before I taint these teachings'..."

Sauru's hardened look faded, and he looked to the side.

"…'with any ignorance, selfishness, betrayal, or malice I have left to spare'..." His grip on his stick slackened, his eyes distant. "… 'on my allies…and master'."

Wolf looked hard at the old Field Advisor, confused by the sudden shift in expression. It might've been his imagination…but he could sense some kind of guilt in the SharpClaw's voice.

Sauru looked hard at the shadows that enveloped the corner of the study, before shaking himself and centering his merciless stick on Wolf only.

"Repeat that."

Wolf nodded, and said the words…still puzzled by what they meant. He had a feeling that there was a measure of past experience that provoked the old SharpClaw into demanding such an oath from him.

Sauru planted his stick in the ground, and gestured upwards with his claws. "Now, get off your knees and stand up. We're going to begin with a very basic technique, one that originates from over two thousand years ago, and one that will be the first of a string of techniques that will form a full, complete style. But I'm going to tell you this, right now…" He raised a warning claw. "Each technique is a stance and movement…._one, precise, specific _stance and movement. Even the slightest inaccuracy-footing, posture, direction-a single inch in the incorrect direction, and the technique won't work." He smiled. "So I'll have you practice the same technique until you've perfected it. Are you ready?"

Wolf got up and nodded eagerly. "Yes, sir."

Immediately, the SharpClaw slithered forward and plucked his stick out of the ground. He jabbed it lightly at Wolf's feet.

"Place those firmly in the ground…grind them in, keep your ankles out…I said, _out. _Do it!"

Wolf frantically arched his feet correctly, and Sauru continued.

"Flex your arms out…yes, like that….elbows out and behind. Now, the motion of this stance…" He brought his arms up. "Is to start a rhythm in your shoulders…get them to rise…and-"

_Fwip!_

Sauru flourished his right arm above his left, cranking his shoulders to raise both arms up….before separating arms and having one drawn back, and one striking forwards in fluid motion, like a chop.

The precision of the chop caused a slight wind to ripple, and the papers that littered the floor flew up slightly.

Wolf raised an eyebrow. "Is that it?"

Sauru sneered. "'Is that it', he says. It has to be performed with absolute perfection in every movement, otherwise the whole stance falls apart." He picked up his stick. "Perform this technique, if you can."

Wolf rubbed his chin, envisioning the stance the way Sauru did it.

"Hmm… Do that move a couple more times. Let me get another look at it."

Sauru drew himself into the same stance four more times, and swung his arm down-replicating the same speed and swiftness perfectly each time.

After studying the flow of movement keenly, Wolf felt ready to try it out.

He dug his feet into the ground, feeling confident enough. He kept his ankles out…arched his shoulders, and…

THWACK!

Sauru struck him sharply on the back with his stick. _"Wrong! _Look how laid-back, you are…that kind of slouch is reserved for drunken swine and old men! Stand up _straight!"_

Wolf seethed, and glared at him. He straightened up, took a deep breath, and flourished his arms the way he had seen Sauru do it. Only seconds after he brought his hand down did he receive another painful strike in the back.

THWACK!

"_Gargh!"_

He growled and turned fiercely to Sauru, who prodded his back disapprovingly.

"You're _still _not straight enough…you're meant to be a blade of grass, not a drooping weed! Look at how low your swing is because of it! Do it again!"

Wolf heaved himself higher, thinning his stance.

THWACK!

"More rigid!"

Wolf grinded his teeth at the searing spot where the blunt stick struck. Sauru began slithering in circles around, his keen reptilian eyes wandering over him skeptically.

THWACK!

"Not enough rigid! More! Bring your arms down! Eyes forward!"

Wolf's brow creased and made his expression clenched in an enraged mask of frustration, as he kept swing his arm down, making his body more and more tight.

THWACK!

"_More _rigid!"

THWACK!

"Are you deaf, boy? I said _more!"_

THWACK! THWACK!

The blows only made the spots in Wolf's fur sear up and burn, causing his spiky fur to rile up and his back to straighten. He could almost feel his spine align with the inside of his back, grunting in frustration as he kept swinging his arm.

_THWACK!_

Wolf coughed and clutched his ribs, as Sauru jabbed him in the stomach.

"What the hell are you doing? _Breathe,_ for Claw's sake! You'll suffocate yourself if you tighten your lungs like that…and keep your eyes straight!"

"I won't be _able _to breathe if you keep jabbing me in the damn stomach!" Wolf croaked angrily, as he massaged his swollen stomach.

"You won't be able to _stand, _much less breathe, if you don't do this correctly!" Sauru hissed impatiently. "Now, straighten up, and bring your arm down again, but _properly _this time!"

_Fwip!_

THWACK!

"_Wrong! _Keep your elbows aligned! Do it again!"

_Fwip!_

THWACK!

"Didn't I tell you to keep your back straight, boy? Again!"

It was an on-going cycle. Wolf would swing his arm, and Sauru would strike him for making another incorrect move. There'd always be _something_ wrong…. And every swing, every blow from the wooden stick, every impatient bark from Sauru would make Wolf's blood boil higher and his patience wane thinner.

"THWACK!"

"Wrong again! Do it _properly!"_

Finally, Wolf's last nerve snapped.

"ENOUGH!"

Sauru raised his eyebrows in surprise, as Wolf turned to him, panting in a fit of rage. He was shaking, covered in sweat, and had more bruises than fur. Every seething, passing heave of breath was filled with irritation at the absurdity and mindless harshness of these primitive methods.

"This isn't going anywhere!" Wolf snarled. "You beating me relentlessly with a scrap of wood isn't going to help me learn, _sir!"_

"This is how the technique was practiced a millennia ago, and how _you're _going to learn!" Sauru hissed. "You either do it this way, or not at all!"

Wolf growled. "I don't have time for this crap. This isn't a lesson, or any kind of instruction…this you beating me until I get it right!"

"And _that _is how you'll perfect it!" Sauru drew nearer to him, voice filled with ruthless malice. "You can complain about it being relentless and unforgiving, about the pain being an unnecessary teaching tool….you and every other soft-hearted Cornerian here." He pointed at the curtain-door. "I respect each of those TRU members, but they'll never understand the value in this way of teaching. They can complain about it being too harsh, unnecessarily raw and bloody." He drew closer, face inches from him, hissing. "But _that _is how soldiers are forged. You Lylatians train men into men wielding guns….but we SharpClaw train warriors, and _this _is the way we would train warriors for the last thousand years. I'm not one of your petty supervisors at the Academy, Star Wolf…I'm a SharpClaw. The art of war is written in my blood: I, my father, and my father's father became warriors because of the pain in our learning.

"_That _is how I learned, _that _is how warriors are molded, and _that's _how you'll learn each one of these techniques." His mouth curled into a snide smile. "Or you could quit now, and leave these teachings behind you. But do it with the knowledge that you gave up before perfecting the first technique."

Wolf stared at the old man with a putrid stare of loathing.

"I've seen the work of your 'warriors'…all over the Slave Yard." He sneered scornfully. "It seems beating is the only way to enforce anything in your race, 'Master.' And if that's the way you enforce the training, then maybe you can keep it."

Sauru's smug expression disappeared.

He reached up and tugged on his purple hood, exposing a long, snake-like mark on his scaly neck. Wolf realized with a cold tingle of his spine that it was a burn…etched deeply into his scales.

"When I was a boy, my master trained me by carving marks into my neck with a molten scrap of iron. Mark my words, Star Wolf…" He slipped his hood up. "The training of a SharpClaw isn't something to sneer at. Just be grateful I'm teaching you a lesson in bruises…and not a scar."

Wolf's expression remained locked in stunned silence, before his brow creased back to its defiant state.

"I've never cowered from receiving scars, in training or battle."

"No?" The SharpClaw turned to him interestedly. "I wouldn't imagine you'd want any more. An eye gone…a back in tatters…" His eyes shone intuitively. "Tell me, boy…what else are you prepared to lose?"

Wolf shot him another putrid glare, but remained silent.

The SharpClaw shook his head. "You take pride in your scars, Star Wolf…and that makes you less afraid of receiving more. You'll never become stronger if you keep to that hard-headed, blunt way of thinking." He brought his stick down in his hand like guillotine. "You have to _crush _your old mentality and self…and change the way you think. Make up for that lack of maturity with patience, and cunning."__

Wolf turned to look at him. "You want me to practice patience a few weeks before my own death?"

The SharpClaw's eyes widened madly, a smile brewing on his lips. _"_What better time to practice? You dread the hours leading to your rapidly-approaching fate…but I see it, almost as a fortuitous opportunity."

Wolf stared at him for a long time.

"You're insane, you know that?"

Sauru shrugged. "You call it insanity, I call it an alternative form of progress. Let's see which one benefits you before your time is out, hmm?" He waved his stick impatiently. "Come, now….practice that move again."

Wolf sighed, feeling like they hadn't established anything. "Yes, sir."

Taking a deep breath, Wolf arched his ankles out, dug his feet into the ground, stiffened his back, and flourished his arms again.

_Fwip!_

THWACK!

He winced. Sauru whirled his stick back.

"Wrong. Again!"

Wolf swallowed the pain and did it again.

_Fwip!_

THWACK! "Again!"

Wolf muttered as he flourished his arms, letting the searing blows sink into his skin.

"This is ludicrous."

THWACK!

Sauru faced him, stick leveled. "What was that?"

Wolf didn't answer. He just practiced his form again.

THWACK!

Sauru looked at him, stick raised dangerously.

"Say that again."

Wolf turned to face him, a full, unhinged scowl of frustrated vehemence in his face.

"_This is _LUDICROUS!" He shouted.

THWACK!

"What is it?" Sauru demanded.

"LUDICROUS!" Wolf spat, swing his arms down, the savage, brutal blows pumping his blood and boiling the rage in his stomach.

"TELL ME AGAIN!" Sauru snarled.

"LUDICROUS!"

_THWACK! _"AGAIN!"

"_LUDICROUS!"_

_THWACK! "AGAIN!"_

"_LUDICROUS!"_

**THWACK! **"AGAIN!"

Wolf's body was completely rigid. His shoulders spurred out of muscular control, and his arm jolted out of sudden, enraged movement.

_Fwip!_

"_LUDIRCOUS!" _He roared. He stopped, covered in bruises and agonizing marks that scorched sweat-soaked spots on his body, teeth bared and panting down at the Old SharpClaw, feeling murderous and frustrated-

Then, he stopped, shivering at the lack of another singe of pain in his body. He looked about, confused.

"Why didn't you hit me that time?"

Sauru put his stick down, smiling approvingly. "Because you just did it correctly."

Wolf paused. Slowly, he fastened his stance back in place, raised his arms, and brought one down…his shoulders and back wincing like they were expecting another blow.

_Fwip!_

He swung the arm down, the papers on the floor scattering from the small wind the sudden, brisk movement made.

Feeling an excited rush at the possibility, Wolf whirled around to glance at Sauru questioningly, as if confirming that he did it right.

Sauru nodded. "Correct."

Wolf's face, caked with the sweat and heat in the exhausted air around him, felt a cold, sharp thrill travel up his stomach. He had done it…he had performed the technique.

He straightened himself up, and did it again.

_Fwip!_

He turned to Sauru, who nodded again.

"You see? Your body's received the first engraved mark of training it needs."

Wolf cleared his face of any excited expression, before he locked his eyes forward and swung his arm down.

_Fwip!_

"Good! Do it again!"

_Fwip!_

Wolf tightened his fist, feeling his arm tingle. It was almost like he held the technique and form, in the palm of his shaking hand.

"Alright!" He said confidently. "That's one technique down. Now, what's the next one?"

Sauru waved his hand in a leisurely fashion. "There's no need to rush into the next one. Just practice that first stance some more."

Wolf paused. "Why? I've already mastered it!"

"Then perfect it." Sauru slithered over to his table, and set the stick down. "Make sure your body knows that flourish of movement well enough to perform it perfectly each time."

"Whoa, whoa, perfect _each time?" _Wolf repeated. "I'm not a machine, you know. I can't perform the same move identically and perfectly _every time _I do it!"

Sauru turned around, starting to look impatient. "Then, do it enough times until you can perform it perfectly effortlessly! Now, do it again!"

Wolf frowned disappointedly as he resumed his stance and swung his arm down again.

_Fwip!_

Sauru nodded. "Good. Do it again."

"What's this technique even for, anyway, sir?" Wolf wondered aloud. "What kind of combat is it?"

Sauru was going through a number of jars on his shelf before he looked up again.

"It _isn't _a combat move."

Wolf stopped mid-swing. "It's not? Then, what's it for?

Sauru unscrewed the top of a jar. "Just practice it long enough, and you'll see where it comes in useful." He began gathering herbs and ground stone from other jars, before he looked up. "I'm not hearing you practice."

Wolf groaned and stared at the ceiling as he swung his arm absentmindedly. _Fwip!_

"Could you just give me a straight answer for once, instead of another cryptic half-hint? What is this _for? _Maneuvering, stealth, disarming, what?"

Sauru picked up a struggling scarab from the open jar and tossed into a mortar bowl. He then picked up a foaming beaker of glowing liquid from a rusted rack.

"Why are you so curious to know?" He asked.

"Because since I spent the last hour and a half being practically bruised to death until I got the damn move correctly, I _at least _want to know what it does!" Wolf rolled his eyes. "Jesus Christ….Why can't you just tell me?"

FWOOM!

Wolf whirled around fast enough to see a towering flame erupt from the mortar bowl as Sauru poured a single drop from the glowing beaker.

"Because if you know full well what you're practicing to do," Sauru explained, not looking up from his experiment. "You'll put less focus on what you're doing and more fantasizing about what you'll benefit from it. Don't focus on the goal ahead...focus on the process that _gets_ you there." He turned to smirk hatefully at Wolf. "Besides...I'm sure Fox McCloud wouldn't ask so many questions about the task _he _was given."

Wolf grinded his teeth and went back to swinging his arm.

_Tch…the old bastard really likes getting under my skin, doesn't he?_

"It's wrong for me to want a sense if confidence in what I'm doing?" He asked.

Sauru's reptilian nostrils flared in distaste as he dumped the cooled mortar bowl over.

"Confidence...hmph." He curled his lip to expose his sharp fangs. "Confidence is counter-productive if put before all things. Confidence invokes arrogance. Arrogance creates counter-productivity. Counter-productivity wastes time." _Clunk! _A charred, steaming object that looked like charcoal dropped out of the bowl. "Time is something you can't afford, O'Donnell."

"So if you aren't going to tell me what this is for, what's the point of practicing so hard?" Wolf asked hopelessly.

Sauru's hand hovered over the charcoal, before he looked back.

"What if I told you that this technique is two thousand years old, and can save your life in one of the worst situations imaginable?"

Wolf's eyes widened, as he looked at his swung-out hand. "How?"

"If we're lucky, I'll never have to tell you." Sauru's hand hovered over the numerous tools on his table, before he selected a small hammer. "You'll figure it out on your own...maybe even use it without knowing."

"How will I do that?" Wolf asked, simply not grasping this. "How the hell can…can I just _sense _when to use it?"

Sauru, hammer raised to strike the charcoal, sighed in exasperation.

"Again. Patience." He spoke through his teeth. "It seems we keep coming back to it, don't we? If you don't try to understand these techniques and their usefulness for yourself...you won't become that great warrior I promised you'd be. But I can't do it all myself!" He turned pointing the hammer at Wolf with a scalding tone. "So for the love of Claw, _do it yourself!"_

Wolf's antagonized look faded, and he looked down meekly, realizing how insufferably impatient he was acting.

"Sorry, sir. I didn't mean-I just-" His expression became firm, and he nodded in stiff apology. "I'm sorry, Master."

He put his body back into its rigid stance, and began practicing his swing.

Sauru's shoulders sunk from behind, as he sighed.

"Listen, boy…" His voice mellowed somewhat, and the starch sharpness in his voice was a absent for a split moment. "I know that's probably hard for you. I can't expect a man who dives into enemy lines and showers himself in new wounds to know anything about patience. It's the way you've lived your whole life." He turned. "But you aren't Star Wolf anymore…you aren't some impudent whelp on the battlefield. This isn't another heated battle to rush into…this is condensed, mental and physical training. Something _you _have to do."

CRACK!

He struck the chunk of charcoal with a hammer, sending a twisted crack down the charred surface.

"Give yourself time, Star Wolf. And don't be disappointed if you don't know or learn everything at once. Confidence comes...only after you've been patient enough to warrant its validity. Allow yourself that much, and you'll become that warrior you strive to be...the one we need you to be."

Wolf looked to the corner, feeling a cold sense of discouragement tighten on the inside of his stomach.

"That's what you and everybody says, but…."

Sauru looked at him. "But what?"

"I don't know…" Wolf glanced at the bandages wrapped around his arm. "What if I can't do it, Sauru? What if I can't change? I mean, I have _three weeks _to get this all done…" He looked up, anxiety making his eyes teem with fear. "That's as long as my memory stays in the state to receive all this knowledge! I've been the same person all my life…a person I can't even remember being…and you want me to be patient enough to change my instincts, my reflexes, every single thought that I usually think?" He looked down, and sighed. "I can't do it…not this fast."

Sauru smiled.

"You've barely been at it for two hours, O'Donnell. And you're already changing."

Wolf looked up.

"Already, you're starting to do things no one expects you to do. You admit when you're wrong…you resist the urge to fight back whenever someone strikes you. And for the first time in your life…" He looked at Wolf's bandages. "…you're actually afraid of dying."

Wolf gripped his bandaged wrist, still not looking convinced.

_Krak!_

Sauru crumbled the cracked charcoal object in two halves, and something fell into the palm of his waiting hand.

"Give yourself time, Star Wolf. You have three weeks…and a man can change a lot in that amount of time. Who knows?"

He opened his hand, the sunlight streaks from the cracks in the boarded-up study windows casting a gleaming spark of radiance on the reflective surface of the object in his hand…

…a curled-up, non-moving scarab beetle, made completely out of solid gold.

Sauru smiled, eyes twinkling. "…You might transform into something truly remarkable, if you give yourself the chance."

Wolf's eyes grew large as they reflected with the gleam of the golden scarab, regarding Sauru with a bewildered, but curious look.

The SharpClaw turned, frowning at Wolf's motionless arms. "Come now, keep practicing that move! When you're done with that, the next step in the technique will link all the movements together into the technique I have in mind. Just be patient with it."

Wolf nodded, still wearing an intrigued look, before he reverted back to his rigid stance.

"Yes, Master Sauru."

_End of Chapter_


	24. Chapter 24

_Chapter 24: Paving the Road_

_Two hours later, Shrine Top-Level_

"Kid, are you sure this is safe?" Wolf demanded for the tenth time. "Because the more we do this, the less secure I feel."

"Don't worry, it's perfectly safe," Riley assured him. "I use it for _my _training, and my legs are still attached."

Wolf was glad enough to be out of the closed-up, dim-lit atmosphere of Sauru's study and out in the open air. He and Riley were practicing on the highest roof on the outside of the Shrine, where the mountain winds swept against the rock that held a firm grip on the ancient architecture built into it.

The afternoon sun seared down on Wolf's neck as he dove and rolled through the obstacle course that Riley had set up to test his agility and dodging ability. Every other second, a massive table-sized saw or a metal spike big enough to impale a SharpClaw would tear out of the wall or stone ground, propelled by robotic arms.

He panted and breathed in small, chopped gusts as he dove in and out of harm's way, sweat dripping down his back and tail as he arched his back and spun around to evade them.

Curling into a swift combat roll to avoid the swinging blade above him, he looked over at Riley, who was sitting on his spectator's rock on the canyon edge.

"I'm sure _you've _trained full and well through this thing." He caught his breath, pointing at one of the saws. "But every time I go near one of these things, I feel like I'm an inch from getting decapitated."

Riley raised a small remote and clicked the button. There was a low hum, the blades and saws curled up in their robotic arms and folded back into the stone compartments of the ground.

"This is all that's left over from the countless booby traps we found littering this place when Sauru found it. They were pretty lethal, but we disarmed and removed them."

SHING!

Riley clicked the button, and a tall saw rose just an inch away from him.

"I reassembled them here, and use 'em for my maneuvering exercises."

_Whr-_HUANG!

He clicked the button again, and the saw spun and buzzed inches from his face. He leaned slightly towards it, and the saw stopped spinning immediately. It retracted back and folded itself back into the ground.

"See?" He tapped the ground with his foot reassuringly. "I've programmed them with a nice detector field, so it switches off if anyone gets too close. So there's no risk in the training." He twirled the remote in his hand. "You think I'd go anywhere near this thing if it had a risk factor?"

Wolf glanced at the robotic arms.

"They look pretty primitive. They're all made of copper…not durasteel, or keurmorune, any industrial metal." He tapped one of the spikes curiously. "If these were built before you got here, who made them?"

Riley shrugged. "Probably whoever lived here before the TRU….during ancient times. By the looks of it, they weren't planning on having any guests intrude on this place. Not that I can understand why…" He looked around, nose wrinkled. "Nothing here, but cracked architecture and rock…nothing of value." He looked back at Wolf. "Come on…we should continue with the exercises."

Wolf nodded and went back to the starting point. He did the dodges and rolls a couple more times, feeling less intimidated by the stabbing and reaching flow of the mechanical traps.

But there was something bothering him…

He had been at this for hours…trying to replicate the same expert, nimble movement Riley had demonstrated for him to do, but hadn't been able to do it. True, he never got hit by anything…but he wasn't moving nearly as fluid and effortlessly as the Young Cat did.

That wasn't what bothered him. What bothered him was that Riley wasn't pointing this out, or even trying to remedy it.

In fact, he wasn't saying anything at _all._

He would make mistake after mistake, and Riley wouldn't say a thing to correct him. Wolf turned to him for instruction, or a comment, or criticism, _anything…_but the Cat would just say something like: "That's good, keep going" or "Don't worry, you're fine."

Wolf stopped between two spikes, and they both retreated back to the ground.

"Hey, Riley…" He turned around. "I'm starting to wonder if I'm doing this correctly."

"What?" Riley said quickly, sounding distracted. "Oh-uh, yeah! You're doing fine! Just keep going…"

He looked away instantly, eyes darting evasively to avoid eye contact. He was tugging on the sleeves of his coat, and licking his lips constantly.

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you sure? Because I feel like I'm making tons of mistakes…and you aren't saying anything."

"Why would I not say anything?" Riley said quickly. "If you were making a mistake, I'd tell you…right?"

With the way his trembling hands gripped the rock and his face was slowly drained of color, he looked a breath away from a nervous breakdown.

Wolf narrowed his eyes. "But you're not. I've made countless mistakes, and you just remain silent. Why is that?"

Riley looked around, tugging on his sleeves. "I…just don't want to discourage you too much, that's all."

Wolf walked over to him, his tall shadow enveloping the nervous-looking cat as he shrunk lower on his rock. He began to see the traces of fear in Riley's face…the squirm of anxiety he was trying to hide.

"Discourage…or upset me?" He asked slowly. "Riley, I think you're restraining yourself from correcting me. And it's probably because you're afraid of me…and how I'll react. You're worried that if you tell me I'm doing something wrong, I might lash out at you. Is that right?"

Riley didn't say anything. He glanced uncomfortably to the side, swallowing in an attempt to answer.

Wolf nodded, taking his silence as a yes.

"Riley, if you don't feel up to teaching me, there's no point in having the both of us waste time as I practice these exercises incorrectly. I don't have time to dawdle or make mistakes…not with that little 'side-effect' of my Inner Power coming up."

Riley sighed and looked down. "I know."

"I can always ask Sauru for a replacement teacher if you aren't comfortable." He regarded the small cat. "But just tell me… why are you suddenly acting like this today?"

"L-like what?"

Wolf didn't respond. He reached out with his hand, and suddenly Riley cringed with a face drained of color, fur spiking at the sight of his clawed fingers.

"Like _that." _He stretched his arms irritably. "Seriously, kid. Ever since this morning, you act like you're terrified of me. You wince like I might kill you at any given second."

He got down on one knee, stooping his height lower so that they were face-to-face.

"So, what is it? You weren't this jumpy when we met at the Slave Yard."

Riley rung the cuffs of his sleeves fretfully. "Well…That was different. _You _were different… back then, you were just Maxwell, not-"

He paused suddenly, his nervous fingers ceasing to crinkle his sleeves.

Wolf hesitated. "Not 'what'?"

The ginger cat sighed and sank his arms over his knees in a n uncomfortable slouch, voice barely above a timid mumble.

"…not Wolf O'Donnell."

Wolf said nothing. He got off his knee and stood fully, looking at the towering mountains in the distance with a hardened expression.

"So that's what this is all about," He said quietly. "That's why you're all acting like this."

"What?" Riley asked. "What do you mean?"

"You, Miyu…" He glanced at the doorway leading back to the Shrine's interior. "You were both alright with me yesterday…but now I see you've been keeping your distance from me ever since you learned my real name."

He started to walk over to Riley.

"You guys say that you trust me…but that's only because Sauru trusts me. Right?"

Riley swallowed and again refused to respond.

"You've been keeping your distance all morning….I guess now, I know why." He glanced at the claws on his hands. "You think I'll snap and hurt all of you." He looked at him, trying hard to create a look of warmth in his ominous appearance. "Look, Riley…I know you probably have a fixed idea in your head about what kind of person I am, but believe me when I say this: You have nothing to fear from me. Alright? I wouldn't do anything to hurt or betray you, _any_ of you…I made a pact with all of you, to stand at your side to fight Talon and the SharpClaw. I'm part of the TRU, now!"

"I know that!" Riley said helplessly, with a pained look. "It's just-I dunno…You can't imagine how odd, or even terrifying it is…to be raised with the stories about someone considered to be the enemy, to have the image of his face and what kind of person he is already planted in your mind." He looked up. "You know some people consider you even scarier than Andross?"

"What?" Wolf repeated, eyes widening.

"Not as evil, maybe-but scarier," Riley said remedially. "Think about it: When Andross caused a shadow of fear and terror across Lylat, it wasn't because of Andross _himself…_it was everything he controlled. He was manipulative, systematic, murderous…but he had entire armies to kill people for him. There were no stories of him killing anybody himself, with his own hands…in fact, most people never even _saw _him during the war. So, because of that, he never had that physical edge of fear."

He looked at Wolf.

"_You _did, Wolf. If you only knew the horrible things people said about you…about the things you've done to Cornerians like me…the atrocities you committed, with your bare hands…"

He glanced at Wolf's claws with a shudder, a shiver crawling up the fur on his back.

Wolf curled his fingers into a fist, trying to hide his claws.

"I'm not that person anymore, Riley," He said firmly, a lump in his throat. "I've changed."

"I-I know! But…I just can't stop wondering…" Riley cradled his arms like he was cold, looking nauseous with anxious fear. "Could you imagine, if I met you during the Lylat Wars, with neither of us knowing anything about the other? If I'd have met you there, on the battlefield, y-you would've…" Riley's voice cracked, reduced to a sob-like whimper. "…you would've _killed _me…"

He turned away, arms wrapped around himself in a pale shiver, mouth closed and eyes wide with frantic terror.

Wolf stared down at the young cat, an anguished lump forming in his chest. Before he could shut the mental image out of his head, he saw the horrible sight of Riley's lanky body, lying in a pathetic crumpled heap on the ground.

…with a Cornerian uniform wrapped around his shoulders.

Never knowing his name…

Never knowing that cheeky smile, or the adult he could've grown up to be…

He'd have just been killed, in that endless slaughter that the younger, more spiteful Star Wolf had started years ago…

His fur tingled at the traumatizing thought.

A tense silence layered the already-uneasy atmosphere into quiet canyon, slighted only by the abrupt hum that was cast by the occasional mountain wind. Wolf looked past the cowering cat and looked at the horizon, eyes teemed with the cold wash of guilt that he refused to have reach his stone expression.

After a long time, Riley looked up and cleared his throat.

"Look, Wolf…I'm sorry. I don't know _what _I'm saying…I know you'd never-"

Wolf, eyes still distant, shook his head. "No, you're right. That _is _a scary thought…"

A guilty spot tore through his chest.

_I only met this kid days ago…and he's already recoiling at the sight of me…_

His fur tingled in realization. So _these _were the scars Sauru was talking about.

_I've inflicted scars on everyone here…without even meeting them face-to-face before now…_

_I have a reputation, and a history that makes them detest and fear me…_

_And no matter how I help them…they'll see me one way._

Wolf sighed. "No wonder you're all afraid of me…"

"Well-I don't think _afraid _isthe right word…" Riley shot a glance to the side. "More like…_unsure_. I mean…it doesn't matter what _we _think. If Sauru says you're the key to defeating the SharpClaw, then we'll go with it regardless. It's more of how you feel about _us."_

"Me?" Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "Why would it matter what I think?"

"Well…we're Cornerians, aren't we?" The Young Cat scuffled his feet uncomfortably. "I mean… After being condemned and hunted by Corneria with such relentless contempt…I'd have thought you'd despise all of us, and everyone in this place."

Wolf looked away, thoughts trailing to all those Refugees taking haven in the Shrine. The careworn mothers, the timid children…

"Enough to make you hurt one of you?" Wolf finished for him. "To lash out?"

Riley looked down, eyes on his feet.

Wolf didn't say anything. He sighed for a moment, ran a weary hand up his forehead and through the spiked tufts of fur that hung between his ears. Finally, he walked over slowly, with his head still enveloped in muddled thought, and sat down next to Riley on the rock.

The Ginger cat looked alarmed at first, but started to feel less threatened by the looming, dark individual next to him as he saw the distressed look in his eyes.

Finally, after knotting his fingers and looking around in silence, Wolf looked up.

"You're right, Riley. Even after almost ten years, I still hate the Cornerians…and my hatred for them will never die, most likely. Even though I regret the person I was during the war, I don't regret killing the men who wanted me dead. I'd gladly face them again, if they knew who I was…"

Ears flicking back fearfully at the quiet malice in Wolf's voice, Riley started to scoot away slightly.

"But my vendetta isn't with every daughter and son of that planet, or any of you…just the people who wronged me personally. I'd have to be nothing short of insane to take my personal problems on the world…and everyone in it."

He looked down at the ground. _To be honest…that sounds like the way Andross would think…_

Riley's ears perked up, looking a little relieved. "Well, uh…that's good to hear."

"But since you've had the freedom I was denied these past years, I can't help but wonder…" Wolf grinded his claws, hesitant with the question he was about to ask. "…what kind of things have I been accused of?"

Riley grimaced uncomfortably. "A lot actually." He half-smiled with meager optimism. "To tell you the truth, there are some amazing stories about you, Wolf. But…there are the handful of other things to."

"Amazing?" Wolf raised his eyebrows. "How?"

Breaking his nervous expression for a moment, Riley shrugged with a smirk, as if knowing to well.

"Pfft, come on, now…everyone on both sides of the war knew the stories of Star Wolf. But a few of them are a bit…" Riley cleared his throat, a thoughtful finger running through his whiskers and eyes adrift in recollection. "…gruesome, and maybe upsetting, depending on how you take it. Not to mention that, uh…well, my dad told me stories and knows 'em better than I do, so I'll just…browse over a few details, 'kay?"

Wolf didn't show any sign of irritation or brooding.

"If I don't appear cowardly, the stories can say what they like."

"Oh, no," Riley assured him. "Star Wolf was the explicit opposite of cowardly, when I heard the stories. Hell, the way my dad told it, he _made _men into cowards…He was the coldest of cold-blooded killers, the man born to defy death. The Crimson Lupus…the Two-Legged Army, the Fiercest Demon of Venom's Soil…"

The young cat's fearful expression wavered slightly, eyes growing with hidden admiration.

"One bound to no army, liberating no ideal, marching under no flag…you were supposed to be the ideal mercenary, you know? I mean, one without honor—or at least according to the stories," He added frantically. "B-but, still-you had what a lot of men in Lylat craved…freedom."

Wolf scoffed contemptuously under his breath.

_Tch, 'freedom'…._

_Being on Andross's leash, fighting his battles, wiping his ass…_

_Hardly what I'd categorize as freedom…_

"Now, of course," Riley pointed out. "That's how _I _remember the stories, the way my dad told me. But being a passerby on the Lylatian battlefront when I grew older meant that I heard altered and varied versions. Some said you were born from the ashes of littered dead on Venom's surface…some said that you slaughtered your first man at thirteen….even today, it's said that you dyed your Wolfen fighter crimson with the insides of your enemies…" A playful smirk played on Riley's lips. "…all of which are subject to debate, I can imagine."

Wolf raised his eyebrows skeptical agreement.

Riley's face withered into a grim state

"But…there were some things…things about you that were present in _every_ story, in _every _version. Mostly because it was the only determined truth about you."

Although his expression was calm, Wolf tried to suppress the churning feeling of dread in his stomach. "Such as?"

"That you…" Riley shivered, the sun's rays suddenly becoming cold on his back. "That it was said that you fought ruthlessly and relentlessly…that the burn of a blastermark or the stinging pierce of a cold blade was but a blade of grass against your skin." His faced slowly drained of color, and he lowered his head. "And where most men would shrink at the sight of mauling and carnage in the bowels of battle, you bolted head-on, gliding through the falling corpses of each enemy you struck down in a flurry of steel and malice."

Wolf didn't say anything. He stared on ahead, letting his ears contemplate the ominous depth of these stories in silence.

"That spilled blood, torn flesh, and dying screams were just commonplace, easily-brushed-aside obstacles for you…that you greeted the horrified wailing and pleas for mercies with the edge of your blade…"

Fist curling and claws flexing, Wolf felt a tense, disturbed rattling under his skin.

"That you would face countless hordes of enemies, thousands of ships, even plummet the nightmarish blackness of space...prepared to hunt down Fox McCloud until both suns of this galaxy died..." Riley looked up, face clouded in an ominous shadow. "…and beyond."

Wolf contemplated each one of things in a period of long sighs and twiddling claws, eyes never leaving the ground.

Feeling perturbed by the lack of response, Riley looked about.

"I don't, uh…I don't know if any of that's true or not." He looked at Wolf. "After you disappeared, you didn't leave much of a trace for anyone to decipher truth from legend." He glanced at the mountain peaks and shrugged. "Even now…I don't know what was real, and what was myth."

Eyes hardened with the burden of his troubled mind, Wolf looked up.

"Neither do I, kid. Out of everything that's going on…that's what's bothering me most."

Riley blinked. "What do you mean?"

Wolf stood up, trying to shake off the weight of those stories with the strides of some anxious pacing.

"Every passing day, I wake up and remember even less about myself than the day before. I'm just as clueless about the past as you are, Riley…it almost makes me afraid."

The young cat's fearful recoil slackened. Suddenly…with his intimidating demeanor and confident expression removed, Wolf seemed to be a lot smaller, and more discouraged.

"What does?" He asked, in a tentative voice.

Wolf's expression was stone, but his palms were already shaking and clenched into uneasy fists. "That when I get my memory back…I'll find out some terrible things about myself. Things I did, people I've hurt and killed…I mean, killing men on the battlefield is one thing, but I might've killed other people too." His eyes darkened. "That's a part of my life I want to forget, but I have to remember if I want to get my whole memory back. You all think _you're _afraid of what I've done in the past? I'm more terrified than you'll ever be…because I'll have to remember it firsthand."

Riley started to look less afraid of the ominous-looking man next to him, astonished how human he seemed with the discomfort and disturbed feelings present in his troubled expression.

"Riley…whatever happens…." Wolf twiddled his fingers, his voice as adrift and unsure as the piercing wind sweeping the mountain winds. "Whatever I found out…I know I can't stop you or the others from fearing or hating me because of what'll be revealed about me."

He shot a disheartened look at the ground.

"But regardless of whatever I find out the next three weeks…I can only pray that you won't judge me because of it. I left that war behind…and all I want to do now is concentrate on fighting _this _one."

Wolf's eyes traveled over the treacherous canyons, and over to the far more foreboding sight of the SharpClaw palace in the distance.

"As long as we have a common enemy, regardless of where we stood in the war, and whatever might deeds come back to haunt me...in truth, and myth…we can still fight together. I don't know if the feeling was mutual, but throughout all we've endured together, I've thought of you and the others as close allies of mine." Wolf scratched the fur on his neck doubtfully. "I know it's probably be a stretch to call us 'friends', especially with the recent unveiling of certain information…"

Despite the shade of uncertainty on his face, Wolf managed an assuring nod.

"But I won't forget that when I was lying in a broken, discouraged, and festering heap on this planet, you were the first person to help and befriended me, Riley…and a Cornerian hasn't done that for me in years."

The fearful spike traveling up Riley's fur simmered down. The sunlight emerged from the veiling clouds above them, purging the secluding layer of shadows from Wolf's face, and illuminating the solemn earnest in his face.

He solemnly held out a large, bandaged, hand to a stunned-looking Riley.

"And that's reason enough to stand by you in the next battle...since you did the same for me before."

Riley sat there quietly, looking from the bandaged hand to Wolf himself.

An all-too-familiar smile broke on the cat's face.

"You know something, Wolf?" His hand swept his past Wolf's. "I don't care what anyone says, or what the stories say. For a guy who's supposed to be the most cold-blooded murderer in the Lylat System…" He shot him a friendly punch in Wolf's battered arm with his smaller, nimbler fist. "…You're pretty cool."

Wolf blinked for a moment with his hand still outstretched, but then allowed for a relieved half-smile.

"Really? Well, that's good to hear." He looked around. "Because, personally, between you, Miyu and that stick-up-the-ass Cornerian…I was beginning to think I wore out my welcome in this place."

Riley chuckled and walked over to one of the spiraling blades, clicking it off with his remote. "Heh, don't worry about Mason. He's like that to everybody…hell, I don't even remember the last time I saw that guy _smile."_

"So he's like that to everybody." Wolf nodded rationally. "Good…I thought he just hated _me."_

"Oh, he _does," _Riley assured him, as he readjusted the saw-like blade while it was inactive._ "_Believe me, he's a block of ice, most of the time….but let me tell you, I haven't seen him look at anyone with the hatred he regards _you _with. Believe me, we could unravel your memory and find out that you were Lylat's Secret Savior or something, and he'd _still _hate you for being Venomian."

Wolf looked at the door leading back down with a distasteful scowl. "Probably some bad run-ins with the Venomian Army during the war soured him up like that. But him, I can understand." He turned to Riley. "But what about Miyu? She was the first person I told about my identity…and she accepted it. Except now…she's been acting just as uneasy around me as the rest of you. Why?"

Riley stopped fiddling with the training device. Suddenly, the warmth and comfort of the sunlight was submerged in a heap of passing clouds.

"If she acts strange or cold around you," He said in a different voice. "Don't worry…it's got nothing to do with you. It's more to do with…" He glanced at Wolf in the reflective surface of the saw-blade. "…well, _what _you are."

"'What' I am?" Wolf repeated.

Riley turned to face him. "A mercenary."

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "What's that got to do with anything?"

Riley sighed and spun the blade once with his finger. "If there's one person who's living proof of the TRU's history with mercenaries, it's Miyu." He watched the sunlight ripple on the spiraling steel, gaze riddled with the memories he saw in it. "She's had a worse experience with them than the rest of us….and it's affected her the most."

Wolf sat up. Could someone as tough and hard-tacked as Miyu be affected by anything?

"Must've been something pretty traumatic, then, if it riled _her _up." He cocked his head curiously. "What did the mercenaries do to her?"

Riley clicked his remote, folding the saw back into the wall.

"It's not a story I like to tell." He looked up at Wolf suddenly. "And don't go and say anything to Miyu's face if I _do _tell you, alright?"

Wolf put up his hands. "I won't, I won't."

"Besides," Riley continued. "Hardly anyone feels the need to tell it anymore, since everyone was there to witness it firsthand: Nigel, Duke, Mason…and me." He pocketed his remote sullenly. "Siegfried was alive back then as well…"

Wolf raised an eyebrow. "The Leader before Miyu?"

Riley walked over and sat on the rock next to him.

"Yeah…see, it took place a few days before the offensive we staged against the SharpClaw recently. We had everything ready…supplies, weapons, the right strategy…but Siegfried decided that we needed to expand our reinforcements, because our infantry was still too small."

The cat gave a disgruntled scoff. "Sure, we weren't as much of a laughing-stock of a Resistance as we are now, but we were still short on troops." He bent down and picked up a small pebble from the ground.

"So both Siegfried and Miyu met in secret with some of the mercenary groups that occupy Catalaya's underground…bounty hunters, assassins, hired guns, rogue pilots…anyone who was sick of the SharpClaw's rule. They were the ideal back-up force for our army…especially since most of them were still on General Talon's payroll, so they wouldn't be suspected as allies."

Riley picked up a handful of pebbles.

"And so Siegfried made an honest pact with them, telling them where to be, and where their role in the attack would come. Finally, the morning of the siege came…"

Riley turned his gaze to the rising dunes in the sandy east, far away from the sprawling city near the mountains.

"We dug our heels into the sand and held off against the SharpClaw…taking down as many as we could. Talon's forces came at us with their airships, plasma ballista, beast riders…surrounding us in the mouth of the desert. But we pulled through thanks to Siegfried, and bought more than enough time for the mercenaries to come from both sides of the desert and aid us…"

Riley's trail of words stopped, and he swallowed dryly.

Wolf nodded grimly, sensing the ending before he even heard it. "But they never came."

"No," Riley said, an unusually contemptuous glare on his face. "They _fled. _They didn't even bother to meet us when the battle started. I was with the convoy Miyu and Siegfried sent to find where they had gone. And we found the footprints in the sand less than a mile from where we were fighting. They had marched into the desert close enough to see Talon's army with their own eyes…and scattered at the sight of it, like cowardly roaches." He began tossing pebbles over the edge of the canyon. "And without help, the battle crumbled from under us. Everyone on the outer ring fell…countless men. Siegfried, Miyu, and some others were the only ones left, fighting hopelessly. Siegfried called for the retreat, and they started to head back through the dunes…but a separate battalion of SharpClaw was waiting for them there."

Wolf's eyes widened.

Riley looked down. "And by the time I hurried back there, I could only watch from afar…as the Commander of the SharpClaw, Talon's brother…bolted through our lines single-handedly, killing everyone. Siegfried told everyone to run…and Miyu tried fighting back. But that was when the Commander came down…and mauled him to death." He turned to look at Wolf. "…with Miyu close enough to watch him fall at her feet."

"Jesus…" Wolf murmured, as a shocked, empathic pang swerved up his stomach. "So that'swhy you guys lost?"

Riley nodded. "We didn't lose that siege because of numbers or strength…we aren't looked down upon or ridiculed as a resistance because of our failing…and Siegfried didn't die, with Miyu succeeding him as leader because of some stroke of misfortune or tragedy. We lost everything that day because we were abandoned in our most desperate hour." He looked long and hard at the last rock in his hand, before he flung it out into the open air of the mountains below. "You ask what the mercenaries did that was so traumatic? Well, that's the thing…they did _nothing. _Absolutely nothing. They watched as countless men, devoted to protecting their families and allies, be cut down like wheat in a dry field. And then they went about their daily lives…living off the SharpClaw's payroll, like nothing ever happened. We retreated back here like rats…with so little of us left, and Miyu obtaining Siegfried's position of leader against her own will."

Suddenly, all that disgruntled brooding and tense solitude Miyu had shown was starting to make sense in Wolf's mind. He thought back to her spiteful words back at the bar…

"_Because they're a bunch of cowardly, measly louse, that's why!"_ Her disdainful rang in his ears. _"The fucking hypocrites…they talk of freedom, while they live on Talon's leash and get paid for it. They won't intervene, they won't protest…and they think their money will save them in the end."_

He had no idea that someone like her carried that kind of burden…that memory…

"And you guys went on with your Resistance?" He asked incredulously. "After a defeat like that?"

Riley shrugged. "We've lost a ton of times before…the only thing that made this one an exceptional defeat was the loss of Siegfried. We all wept…but we got over it in time." He glanced guiltily at the door. "But Miyu didn't. She hasn't rested ever since she received the rank of Leader. All she thinks about, from dawn to dusk is the staging of the next battle. She puts food and sleep aside to perform her tasks for the Resistance twice as hard as any of us."

Wolf looked confusedly at the door. "But she doesn't act like it. I mean…I know the pain of loss when I see it…the determination, the pain of losing. And she seems pretty easy-going."

Riley shook his head. "Everything she is on the surface…that laid-back, hot-tempered person she acts like most of the time? That's probably just a mask to cover up how miserable she is."

Wolf felt a squirm of sympathy. "You really think so?"

CLANG!

The door swung open, and a familiar irritated bark erupted from the shady bowels within.

"…no, for the last time I _don't. _Listen, Duke, if you _really want _a new attachment for your blaster, ask SAURU for one. For Christ's sake!"

Miyu grumbled as she emerged from the shade of the Shrine's Inner level and out into the scorching desert air, holding a duffel bag under one arm. Somehow, the increasing temperature didn't rise higher above her scalding blood level.

The Lynx cracked her neck from side to side. "Man, I'm having the shittiest afternoon…" He glanced up at both Riley and Wolf. "Why are you both just sitting around? I thought you guys were supposed to be training!"

Riley jumped to his feet. "We were! He just-I think he's done for today."

Miyu dropped her cumbersome bag on the ground, its bulky weight sending up dust.

"And? How's he doing, so far?"

"He could use some work." He glanced at Wolf with some skepticism. "He puts more energy in his muscles and torso than I'd like, which is only good for straight-up combat than actual evasion. Agility is in the limbs, the spine, the neck…" He gestured with his arms. "Free motions. Got it?"

Wolf smiled. He was just relieved that Riley finally felt comfortable with expressing some criticism. "I can do that. You're sure we can't do some more exercises?"

"Nah, I think you're done for now." Riley waved his hand dismissively. "You'll improve with enough practice."

Miyu rolled her eyes as she went through the contents of her duffel. "Yeah, well you improve a bit faster? Some of us need the roof to do some training of our own."

"Oh." Wolf raised his eyebrows. "You needed the agility equipment?"

"Agility?" Miyu looked up. "This isn't _just _the agility field, Ghost…"

She got up, and hit a switch that was next to the rock Wolf had just been sitting on.

_WHRRRRR…_

Steel ejectors emerged from the ground, shooting up unfirled sheets of plastic canvases with the blackened human silhouettes. Each figure had a distinct feature like feline ears or avian feathers, and had white circles on their stomachs with scoring rings.

Wolf's mouth hung open, and he laughed incredulously.

"It's also a _firing range?"_

"Yeah, not a great one, but decent." Miyu pointed at the target boards. "I'd use holographic targets if I could, but we're a bit lacking in finances to afford any cutting-edge equipment."

Wolf glanced at them. "Nothing wrong with doing it old-school." He turned to Riley. "So do _all _of you train up here?"

"Not really." Riley sat back down and stretched. "Mason sticks to his sparring pit. Seriously, with all the time he spends indoors, you'd think he was nocturnal, or something."

"No, he probably likes a cooler atmosphere for his training," Miyu corrected, almost sounding defensive. She began pulling out blaster pistols from her bag, and checking the chambers of each one. "By the way, Riley...you've been down with Mason most of the morning. He doesn't need help with anything does he?"

It might've been the heat or Wolf's imagination, but he could almost detect some hope in her voice.

Riley shrugged. "If he does, he's not going to tell me. Why don't you just ask him?"

Miyu suddenly took some interest in the contents of her bag. "Hey, I've had my hands full this morning!" She set each blaster down in the sand. "I'm just asking 'cause I haven't run into him today.

"Tch. Yeah…" Riley smirked. "I bet THAT'S the reason…"

He flashed a mischievous smirk at Wolf, who stood there blankly.

Miyu's cheeks flashed for a moment, before she zipped her bag shut and stood threateningly.

"Riley, we're standing on a rooftop twelve hundred feet above the ground. Now is not the time to try my patience."

The young cat flung up his hands benignly. "Fine, fine…jeez, I was just joking. Phew...did Fay put something in your breakfast?"

Miyu cocked one the blasters, fur spiking angrily. "You want me to put something in YOURS tomorrow?" She growled dangerously. "Then keep your mouth shut!"

Riley mimicked zipping his mouth shut before brushing past her.

"Fine, I'm going…I'm going…"

He passed Wolf, who muttered to him angrily.

"Did you really have to piss her off like that?"

"The more irritated she gets with my presence, the more lenient she'll become with everyone else's." The cat grinned fiendishly. "Even yours. So, why don't you make the most of this opportunity?"

Wolf blinked. "What opportunity?"

"You said you didn't want to be feared and detested by everybody, right?" Riley pointed at her from a distance. "Prove yourself trustworthy and that you aren't hostile. Just go and try to talk to her…mellow things out.."

Wolf looked at Miyu with uncertainty, who was loading and setting down weapons out of earshot.

"I dunno, Riley…she seems kind of pissed. _You _made her pissed." He looked at him irritably. "Maybe I should talk to her when she's in a better mood."

"Hey, if you approached her while she was in a _good _mood, she would've turned into a brick wall. But now, she's pissed, so everything's fine." He patted Wolf's shoulder reassuringly. "Trust me, I know people. Besides…" He smiled cleverly. "_I'm _not the one who has to spend hours of training with her. Think about how less awkward things will get once you straighten things out a little."

Wolf's irritated look faded, seeing the logic in the cat's words.

"Well," The cat said loudly. "I'm gonna head down to see if Fay's cooking anything…Or if she's washing anything…Or if she's got nothing to do at all, in which case _I_ can occupy her with something while she's all by her cute little lonesome…" He winked cheekily at Wolf. "See ya later, Wolf."

He unhinged the creaking door, and slipped inside in a slick movement.

It was just Wolf and Miyu on the sunlit rooftop-one squatted down, and occupied with numerous weapons, and one standing about awkwardly.

At first glance, Wolf didn't think he had much to worry about. He wasn't such a stranger to Miyu…they had talked a great deal, especially at the bar. They had fought together, established a few grains of trust…he even told her who he was.

Even now, she didn't seem to discomforted by his presence. She just loaded and polished her guns idly, not appearing to have a care in the world.

Then, Wolf remembered what he said about her masking her stress and uneasiness. He began to wonder, if she was masking her discomfort right now…

…or worse, if she had been hiding it the entire time, since she had found out the truth.

_I can't go in rationally or comfortingly like I did with Riley…_

_She's a lot more rough around the edges than he is…she won't buy any compliments or reassurances…_

That may have worked to some degree at the bar…but back then, any talk between them wouldn't be burdened with the tension of Wolf's identity.

_She doesn't trust me. It's as simple as that._

He'd have to take a different approach. When Riley was afraid of him, he had to show that there was nothing to be afraid of. But Miyu just flat-out distrusted him.

But he couldn't undo bad experience, or someone's fixed view about him from the actions of other people…

Wolf sighed. He had to try, at least. Who knows, maybe Miyu would be more forgiving.

He walked over to her. "You seem a little out of it, today. Is there something up?"

"Nothing," Miyu muttered, chambering each blaster without looking up.

But Wolf kept his eyes on spot where she blushed before.

He looked back at where Riley left. "What 'reason' was he talking about? Why-?"

"Do you have something on your mind, or are we gonna sit up here and play twenty goddamn questions?" Miyu demanded in a scalding voice.

"Would you calm down, for shit's sake?!" Wolf said tentatively. "I was just wondering if you were available for any laser-arms training, that's all."

_Click._

Miyu stopped as she slid a blaster cartridge in one blaster's magazine.

"I'm not supposed to train you for another hour."

A cloud of disappointment passed over Wolf's face. "Well, I've got time to kill before I head back down for stance exercising with Sauru. Are you sure you can't give me a few pointers, while we're both up here?"

"Positive," Miyu said flatly as she cocked her blaster. "Look, I'm not trying to be mean or anything-but I've got a lot on my mind."

_Yeah, and by 'a lot' you mean whether or not you can trust me to murder you in your sleep, _Wolf thought sullenly. _Or if I'm really the person who can help you all, or not._

_I get it…_

Wolf turned to the door in discouragement…before his eyes wandered over the cluster of weapons next to Miyu.

A gleam of keen intuition flashed in his eyes for a second.

_Different approach, _he thought.

"Well, okay…I understand." He turned towards the door, an air of disappointment in his voice. "I just wanted to see if there was any truth to any of it, that's all."

Miyu looked up. "Truth to what?"

"Oh, you know…" Wolf said leisurely. "That stuff Sauru was talking about yesterday… about you being the 'best shot in the TRU', or something?"

Suddenly, the tense look in Miyu's face disappeared. Her eyes rose dangerously behind the shining blaster pistol she was polishing.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, I _did _see you do some pretty good shooting back in the bar when we fight Shinto, but…" He waved his hand in an unimpressed fashion. "It was _alright_. I can understand if Sauru was just exaggerating about you."

The Lynx laughed, and drew her camo-colored AK blaster rifle from the duffle, flipping it onto her shoulder.

"Are you _questioning _my skills, you little punk?" She demanded daringly.

"I dunno…" Wolf put his hands in his pockets and turned to walk away. "You could always prove me wrong, but we really don't have time for that, do you?"

"I have plenty of time," Miyu snapped.

Wolf opened the door to the Shrine. "No, no…you aren't supposed to train me for another hour. You're pretty busy-"

SLAM!

Miyu kicked the door shut and pointed at one of the rocks with her AK.

"Sit your ass down so we can do some shooting practice, would you?" She asked in the sweetest voice.

The same sly smile that Miyu wore when she knocked him out of bed that morning passed over Wolf's mouth. Just like Riley couldn't say no to sharing a few stories…Miyu could never say no to a challenge.

"After you," He said innocently.

Miyu knelt down next to her duffle, muttering under her breath. "Although, I must admit, I don't I know how much about guns one can teach to a male. All the average trigger happy sonbitch thinks he needs is to aim and shoot at anything that moves." She looked up with a wry smile. "But I'll try my best."

"Your vote of confidence is most comforting," Wolf replied tartly. "So which blaster should we start with?"

Miyu's hand hovered over one of the numerous magazines in the duffle, before suddenly handing the unloaded rifle to Wolf.

"I haven't sized you up for a laserarm that suits you best yet, so for now we'll just use my girl here…" She patted the scraped barrel.

Wolf gripped battered rifle, and pressed the worn stock to his shoulder, getting the feel of it.

"Hmph, I'm usually more a pistol person, but this is pretty nice, for a Cornerian model." He rested his eye down the sights.

Miyu stiffened suddenly. "Yeah…I'll bet your only used to Venomian weaponry, huh?"

Wolf didn't say anything. He tried to concentrate on the line of sight of his rifle, but couldn't ignore the awkward silence.

Then, Miyu shrugged, breaking the tense atmosphere.

"But regardless…blaster pistol, plasma rifle, electrowatt machine gun…your laserarm is your most valuable companion. One with an extended magazine is an inseparable friend…" She nodded approvingly. "…and one with a grenade attachment is all the company you'll ever need."

Wolf flipped the rifle over, examining it.

"Yes…you've modified it to some degree. Muzzle brake, decent steel receiver, and an excellently refurbished proton core for any prolonged overheating." Wolf shook his head enviously. "I could've used _that _in plenty of firefights."

Miyu raised her eyebrows.

"Well…you know your weapons pretty well, I'll say that. I didn't think most guys knew a modified gun when they saw one."

"Yeah, I was really into laserarms back in the day. I remember being attached to a few nice brands during the war…" He glanced at her. "What about you? Any particular favorite?"

She tapped her chin for a moment. "Hmm…well, for me, it had to be the classic Katinese Pulse Rifle... 'The Gravedigger.' You could mow down a SharpClaw with that thing." She aligned her eyebrows skeptically. "And you…probably some Venomian model, right?"

Wolf stopped adjusting the stock against his shoulder, eyes wandering reminiscently.

"No…my favorite was always the Cornerian G4X Magnum." He smiled nostalgically. "There probably wasn't a single Venomian who didn't want that pistol."

Miyu nodded in surprised agreement.

"The Highlander Gun, huh? Kind of outdated, but a good choice. Still…you could modify just about any gun to suit your liking if you give it enough time. I'll always prefer a sturdy rifle, though."

Wolf stopped adjusting the rifle and looked at her. "How much could you add to a pistol?"

"It depends." She glanced at him quizzically. "What did you have in mind?"

"I dunno." Wolf shrugged. "I've been thinking of finding a way to attach that blade I carry to a pistol of choice."

Miyu furrowed her eyebrows. "What, that curved one?"

Wolf nodded. "Yeah. You know, attach it like a bayonet. What do you think?"

Miyu looked at him for a long time.

"That sounds absolutely ridiculous." She folded her arms. "Do you have any idea how dysfunctional that would be? I mean, on something like a rifle, I could understand…but on a _pistol? _I don't think so."

"Oh." Wolf's ears drooped slightly. "Well, it was just a thought. What about you?" He gestured with the rifle. "You plan on attaching a scope to this?"

In a sweeping motion, Miyu plucked the rifle from Wolf's hands, flipped over and lodged it firmly in her shoulder. She snatched a fresh magazine from her belt, and slid it in.

"A scope?" She sneered sportingly. "Please…"

_**SHRUNNUNNUNNAAAA!**_

The orange blasts illuminated her determined, concentrated glare down the barrel, as they rang throughout the bellowing mountain cliffs. Miyu swept the targets over with the swerving reach of her blaster barrel, the shots peppering and torched the fluttering targets.

Finally, Miyu leveled her rifle up, and blew the smoke out of her face in satisfaction.

Wolf kept his mouth open and his eyes locked on the numerous holes in the targets' heads, each of them planted with scorched and scarily-accurate holes in their upper torso and heads.

"_Damn…"_

She handed the steam-coiled rifle back to him in a very "that's-how-it's-done" manner.

"Only someone who doesn't trust their own accuracy relies on a scope to cheat for them. So, how 'bout it?" She glanced at Wolf. "Still think Sauru was exaggerating about me?"

Wolf walked over and stuck an amazed finger through one of the scorched holes, the torn paper flap on the chiseled borders around them.

_This is amazing…I never even saw this kind of shooting during the war…_

_Fox couldn't do this…James couldn't __**touch**__ this…_

_The concentrated marksmanship…the focused edge…_

_It's…it's…._

He shook his astounded expression off, reknitting his skeptical brow.

"Meh, it's okay, I guess-but the best shot on the _team?" _He leveled the rifle on his shoulder leisurely. "Tch. I think that's debatable."

Miyu scoffed. "Oh, really? Let me see your aiming stance. Come on, show me."

Wolf, secretly eager to show himself to an expert like Miyu, dug his feet in the firm ground and held up his rifle straight ahead in his most accurate stance.

"Mmph. Reasonable." Miyu impatiently waggled her hand up and down like a boat-propeller. "You look more like aiming a plunger than a gun. Try flattening those shoulders a bit, and keep your elbows aligned. That way the recoil won't throw your ass off balance. Got it?"

Wriggling his shoulders down and arching his back slightly, Wolf looked ahead. "I think so."

"Good stuff. Now…let's say you fire a round. You're out of ammo..." Her indigo eyes regarded him experimentally. "What now?"

Wolf slid out the empty magazine. "Reload and shoot?"

She rolled her eyes and swiped it from him. "You have _no more_ ammo left. Come on…" She urged. "_What do you do now?"_

He stood there blankly, looking at the rifle's empty chamber before lowering it dismissively.

"Resort to melee?" He suggested.

Miyu sighed in exasperation.

"Typical. Ammo's suddenly gone, and you're as helpless as an infant. I suppose the gun's useless now that it's empty, right?"

Wolf held the rifle out obliviously. "It's out of ammo. What else would you do with it?"

"When you've been Beret in the swamps of Fortuna, you learn to improvise." She yanked it out of his hands by the barrel. "When an enemy's coming at you, and you've spent your laserpower… you need to use alternate methods of taking enemies down."

_Clack!_

She flipped the rifle upside down with a professional flair.

"Use the stock to bludgeon someone's face in."

_Clack!_

She flipped it over and caught it by the thin, nickel-plated barrel.

"Use the sight-blade to jab someone's eye."

She jabbed the empty magazine back into the gun, and held it from the barrel like a paddle, and pulled it towards her.

"Use the curve of the magazine as a hook to yank enemies closer." She twirled the rifle by the worn strap. "There are a lot of inventive ways to make your enemies cringe in pain with a rifle…and all of them can be done without the pull of a trigger."

Wolf nodded intuitively. "I'll keep that in mind. But how's about I try out _my _aim now?"

The ease in Miyu's face disappeared. "Your aim?"

"Yeah." He held out his hand. "You mind letting me shoot? I'm out of ammo."

That's when Wolf realized how stiff the Lynx had become. Her body and expression was relaxed enough, but her eyes had become quick and alarmed.

At first, he didn't know why she was suddenly so cautious. But then, he quickly began to notice how reluctant she had been to hand him her rifle with any actual ammunition in it. She had finished the entire magazine in one stream of shots…

…to prevent him from holding a loaded weapon.

The sunlight drew behind a cluster of ominous clouds. The easy-going air disappeared from Wolf's face. His patience with this lack of trust was starting to reach its end.

But he pretended not to notice anything. "Something wrong?"

"No," Miyu said in a leveled voice. She picked up a magazine from the bag, and handed it him. "Have at it."

He reached over to take it from her, but drew his hand back at the last second. Miyu tried not to break her calm demeanor, but Wolf already saw it.

"You're uncomfortable with letting me shoot," Wolf observed quietly. "Aren't you?"

Miyu hesitated. "No, I'm not." She held out the magazine. "Go on, take it."

Wolf paused for a moment, narrowing his eyes. He walked over slowly, and reached out for the ammo…

_Fwwp!_

His handed darted into a quick lunge, seizing Miyu's wrist in a rapid motion. The Lynx's fur spiked in alarm, and her eyes became huge, as she dropped the ammo with a clatter.

"You don't have a problem with it? Really?" Wolf's keen eyes studied her. "Then why is it your hand shakes with the slightest drawback whenever I reach for the ammo? Why does the texture in your fur change? Why does your height start to shrink?"

Miyu drew back uncomfortably. "What the hell is your problem, Ghost? Why're you acting like this all of a sudden?"

"My problem is that you've been playing nice this whole time."

She scowled. "What's your definition of 'nice', exactly? Seriously, I think you're-"

He drew closer, so that their faces were on the same level.

"…'Imagining things'?" He finished for her. "Tell me….This entire time we've practiced, you haven't let me use a single shot of ammunition? I don't think you've been avoiding any target practice to teach me alternative ways of fighting with a rifle… I think you're afraid of letting me use it for anything else." He narrowed his eyes. "Am I right?"

Miyu wrenched her hand free, wincing slightly at Wolf's stone-crushing grip.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Wolf raised an eyebrow. "And I suppose your hand just slips whenever it reaches for that pistol holstered in back-pocket…" His hand tightened around the wooden grip of the rifle. "…particularly whenever I have the gun in my hands?"

Miyu froze in an instant…and so did her hand. Her indigo eyes widened and darted about frantically, realizing the trap she was caught in.

"You didn't think I knew it was back there? You didn't think I see you hide it under the back of your shirt while Riley and I were talking?" Wolf took an angry step forward, making her retreat back a step of her own. "What's the matter, Miyu? Afraid I'll misuse the ammo you give me? Afraid that I'll turn on you, once I have a loaded weapon in my hands?"

Miyu's face was drained with color, as Wolf's taller shadow covered her. Then, the fear in her face turned to stern caution and prepared firmness, as her fingers cocked her pocketed blaster warningly.

Wolf slid the magazine into the laser rifle in his hands, staring down at her with malicious intent in his eyes as he dared her to draw her weapon.

A bead of sweat trickled down the scowling Lynx's face, as she prepared to sling the blaster out…

_Clatter._

Wolf dropped the rifle in resigned irritation.

Motionless, with her tense expression melting into a confused one, Miyu blinked.

"What are you-?"

"You trusted me with a blaster once, remember?" Wolf sat down on rock. "We fought together, and we took down the enemy. I'm not about to break my word now." He scowled. "But even after all that time we spent, you're still as rigid as a brick. It seems like you still don't trust me not to kill you, yet."

Miyu stared at him. "You were about to kill _me!"_

Wolf looked at her. He pulled out the magazine of the AK rifle, and raised it.

"Is that why I put the _empty _magazine in, instead of the full one?"

Miyu's mouth hung open furiously.

"You…so you _staged _all this?"

Wolf shrugged. "I was never planning on practicing shooting in the first place. It was Riley's idea, not mine."

The Lynx looked like she was going to kill somebody. Her fur spiked up, and her indigo eyes flashed murderously.

"You have got to be kidding me," She growled in a low voice. "So that's this is? This was some kind of test?"

Wolf nodded. "I already saw you hide that blaster of yours. I just thought I'd try to slacken the thick ice between the two of us…so you'd trust me more, maybe to the point where you didn't need that blaster anymore. But I can see that even after spending time with you…" He almost smiled ruefully. "You're still ready to blow my head off."

Miyu scowled so ferociously that her mouth curled to expose her feline teeth. The pistol rattled in her hands.

"Yes, and I could've, if you had 'tested' me any further! Seriously, you were going to risk me _shooting_ you just to see the extent of how much I trusted you?"

Wolf sat up.

"I didn't risk anything…I trusted you not to shoot me." He pointed at the small indents on his wrist, where the handcuffs used to be. "We made a pact of trust back in the city, remember? Anything you've learned about my identity since then might've made you wary of me, Miyu…but I wasn't about to break it." He turned away coldly. "I was just hoping you'd extend me the same courtesy."

Miyu didn't say anything. She lowered her eyes, looking somewhat guilty.

"Besides, I wasn't too worried, to be honest." Wolf smiled. "You're an excellent shot at long range, Miyu…but at close range?" He sneered roguishly. "Your hands shook like the wheels on a Landmaster. You're pretty vulnerable."

Miyu stared at him for a long time. Finally, she flicked the safety on her blaster, and holstered it…shaking her head.

"God _damn it,_ Ghost…" She almost laughed under her breath. "There are plenty of other ways to gain my trust than tricking me into almost killing you."

"You didn't leave me much of a choice. I probably wasn't going to get the same open arms and easy warmth that Riley showed me from you."

"You could've talked to me instead." She sat down next to him. "I won't bite you, Ghost."

"We wouldn't have much to talk about." He glanced down sullenly. "Chances are, our conversation wouldn't get past my true identity. But after all I've done to earn your trust…I didn't think I'd have that problem with _you _of all people."

Miyu didn't respond. Her intimidating demeanor slackened, almost looking a little guilty at the thick layer of scorn in Wolf's voice.

Finally, he sighed.

"Just tell me, Miyu…I understand why Riley and the others didn't trust me…but what happened to _you? _I told you who I was _first, _and you accepted me for it. What changed that all of a sudden?"

The Lynx turned to him.

"Trust was never part of the equation, Ghost. I don't really have a problem trusting you…because like it or not, I _have _to." She grimaced uncomfortably, edging away from him. "It's getting used to it all that's the problem. I've done many things in my lifetime as a soldier, and I can tell you right now… aiding with Star Wolf, of all people, isn't one of them. If you knew the things I did, you'd understand…"

Her eyes drifted into the burdensome realm of her own memories, and she wore that same tired look of shame and anguish Wolf had seen before…except now, he could sense the sorrow that acted as the source behind it.

"Yes…" He nodded, feeling sympathetic. "Riley told me about it."

Miyu looked up suddenly. "Told you what?"

A frantic jolt ran through Wolf's body. _Don't say anything!_

"Um, that…about all the things the Cornerians say about me, about the war," He blurted, steering the conversation out of dangerous waters. "And honestly…from everything he told me, I can't blame you for fearing me."

"_Fearing_ you?" Miyu rolled the word off her tongue with distaste. "Let's get something straight here, Ghost: I _don't _fear you, or anyone else on this planet, for that matter." She jabbed a warning finger out in a hot-tempered manner. "Men inspire many high-ringing emotions in my system, but I can assure you that _fear_ is most definitely not one of them-even from the mighty Star Wolf."

Wolf smiled for a moment, but cocked his head curiously. "So, what is it then? Why _are_ you wary of me?"

Miyu didn't say anything for a moment, before picking up her laser rifle and brushing dust off of its battered, camo-colored decal.

"You don't strike me as some walking terror of the galaxy, Ghost. I've been around you long enough to see that despite being that cold-blooded murderer all those stories paint you to be… you're still plagued with the typical flaws." She shot him a wry glance. "You're arrogant, hot-blooded, stubborn, and an you reek of that loathsome streak of hard-headed confidence that all men have."

Wolf scowled. "Is this going somewhere?"

"But that's not what makes me wary." She slid a magazine into her gun, her eyes hardening. "You're all those things…but at the same time, I've seen you do things that make all those rumors more or less true. And that combination is what makes you a threat to us. You aren't consistent...and that's what makes you dangerous."

"I'm not 'consistent'?" Wolf repeated. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Miyu gestured with her hand. "Ever since we met, and I've found out who you really are, I thought that I felt safer knowing the truth…but now I'm more confused than every about you." Her hands gripped the rifle in silent contemplation. "One second, you break a man's neck with your bare hands, then walk away like it's nothing….and the next moment, you're cowering at the thought of losing the memories and friends of your past life. Sometimes you appear to be every bit of that cold, brutal legend people make you out to be…but the next second, you actually have human emotions on you."

Wolf turned away, possessing no smart retort to counter her suspicion. She was right, of course…but that's what bothered him.

"You're too complicated for the boundaries of a simple enemy or ally. It's like you're on some blurred border between the two." She gripped her rifle, fixing her unlayering gaze on Wolf. "And when you're that unpredictable, you're more dangerous than anything on this planet…mercenary or SharpClaw."

He turned to her. "And you think that's reason enough to turn on all of you?"

"You've done it before," She said sternly. "So it wouldn't be a first for you."

Wolf growled defensively. "I'm guilty of a lot of things, Miyu…but betrayal isn't one of them."

"Except for when you turned on Corneria," She reminded him. "…On the Academy, your former home…on James McCloud, your former teacher…"

Wolf's fierce look faded. His eyes fell to the ground.

"There are even stories that you killed James McCloud in cold blood." Miyu leaned forward. "Is there any truth to that?"

Eyes on the murky, unclear shimmer of the horizon, Wolf closed his eyes in frustrated confusion.

"I don't know," He muttered. "I don't remember."

"Well, regardless…you're certainly remembered for it," Miyu said plainly. "And that's reason enough for Mason and the rest of the TRU to question your reliability…or even your allegiance."

Wolf turned to her. "What about you? What do _you _believe?"

Miyu looked at him for a moment. She slung her rifle over her shoulder, grip tightening on the worn strap.

"I'm a Leader…I can't rule out the possibility of you killing us." She regarded him with her frosty indigo look. "Even if you did help us before."

Wolf felt his heart sank and his stomach bubble in angry disappointment. He rose to his feet instantly, and prepared to head through the door in fit of frustration.

_Then I'm wasting my time trying to reason with you…_ He thought miserably.

"But…"

He stopped for a moment, ear perking up.

Miyu stood, and tapped the barrel of her laser arm on the numerous bandages on Wolf's back.

"I know you hate the SharpClaw as much as we do…maybe more." She smiled. "And that's enough assurance that you won't betray us to them."

Wolf concealed the warm relief in his stomach with a stern nod of acknowledgement.

_Clack!_

She tossed him the loaded rifle.

"So, regardless of what I think…you're one of us, now."

Wolf gripped the rifle, accepting the pledge of good faith she was handing him.

"Thanks."

But he noticed the small flicker of concern in her eyes, tracing their worried look at the fresh magazine in the gun.

Wolf looked down at it for a moment, and pulled it out.

"Here," He said, handing it to her. "You hold onto it."

Miyu looked

questionably from the ammo in her hand to Wolf, who nodded reassuringly.

_She isn't like Riley yet…_

_She isn't ready…and I'll need time to gain her trust…_

"Keep it, in case you have any doubts." He smiled knowingly. "You seem to have enough on your plate already…maybe you'll rest easier knowing I'm not blowing the shit out of everything."

"Don't worry about it," Miyu said instantly. "If I acted paranoid or uneasy earlier, it really isn't your fault." She sighed. "I just got a ton of shit to be wary of nowadays…and security's only part of it."

He began to notice the tired lines in her face again.

"Yeah, I can imagine. You all seem to pitch in a ton to keep this Resistance going…you with your leadership, Fay with her cooking, Sauru with his planning…" Wolf folded his arms in a commending manner. "I can't really vouch for the patriotism behind your 'cause', but the means you're all achieving it through deserves some praise."

Miyu smiled sadly. "I wish the rest of Titania appreciated our efforts…or better yet, if our efforts went anywhere. I can't help but wish I could put all these hours of stress and work somewhere else…" She glanced at him enviously. "Like you. You're getting masterful training from Sauru, of all people. The rest of us would kill for that honor."

Wolf's laid-back look disappeared, and he groaned through an irritated scowl.

"What is it?" Miyu laughed.

"You think your hours are going nowhere?" Wolf dared her, getting up suddenly and pacing in place. "I've trained with Sauru for a good eight hours today, and I don't even know what I'm _doing! _All that stuff he said he'd show me, like breathing underwater for long periods of time or disappearing entirely…he's not showing me any of it!"

Miyu raised an eyebrow. "It's your first day of training. What the hell did you expect?"

Wolf grumbled. "You wouldn't be so patient if _you _had to practice the same damn move for hours on end…training until the move is perfect, until I have more bruises than skin cells…I could be putting my hours into so much more!"

"You're probably not putting enough into it. Maybe there's-" Then, she stopped. "Wait, _bruises? _From where?"

Wolf pointed to the flat marks. "He hits me until I get perform each move correctly. With a _stick."_

Miyu's defensive look faded, her expression becoming startled.

"Oh…well, I sure it serves some purpose. Maybe to harden-"

"It doesn't serve _any _purpose!" Wolf snapped. "It's tedious, it's aggravating, it's humiliating….and he knows it, too! You'd think he'd show some slack, considering I've never done this before…" He grinded his claws against the rock wall next to him, seething angrily. "…and after I'm covered in bruises, and sore from head to tail, does he congratulate me on getting it _perfectly? _No. _On to the next move._ Onto _more_ relentless beating."

Miyu extended an assuring hand. "You shouldn't be so hard on him… That's probably the only way he knows how to train anyone. He's not going to change centuries of SharpClaw instinct just to be a little softer on you."

Wolf whirled around.

"Hey, I'm not asking for _anyone_ to be softer on me…I'm just asking for the small leniency of not whipping me every other second! It's degrading, insufferable…" He stopped. "It just…it just reminds me of being on the Slave Yard again. Being beaten…by _him."_

A cold shudder caused his hands to creep up to the bandaged scars on his back, and Wolf's glowering look burned deeper at the torturous memory.

Miyu's indigo eyes mellowed sympathetically.

"Come on, Wolf… He probably doesn't want you to feel like that-"

"Then why does he do this?" Wolf demanded. "Why does he patronize me so?"

She paused for a moment. "Maybe because he knows you'll work extra hard to prove him wrong if he keeps on beating you…"

Wolf shot a confused look up. "What do you mean?"

"Being beaten by the Adder Tongues didn't weaken you, Ghost. It probably brought out all the desperation and pain you were hiding out in the open…and drove you to fight harder." She sat on the rock near him. "I've spent only a bit of time with you, and I can tell that emotion and tension only drive you to try your hardest. And I'm beginning to think Sauru knows it, too…"

Wolf narrowed his eyes. "How do you know that? How do you know that it isn't just him being relentless?"

"You aren't the only one who took a beating from Drakon, Wolf." She wrung her sleeve up, exposing the spiraling, faded scar that ran deep in the fur up her arm. "You aren't the only one who felt that helplessness, that frustration…that rage." She smiled knowingly. "When you get your blood boiled and your resolved mashed open with a cluster of barbs, you'd be surprised how hard you try to push yourself. I think that's what Sauru has in mind."

Wolf looked down at her for a moment, eyes resting on her scar as he considered her words. Then he continued to pace…

"That still doesn't justify him acting like this…resolving to these kinds of methods."

The Lynx shrugged. "Well, how hard is he pushing you? Does it hurt?"

Wolf stopped. "No…it isn't as bad as the Adder Tongues. He'll take a slight wince, but never any blood," He added admittedly. But he quickly sharpened the contempt in his voice again. "But it's still aggravating to have him do it repeatedly, making the pain of the first blow drown in the growing ache of the second, to have him yell down at you…" The enraging image of Drakon's smug, lip-curling face grew in Wolf's mind. "…it may not be the same beating, but it feels the same." He turned to Miyu. "Look, I can be pushed hard. But I don't think I'm asking too much to actually _learn _something. He wants my full cooperation and loyalty, all of which I provide without question…" He spread his arms in frustration. "And for what? He barely teaches me a damn thing!"

Miyu rolled her eyes. "Psh. Come on….you must've learned _something. _Hey…" She sat up eagerly. "Why don't you show me some moves…I wanna see 'em for myself."

Wolf stood up begrudgingly. "There's not much to see…"

Recalling the movements and gestures Sauru taught him wasn't difficult. At this point, they were so precisely engraved in Wolf's mind, muscles and reflexes, that it was like extending a finger or blinking an eye…it was almost completely effortless.

He first dug his heels into the ground-cranking his shoulders and straightening his back in perfect rigidness in absent-minded perfection-and brought his arm down in a swift chop.

_Fwip!_

Then, he performed the second move he had been taught: a quick side-step that required him to twist his spinal movement at a perfect angle. His back winced in reminiscence, recalling the hours of stick strikes and practice it had taken to perfect this…

And finally, he drew his left foot-the _left _foot specifically, since Sauru never let him forget it-and flourished his arms apart in sweeping, splitting motion, unsheathing his claws as his arms extended in width.

Miyu nodded with a satisfactory look, but still appearing oblivious to them.

"Well, that's….interesting." It couldn't have been any more obvious that the break in her sentence was an attempt to find the right word. "I mean…they aren't entirely useless. They probably have _some-" _Then, she blinked, looking at him. "Wait…was that it? Is there more?"

Wolf glowered at her. "No. That's it: Three moves. _Three …_honed to back-breaking, skin-bruising perfection over EIGHT hours. And I don't even know what they're FOR!"

"Look, maybe there's some sort of depth to them," Miyu suggested, trying to expose any silver lining…if there _was _any. "Who knows? Maybe if you chain them in different ways, you'll get different results."

Wolf flexed his shoulder exasperatedly. "I've _tried _that…and wouldn't you know it, they're still the same moves. They even have to be done at the _same _speed, at the _same _angle, every time I do them. I wouldn't feel so stupid doing them if I knew what I could use them for…." He looked down at his feet in disgruntled impatience. "…besides using them as glorified dance moves. It's times like these where I wonder if the old man knows as much as he says he knows…" His eyes were fixed on the cliffs ahead. "…or if he's just another fraud, like Andross."

Miyu's optimistic look faded. "Oh, come on…Sauru said they were ancient, right?" She said, somewhat defensively. Then they probably have some archaic purpose. You just gotta find the right situation to use 'em."

"Tch. Yeah right." Wolf rolled his eyes. "Like what?"

Miyu opened her mouth to respond, only to have it drowned out by a sudden, clanging sound. Her indigo eyes became huge, fixed on something behind Wolf.

"LOOK-"

_**WHRRR-**_**SHNKK!**

Wolf's ears perked up as he heard the humming sound hurl its way behind him.

He didn't have time to react. He was still processing the sound in his ears when he started moving.

His heels dug in the ground automatically, his shoulders becoming rigid as he arced his back in a rapid spin. Lost in the sudden blur of movement, his pulse quickened as a long, black object flew above his shoulder, his bolting evasive movement reducing the object's reach as it grazed his fur.

Wolf's eyes remained locked on whatever was traveling at high speed…his shoulders flattening on some subconscious reflex that his body triggered for him. He brought his arm down into a swift chop, his outstretched hand grabbing the object in mid-air, before his left foot extended out by itself….

_KRACK!_

He ripped his hands apart in a splitting motion, unsheathing his claws unwillingly as his arms spread….the object snapping in half from the impact.

Then, it was over.

In the split second that followed the rapid moment that had just passed by, Miyu finished blinking and uttering the second, frantic syllable.

"-OUT!"

Then, she blinked, eyes widening as she finally reacted to the onslaught of sudden movements that Wolf had just dove into.

Wolf panted heavily, fur spiked in startled shock but eyes darting about in confusion.

He looked down, and saw the split fragments of one of the metal training spikes in each of his hands.

He froze, the cold shock breaking through the sweat trickling down his trembling body.

_W-What just-happened?_

_Did I-?_

Miyu couldn't believe it. Her mouth and throat were still numb from witnessing what just happened, but her sharp indigo eyes recalled it just fine. They were still reflecting with the blur of movement…the spike shooting from one of the training traps on the walls, and Wolf moving at impossibly-swift speed to dodge it, catch it, and split in his hands…

…all on a moment's notice.

"H-how-" Miyu stammered. "How did you-?"

"I don't know," Wolf breathed, hands shaking.

He didn't even remember doing it. He just blinked, and the next thing he knew, his fingers were still curled and numb from the sudden presence of the shattered spear shaft in his hands, which he dropped to the ground with a clatter.

A voice sneered cynically behind them.

"Ever so eager to learn the moves, not so eager to employ them yourself. By the Claw, boy…do you plan on doing _anything _yourself?"

The sudden intrusion of a snide voice caused the both of them to look around, to see Sauru standing-or slithering, rather-in the doorway behind them, lip curling…and twirling Riley's remote in his hand.

"Sauru?" Miyu's eyebrows furrowed quizzically. "What're you-?" She looked around, suddenly conscious. "How long have you been standing there?"

But he just kept his snide gaze at Wolf.

"Long enough…long enough to see the two of you getting along, and long enough to see how the boy reacts on a second's notice." He smiled cunningly. "And you didn't disappoint, either…"

_Click._

He pressed a button on the remote, and one of the robotic trap arms folded back into the wall. The other three arms holding spikes folded away in unison.

Wolf stared at him for a moment, realizing what the SharpClaw had just done…his shock quickly melting into rage.

"I—wha-_that was _YOU?" He finally settled on.

"I tried my hardest to teach you some patience, Star Wolf," Sauru chided. "And yet here you are, out of my study for less than an hour, already pining about how little you know about the things I teach you." A layer of frost shone in his eyes. "Don't be so quick to demand an opportunity to use those techniques I've taught you, boy…" He flicked the remote mischievously. "You might just get what you want." He gestured his hand in an offering fashion. "So, you've proven that you can at least use what I've taught you for evasive purposes. Are you satisfied now? Or do you have some complaints left?"

Wolf's eye twitched for a moment. Was he _satisfied?_

In an instant, he kicked the shattered spike away from his feet, and pointed a quaking finger at him.

"You-_You senile old _WRETCH! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING_?" _He roared. _"_You could've KILLED me! Or you could've killed MIYU!"

"Yeah, Sauru-I hate to say it, but-_what the hell?!_" Miyu scolded, voice rising. "You'd play around with these lethal traps just to teach him some damn lesson? Jesus Christ, do you have _any_ idea the kind of damage you could've caused?!"

Sauru leisurely flipped the remote between his gnarled claws.

"Could've, would've…_didn't."_ He raised an eyebrow. "I seem to remember that Gingerback boy telling me that the remote to his device stops the machinery here on a second's notice, so I probably wasn't placing you under any extreme risk."

He tossed the remote to Miyu, who caught in surprise.

Miyu looked from the remote to Sauru, her indigo glare still reproachful.

"Well…_still," _She muttered. "You were just lucky that he dodged it in time…"

"Yeah, what if I misstepped slightly and _didn't _dodge it?" Wolf demanded. "What _then?"_

Sauru smiled. "That's why I require a set of hours into perfecting each move, Star Wolf...to eliminate that small possibility that it _doesn't _happen. Maybe now, you'll appreciate the amount of time and effort you put into it." He eyes the shattered spikes at Wolf's feet. "Besides…you didn't 'dodge' anything. You chained what you knew into a single set of movements...not in the order I taught you them, as well," He added with satisfaction. "You might've done it subconsciously, that only proves that my teachings have burned themselves into your reflexes faster than I hoped…but I guess we have your half-erased memory to thank for that."

"And for the record," Sauru continued, directing his eyes at Wolf this time. "All the techniques I teach are to be used on a moment's notice, so announcing my presence and _then _firing the trap really wouldn't have been effective, would it?"

Wolf shot him a glowering look.

"I'm beginning to grow weary of these methods of yours 'Master Sauru'," He growled. "You nearly beat me to death in training, you almost kill me _out of training…_I'm starting to wonder if sleeping in the room I currently have in this place is any less hazardous than whatever barracks I had had at the Slave Yard!"

Miyu's eyes widened in sudden anxiety, suddenly sensing the edge of a confrontation they were standing on.

"Wolf, just calm down," She urged. "If he's says it's safe, than it's safe…"

But Sauru didn't seem the least bit bothered by Wolf's words. He just sighed and rolled his eyes.

"What _am _I going to do with you, Star Wolf? You whine constantly about how you don't know what to do with the movements I teach you…and then, when I demonstrate what they do, you whine even more. Sometimes I wonder if you're _ever _happy, Star Wolf…considering you label my efforts to help you as being vindictive. Honestly, did you honestly think I'd risk killing you, before you've served the purpose I have in store for you? You'd be wasted so unfortunately."

"You mean your _purpose _would be wasted, Wolf snapped.

"I should certainly say so…" He folded his arms. "When all is said and done, you still performed rather well. Not bad, for 'dance moves', I should think," He added coolly.

Suddenly, Wolf felt a pang of sudden realization…and he began to wonder how long the old SharpClaw had really been standing there…

The pang in his stomach quickly dissolved into guilt, weighing him down like lead.

_What else did he hear…?_

Sauru didn't dwell on him long before turning to Miyu. "And you? You seemed rather reluctant to train the boy earlier…and yet here you are, a good _hour _before you're supposed to train him. What happened? Sudden change of mind?"

Miyu's fur bristled, suddenly caught off-guard. "I was just-we," She looked around. "I thought he could use some pointers, that's all."

"Well, I honestly hope you showed him something worthwhile…because you won't have time to show him anything later." He opened the door wider. "We need to postpone your lessons with him."

"Oh." Miyu raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Why so urgent, all of a sudden?"

Sauru glanced at the sky, the coming dusk casting shadows on his wrinkled face.

"The sun is going down. This is perfect time to undergo the process…if any time at all. We should seize the opportunity now, while we still can."

Wolf looked up. "What process?"

Sauru's eyes gleamed with a mad cunning, and a sudden eagerness.

"The process you've looked forward to so eagerly, boy. The process of getting your memory back." He gestured a claw to the door. "If you would just follow me…and we can get started."

Miyu nodded briefly, gathering her duffle and all of its contents as she left through the door.

Wolf prepared to follow her, but stopped in front of Sauru. He didn't have the courage to make eye contact with him.

"Sauru…" His voice was dry, looking down apologetically. "I, um…I just-"

But the SharpClaw just frowned impatiently. "Move it, boy! Time's a wasting! Do you want that memory of yours back, or not?"

Wolf watched him disappear into the Shrine's shaded bowels, looking uncomfortably at the setting suns ahead. He didn't even know what he was planning on saying to Sauru…what explanation he planned on feeding him, what excuse he had for saying the things he did…assuming, of course, Sauru _heard _what he had said. But not knowing only made him more nervous…

He glanced at the sky, with a guilty sigh.

"Yeah…"

He followed them both, leaving the pink hues of the evening sky bleed out on the distant city and mountains behind him.

_Sauru's Study on Shrine Sub-Level, Half an hour later…_

FWSH!

"We're here, we're here! Don't start it yet-!"

Riley and Fay sprinted through the curtain-door, panting and catching their breath but still making room in their faces for excited looks.

Both Wolf and Miyu turned, the two of them facing Sauru. The Field Advisor stopped the middle of whatever sentence he was uttering, and seethed through his teeth with a murderous look upwards.

"Does _no one _knock?" He implored the ceiling.

"Did…_hagh…_we miss anything?" Riley gasped, hands supporting himself on his knees.

Mason strode calmly through the door way, brushing the curtain aside.

"No, something tells me you didn't." He glanced at Sauru. "Am I right to assume that something important is happening? Because with the way these two galloped down here, anyone would think that a child was being born, or something."

"We didn't gallop anywhere," Fay said indignantly, finding time amidst her panting to look up at him crossly. "And for the record, I happen to _love_ when babies are born…they're _so _precious, and cute, so small…" She sighed affectionately, cradled an invisible infant in her arms.

"Yeah, they're only cute for the first five minutes," Riley grumbled.

"Oh, God…" Miyu rubbed her temples. "Fay, did you ditch your chores up in the kitchen to come down here?"

"Oh, I wasn't going to miss this," Fay assured her. "I've been doing nothing but cooking, cleaning, and scrubbing the life out of dishes for months…and this is the first exciting thing to happen for years in this gloomy place."

"What's there to miss?" Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "I'm just getting my memory back. What's exciting about that?"

"Uh, hello? _We wanna see how Sauru does it!"_ Riley blurted excitedly. "I mean, seriously-" He tapped one of beetle jars on the table next to him, wearing a bored look. "When you spend years upon years, living with some ancient mystic like Sauru, and the most exciting thing _he _does is turn dung-beetles into metal-"

Sauru, who was, tapping the wall next to one of the tables burdened with books and jars, looked back with a hate-filled look.

"Scarabs," He hissed in a loathing voice. _"Scarabs,_ anus brain."

Mason rolled his eyes impatiently. "So, what's the nature of this method of yours? I think you've surrounded it with enough suspense as it is…" He raised the odd eyebrow at Wolf. "…especially to the person in need of it most. Why don't you tell us how you're going to go about it?"

"You seem pretty on board with the plan," Wolf said, acknowledging him with an appreciative nod that he didn't think he'd give.

But Mason just folded his arms stiffly.

"You know the saying, 'you can't have your way when there's only _one _way'? He looked away. "I'm cooperating because the situation demands it. Nothing else changes."

"Alright, then." Wolf's irritated scowl plastered itself back in his face. "Be that way."

_I've come to expect that from you and your 'countrymen'…_

"Now that it comes to it, how _are _you planning on doing it?" Miyu asked curiously, glancing at the rows and rows of bookshelves, as if the answer may be hidden somewhere in their pages. "I mean, until you brought it up yesterday, I thought it was…well, impossible."

"_Almost _impossible, young Miyu," Sauru beamed proudly, running his hand down the limestone surface of the dimly-lit wall. "Nothing is ever entirely possible, or completely impossible. There's always that small middle-ground in between…where the secrets lie. You can't doubt _everything _before it happens."

Wolf kept his arms folded and gaze fixed on Sauru, trying to look attentive. But at the word "doubt", his eyes drew to the corner uncomfortably, feeling more or less targeted by that word.

"Wolf?" Fay glanced at them, noticing his sudden uneasiness. "Everything okay?"  
"Hmm?" Wolf looked up quickly, and mellowed his voice. "Oh... yeah."

"You sure?" Miyu raised a suspicious eyebrow. "You've been pretty quiet since we got here. What's the deal? I'd think you'd be a little more excited, considering that its your memory that's getting retrieved."

Sauru, amidst his sudden interest in the wall, raised his eyebrows. "I agree. Something bothering you?"

On the surface, he only looked as confused as the others, but one look at the concealed glint in Sauru's eyes made Wolf feel like he knew _exactly_ what was irking him.

Wolf just wanted to come on out and apologize to him. He just wanted to get it off his stomach, so he wouldn't have to avoid Sauru for the rest of the time.

"I…I just wanted to…"

But then, after a quick glance at everyone else's confused exchange of looks he relieved his face of any obvious discomfort.

"Never mind," He decided flatly. He straightened himself up. "You said that Inner Power exists in the realm outside the physical, right? On some inter-dimensional plane?"

Sauru's scaly finger stopped over the flattest portion of the wall.

"Yes, that's correct."

Wolf shrugged. "So how do we plan on retrieving them? I didn't think there was a physical way to even look into other dimensional space, let alone touch it." He looked up. "Is there?"

Sauru drummed his claws on the flat section of the wall, staring hard into the flickering light offered by the rusted oil-lamp next to him.

"The precise location where your emotions drift in scattered calamity and imbalance is in such a place. A place dense with all the energy and aura projected by your emotions…"

_Swa-_SHINK!

Sauru extended the gleaming raptor claw on his middle finger, and jammed it in a small hole in the flat part of the wall.

"You won't be able to retrieve your memories from that source, but at the _gateway_ to that source," He continued. "Don't retrieve your fruit from the tree, but from the outside of the garden. And that gateway to said garden lies in the sliver of atmosphere that exists between the space inside you that's occupied by your Inner Power, and the inter-dimensional where it takes its complete form. That is the place you must go to retrieve your memory, Star Wolf: the border between the physical and the unnatural." He turned, the candlelight illuminating his face with a cryptic glimmer. "The 'middle-ground.'"

Wolf's intrigued expression disappeared, as his darting eyes slowly processed what Sauru was proposing. An icy shiver slipped into his blood-stream like liquid nitrogen.

"You...you want me to go back in there? To that place?" Already, the glowering face and horrible laugh of the "other Wolf" was fixing an image in his head. "Sauru, some of the worst wounds I ever suffered came from in there...from that, that _thing."_

_Click!_

After screwing his claw in clockwise, counter-clockwise, and counter-clockwise again, the SharpClaw's eyes lit up at the sound of the hidden lock clicking, before turning to Wolf.

"I'm not asking you to face your Devourer again, boy. And honestly, I don't entirely know what frightens you about him. He's just as much as a part of you as the rest of your Inner Power."

Wolf clenched his hand into a fist.

"I'm not afraid of him. I'm afraid of anything else that lies in there..." He eyed the rising and falling shadows cast by the lamplight, seeing his own, haunting fears in them. "I don't even know what else lurks there... I'm not even sure if he's the worse thing in that place," He looked up immediately. "Tell me this now, Sauru… do you know everything that exists in that realm?"

Sauru stopped fiddling with the lock. "No...it's your Inner Power. Both the Inner Power of an organism, and the metaphysical world where it exists, lie in pools of diversity. No two Powers are the same." He turned, looking ominous. "But I have some idea what you'll be facing."

Wolf's heartbeat increased rapidly.

"Then what else is there?" He asked slowly.

Sauru glanced to the side, looking reluctant to answer him.

The feeling of dread in Wolf's stomach continued, and he stepped forward in desperate demanding.

"Sauru, I went into that circle of hell once...and I'm not going in again until you give me a good idea of what I'm up against. Tell me Sauru..._what else is in there?"_

The other TRU members, all submerged in their own frightened confusion on what they were talking about, waited for Sauru's verdict in silent anticipation.

Sauru pursed his lips and looked down for a moment.

"There isn't anything in that dimension that you haven't faced before…that's all I can tell you. What you will face in there...while not posing the same intimidating form as the Devourer, is something that will require every shred of willpower you have to face. In its own way...it might be even worse than the Devourer itself."

Wolfs purple eyes widened in stark fear. Sweat poured down the cold terror that crawled up his back.

_Worse..._

…_.than __**him?**_

Fay saw the petrified look in Wolf's eyes, and turned to the Field Advisor imploringly.

"Sauru-ji, I...I'm starting to wonder if this is such a good idea. I mean... I want Wolf to get his powers, a-and his memory back as much as the next person, it's just...well, it's probably not my place to say...I'm just a kitchen attendant..." She dipped her head meekly.

"Say whatever's on your mind, sweetie." Miyu nudged her encouragingly "There's no formality here."

Sauru folded his arms patiently.

Fay licked her lips nervously before continuing. "But that being said, this isn't something that we've ever done before. This isn't like liberating slaves, o-or fighting SharpClaw...this is sending one of our own into a territory we know nothing about...and without any idea what kind of agonizing things await there..." She glanced at Wolf, blue eyes teeming with concern. "…things we'll be subjecting _him_ too, instead of ourselves."

Wolf looked down at his feet, surprised and a little embarrassed about how afraid she was for him. At least _someone _cared, though…

"I never said it would be easy to do, child," Sauru said indifferently. "I warned the boy of that much. I said that there were multiple ways to the boundless realm, and that most of them require maneuvers and methods of a primitive sort, and require seemingly-endless bits of time. I'm consigning him to the quickest way possible…you remember that, I assume?"

Wolf looked away slightly, nodding in silence.

"Then you'll also remember," Sauru reminded him sharply. "That because of its outdated means, and speedy process…it's also the most painful alternative that exists?"

Wolf, despite his confidence that he could handle just about any measure of pain after all he had been through…felt a nervous shiver.

Everyone looked at each other nervously, regarding Wolf like that one unfortunate kid subjected to a painful doctor's treatment. Riley trembled slightly, and Miyu's indigo eyes widened.

Mason looked alert too, eyes narrowed…not in fear, but in sudden curiosity.

Wolf looked down with his throat dry and his pulse quick, mumbling slightly.

"Yes."

Fay looked at him sympathetically, biting her lip.

Sauru waved his hand, closing the topic. "Then we have nothing left to discuss…nothing that we haven't gone over."

Fay tugged on one of her bushy ears, trying to reach some timid rationality. "Well, yes, but-"

"I agree with Fay," Mason cut in abruptly.

Wolf stared at him, now _really_ surprised.

"You do?"

"Yes. This a fool's errand!" The Snow Leopard insisted. "We can't depend on this-this-" He sized Wolf up with his eyes for a moment, his soured expression searching for the right word. "…this _boy _to withstand the pain."

Fay turned to him, somewhat annoyed. "That isn't where I was going with-"

But Mason continued.

"So what if he's Star Wolf? So what if he's received the blow of the Adder Tongues?" Looked at him, riled with distaste. "That doesn't change generations of inherited Venomian weakness. He won't be able to handle it…"

Wolf didn't turn to face him directly, but felt the cold aura of Mason's frosty glare on him.

_I won't be able to 'handle it'?_

His blood churned dangerously. He clenched his knuckles until a ringing crack was heard around him. His lip curled in the wake of a low growl, exposing the savage curve of his upper fangs.

_You miniscule Cornerian __**child**__…_

He turned to fix his vehement purple eyes on him.

_Who do you think you're talking to?_

"Take me to it." He turned to Sauru. "Take me to this inter-dimensional place. Whatever lies in there isn't anything I can't handle. Pain isn't a significant factor to me anymore…not with everything I have to lose."

The flickering lamplight helped the shadows on Sauru's face curl as he smiled with his curved fangs.

"Excellent. But be warned….automated electricity and sharpened barbs are all physical torments…don't expect those sweet luxuries to be waiting for you beyond the bounds of the normal world." He kept his hand hovered over the hidden lock in the wall, eye on Wolf. "Keep that mind."

Wolf wore a determined look. "I'm prepared to face whatever's out there." His eyes betrayed a sideways glance of uneasiness. "It won't be the first time I'm going in blind..."

HRRRNGE.

Dust showered from the upset cracks in the wall, as it lurched around and exposed a small gap in the limestone rock. The dust rained down straight on their faces, causing Riley and Fay to cough and splutter till their fur poofed.

Cobwebs were caught in the grinding lock of turning gears, as a hidden compartment was revealed in the rock….

…cradling a dusty, cloth-wrapped box in its crevice.

Sauru picked up the box and blew some dust off of it, before turning around.

"You won't go in blind...because you won't be alone. I shall accompany you to the next world."

Wolf looked up instantly. Everyone else's jaw dropped.

"Wait-_what?!" _Miyu spluttered. _"You're _going?"

The SharpClaw rolled his eyes. "You didn't think I was leaving the fate of our resistance in the fate of a hapless whelp in the middle of an uncharted realm, did you? You, in there, all by yourself? How stupid do you think I am?"

"You're coming with me?" Wolf's face was overwhelmed with relief and gratitude. "I didn't-I mean-" He stopped himself. "I didn't know you…could. You know, with some of your…" He scratched his head and tried not to look at Sauru's snakelike tail. "…disadvantages."

"Never mind how _I _can do it," Sauru said tartly. "It's _you _who should be concerned about how 'able' you are. I may be a victim of old age and other scrutiny, but it is you who suffers from a far worse condition." His lip curled into a conniving smile. "You might not be able to handle the…ah, demanding nature of the process…"

Wolf suddenly didn't look as relived anymore. Miyu and Mason looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"Good." He brushed off the cloth wrapping around the box in his hands. "Well, on that promising note… the first step in entering that gate in that other realm, and recovering your memories, starts with this…"

_Click._

Everyone leaned forward in sudden interest as the rusted hinges of the box grinded agedly, upsetting the cobwebs that clung on to the wood. Sauru lifted the lid up to expose the shining object resting on the bed of straw inside.

A hushed silence washed over the room like the cold water. Nobody spoke, but everyone's eyes-including Wolf's-were equal in size and shock.

It was a large and delicately ordained scorpion, made entirely out of some gleaming, amber-colored metal that looked suspiciously like gold. Despite its aged chips and cracks in its surface, the pincers, back, tail and legs were lined with strange sets of runes. They were some curling, indistinguishable letters of some archaic language, one that no one could decipher….but each of them carved at an unbelievably small scale.

But there were two distinct features of the object that caught everyone's eye: the closed-up metal lotus on the scorpion's back….

…and particularly, the sting: which was comprised of a single, huge, sparkling ruby, which seemed to glow with a faint, unnatural light on the end of the scorpion's tail…casting strange hues in the half-lit room.

It honestly wasn't that big, and the shine it was casting was nothing special compared to the radiant gleam of the gold on Sauru's alchemy table.

But there was something everyone could feel while looking at it…some kind of eerie, half-shaded glow that fixated a supernatural appearance in everyone's view. It didn't even look like it was really there at all…the dim shimmer it glowed with flickered in a mesmerizing fashion, almost like it was holographic.

"_Jesus," _Miyu breathed.

"Wha-?" Riley gasped, pointing his shaking finger at the object and looking around at everyone to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

Even Mason, who hid his astonishment with a leisurely wave of unimpressed acknowledgement, looked interested despite himself.

Sauru smirked in amusement at everyone's bewildered, wide-eyed faces.

"Do you know what this is, Star Wolf?"

Wolf, still staring at the Scorpion, shook his head.

"No…."

Sauru laughed. "This, my boy…" He patted the Scorpion's metal hide. "Is your vessel to the next dimension…the barge that will take you into the bowels that lie within yourself."

Fay cooed in an amazed gasp under her breath.

"It's so pretty…" Her blue eyes sparkled childishly at the gleam of the small lotus. But she grimaced away slightly. "Even though it's a scorpion."

"Holy shit, Sauru…is that _gold?_" Riley wriggled his way closer, suddenly serious. "Is _this _where you've been putting all those damn scarabs? I didn't even know you could _make_ something like this."

Sauru scowled. "First off, it's made out of _bronze, _not gold, you straw-boned halfwit. Second, if I was putting that much gold into something like this, do you think you or anyone else in this Shrine would've even been _fed _inthese past couple of months?"

Riley shuffled his feet and mumbled reproachfully.

"Look at all the writing on its back…" Miyu pointed at the archaic runes. "Can you imagine how much painstaking effort it would take to carve letters that small?"

"I honestly couldn't tell you how this was made…" Sauru shrugged admittedly. "Because I am not the one who made it.

"You didn't?" Fay looked up. "Where'd you get it from? Not from one of the merchant stalls here?" Her round eyes regarded the shining scorpion in wondrous curiosity. "I've been dipping in and out of those markets for years, and I've never seen a trinket like _that."_

Sauru chuckled. "No, my girl. I obtained it the same way I found everything in this room…every ancient tome, every scrap of papyrus and parchment…" His reptilian eyes traveled over every shelf. "…through the search for knowledge I embarked on in my youth. However, this artifact is over three thousand years old, and probably one of the oldest hand-crafted objects in this room...or on this planet, or perhaps the entire Lylat System."

Wolf blinked from his long stare at the relic, and looked up with some mild skepticism.

"How is this thing going to help get my memories back?"

Sauru smiled cunningly.

"It's quite interesting you ask that…considering our objective is to retrieve your memories. It's into your head that you must go to find your memories, boy…and I assure you, if there's any race of people that act as the prime acolytes of the mind, and the mystic abilities…" He wrapped his fingers around the Scorpion's bronze delicate legs, tapping the pincers with his raptor claw. "…it's the race that made this little relic right here."

He held the Scorpion up for everyone to see.

"Not a cheap trinket or peddler's antiquity, I assure you all…This relic was created for a single purpose…" He held it close to his face, the ruby's glow illuminating the wrinkles in his face and hood. "…to allow mortal men to access the route between the mind, the body, and the dimensions beyond."

"But if you didn't create it…and it's as old as you say…" Mason narrowed his eyes. "Who was it created by?"

Sauru's smile faded, and a cold rattle passed through his expression.

His eyes turned to stone, the shade of bitter memories paling his face as he looked towards the dusklight that escaped through the boarded-up windows.

"By the only race of beings whose minds, genetic build, and complete existence was touched by a mystical power far older and more diverse than Inner Power ever was at the peak of its foundation...the kind of power that allowed them to cross from the physical plane to the unnatural plane with their minds alone. A race that was calculating and intelligent, incapable of being weakened by what plagues all mortal beings: fear, longing, heartbreak, corruption…they had the potential to be the perfect, efficient, lasting race. They were the first and last of their kind…a race that had a long heritage of countless individuals gifted with abilities far older, and far more diverse than Inner Power. A race of a world that existed outside of the reach of the Lylat galaxy..."

Wolf looked hard at him, suddenly intrigued.

"Truly something to marvel…" Sauru's voice was barely above a mumur, staring at his own reflection in the scorpion's back. "…but never again to be marveled again by mortal eyes. For you see, my young friends…this cultural fragment I hold is all that's left of their civilization."

Riley blinked, and looked at the small Scorpion doubtfully.

"That thing? You're kidding, right?"

Sauru's eyes hardened, the dark pits of haunting reminiscence veiling his gaze.

"Their world breathed its last breath in a state of terrified helplessness, before it was plummeted into the abyss of destruction."

Fay's eyes grew huge, and she placed a small hand over her mouth.

Wolf's eyebrows slowly furrowed, his darting eyes mystified by the trail that Sauru's words were leading to. For some bizarre reason, for whatever irk that pulled at the back of his head…

…This was sounding familiar…

"This relic was given to me, by one of last members of an extinct race…a clan of telepathic foxes on an uncharted world, now vanished from the reach of the sun's warmth…and not from a phenomenon that occurred in another age, either.

Sauru held out the bronze Scorpion, its curled pincers and glittering ruby suddenly looking quite ominous.

"Their planet disappeared not ten years ago. This bygone world, once known as…Cerinia."

_End of Chapter_


	25. Chapter 25

Now, after a staggering delay, I present the new chapter. You can thank my college for the oppressive gap, because the first assignment those infernal scourges teachers at my poltical comics class had me do was _a hand-drawn, 50-page, fully-inked comic_ FROM SCRATCH. It was so overwhelming and tedious that it's literally made me never want to draw again.

So as you can imagine, progress on this chapter came to a dead halt for the three months that ungodly project took to finish.I'm really sorry for making you all wait, but I assure you that it was equal penance for me.

Without further ado, here's a reward for your patience.

_Chapter 25: Treading the Boundaries Of The Unknown_

_Sargasso Shrine Sub-Level, Catalaya on Titania, 5 ALW (HMD Period)_

"Cerinia…"

Everyone else had regarded the strange word with a minor look of curiosity or a dismissive shrug without any real recognition. But Wolf muttered it aloud and pondered the sound of it inside his head.

He was fairly certain that he had never heard that name in his life. And yet it lingered…leaving a mental echo in his mind.

Miyu looked at him absentmindedly. Then she looked at him again, noticing the strange look in his face.

"Hey, what's up with you?"

Sauru turned to him. "Is there something wrong, boy?"

"You sure that's the name of the planet?" Wolf asked suddenly. "Not the name of…" His eyes darted across the ground. "…a person?"

Sauru remained still for a moment, eyebrows furrowing. "There isn't any record of anyone with that name in any archive. Why?"

Wolf looked down. "I don't know…it just sounds odd."

He didn't even know why he had asked that. Uttering the name "Cerinia" in his head didn't trigger a single image in his memory.

For some reason, some portion of his subconscious just automatically assumed the word "Cerinia" with a person in particular. But who?

Sauru began to regard him with a growing look of suspicion.

"Do you know something about the planet, Star Wolf?"

Everyone turned to Wolf with curiosity. Miyu raised her eyebrows expectantly. Riley stopped examining the dusty jars on Sauru's shelf and perked his ears up with sudden intrigue. Mason shifted his stiff expression to allow an interested glance.

But Wolf, after a moment's stare into space, shook his head.

"No," He said, voice still uncertain. "I don't think I even heard of it before now."

"I'd be surprised if you _had _heard of it." Sauru's expression sharpened keenly. "Apart from the Cerinians themselves, no warm-blood has ever laid eyes upon it, let alone _heard _of it …" He peered closer, yellow eyes becoming shrewd. "Which begs the question, _what _about a name you've never heard of strikes you as odd, Star Wolf? Do you recall it from somewhere?"

Wolf, a little uncomfortable with the weight of Sauru's curiosity, grimaced away slightly.

"No."

Sauru rested his fixed stare at Wolf for a moment before it slowly faded, looking disappointed...but the suspicion in his expression still lingered.

"Indeed…"

"And you say this planet was just…destroyed?" Fay asked in hushed voice.

Reluctantly swerving his inquisitive gaze away from Wolf, Sauru turned to her.

"I'm not even certain myself. There was no trace of it when I returned years later…not an asteroid field, and no signs of perished life-forms. It was gone."

"That's impossible," Mason said with flat skepticism. "Something as big as a planet doesn't just 'disappear', not at least without leveling every single planetary world around it. That goes against every law of physics!"

"Well, feel free to offer an alternative explanation for an entire planet disappearing," Sauru offered in a dry voice. "I'm only telling you everything I saw."

"Wait a minute," Riley chimed in suddenly. "If this place, and all the people on it, was destroyed…" He pointed at the shimmering scorpion in Sauru's hand. "Then how did _you _get ahold of that thing?"

The talisman's radiant gleam illuminated Sauru's face, but cast shadows on the worn creases, making his cold grimace of dreading reminiscence all the more cryptic.

"I visited the place long before it met its end, during my youth as a corsair in the SharpClaw ranks...when I was young and impulsive, and wasn't mantled with the burden of intelligence, just like the rest my brethren.…" His reptilian eyes traveled past all their confused faces. "We SharpClaw were under General Fang's command during those days, and he was sending out convoys of airships across the known worlds. At the time, the SharpClaw Army was but a cluster of raiders and pillagers, not grunts for an empire like Talon wishes for the current generation." His face contorted with loathing distaste before continuing. "And amidst our search for plunder, our Convoy stumbled across a planet that hadn't appeared on a single one of the planetary charts we had ever stolen. It was no arid wasteland, or ruthless tundra that greeted us when we set foot on this new planet…it was a lush world, one we had never seen before…"

Fay sighed longingly. "Oh, do tell us what it was like, Sauru-ji…it must've been so exotic…"

"_Exotic?_ My dear girl, your little Lylatian planets are befitting for a word as generic as 'exotic.' Cerinia was a haven for nature, teeming with life…"

Sauru drank in the memory, his expression rekindled with longing, the recalling of a pleasant dream.

"It was lush with fertile jungle, humid air, towering waterfalls, clusters of tantalizing fruits, roaming wildlife…it was a reptile's dream, the ideal homeworld for SharpClaw." His expression sharpened suddenly. "But it was only moments after we arrived that we encountered the numerous life-forms that inhabited the surface. The Cerinian warriors…and they weren't jungle-bred aborigines, either. They were calculating and merciless, cold and tactfully superior. With the way they fought us, you'd think they had been _waiting _for us. Once General Fang saw that his raid had become a battle, it was apparent that no amount of plunder was worth the countless SharpClaw we'd lose to the mindless bloodshed. We took our leave, never to return."

He looked down at the golden scorpion in his hands.

"But we didn't leave without salvaging a few spoils; including a number of slaves. And among the slaves my battalion took, there was an old Cerinian fox…one without the paint or trappings of any of the known clans…only a brand on his fur, one the Cerinians reserved exclusively for outcasts of their clans. He wouldn't reveal anything about himself…except his name, Randorn."

Sauru glanced at the ground in an almost melancholy fashion for a moment, before continuing.

"The harsh treatment of the SharpClaw Slavers honed his spite for them…and reinforced his trust in the only SharpClaw who showed him even a grain of mercy…" He looked up. "…me."

"Hmph, perhaps you weren't as different in your youth like you claim, Sauru," Mason commented, some approval lingering in his stiff demeanor. "You were the only morally-conscious one amongst your race, even then."

"I wasn't much better than those around me." Sauru grimaced uncomfortably. "All I ended up doing for him was giving him water, and sparing him the constant insults and abuse my brethren was showering him with. But it apparently was enough trust to pass one of the remaining relics of Cerinia to me…along with the secret of its divine properties."

Miyu blinked. "That's it? He passed the secret of entire civilization to you, just for some water and a pat on the back?"

"I assure you, I was just as baffled when he gave it to me," Sauru said admittedly. "There was no rhyme or reason to it, but he never explained why. He escaped our airship within a fortnight of his capture, and disappeared long before I could find him. When I eventually left my SharpClaw brethren behind, I actually went in search of him during my quest for greater knowledge…but by the time I had returned to Cerinia's spot in the galaxy, the planet had been long destroyed…" He looked down at the Scorpion. "…with only a fragment of its legacy left behind."

Riley knitted his eyebrows together, suddenly piecing Sauru's words together.

"But…if you were part of the SharpClaw battalion that went there…does that mean you fought the Cerinians there as well?"

The constant focus on the subject of this Cerinia place was provoking a jolt of dread in Wolf's stomach, and he didn't know why. On one hand, it stirred up a strange, inexplicable sense of yearning to know more about it…

….but something else in the pit of his stomach squirmed uncomfortably at the thought of it.

Finally, he shook himself out of it. He was worrying over nothing. What significance could this place possibly have?

_This has nothing to do with the task at hand…none of it…_

Sauru was about to open his mouth objectively to Riley's question, before Wolf interrupted.

"Look…not that this isn't-you know, _fascinating…_ But could we just get to the process, now?"

"But aren't you even the slightest bit curious?" Fay asked, sounding reluctant. "This relic came from another people, another world…one that doesn't exist." She cocked her head. "Doesn't that strike a little bit of interest?"

Wolf drummed his claws on his side, glancing warily at the rapidly-disappearing sunlight of the outer dusk slipping through the boarded-up windows.

"I think I'd be a little more interested if every minute I wasted wasn't a minute lost."

"Oh, I see…" Fay said in a different voice, looking down at the ground meekly. "Right, I'm sorry…"

But Sauru seemed somewhat relieved at the change of subject.

"I agree," He concurred instantly. "It isn't really something I'd like to go into. I'd happily regale you all with the story another time…" His voice was layered with bitter sarcasm. "But we have more pressing business…like this boy's memory."

Whatever curiosity everyone had to learn about their cryptic Field Advisor were dashed instantly at the exciting mention of inter-dimensional travel.

Fay still looked disappointed, though. She really wanted to hear more about that Cerinia place…

Wolf nodded hurriedly. "First off, how is _that_ thing going to take me-or us, rather-to the space between dimensions? You can call me condescending, but I don't see a G-Diffuser or a set of wings on it."

Sauru chuckled dryly. "Not all comings and goings of this world depend on the aid of your warm-blooded technology. Despite whatever pride your generation may have in its mediocre 'feats of science'-"

"What, space travel is a mediocre feat, now?" Miyu said, raising an eyebrow.

"In the long scheme of things, yes." Sauru said with unimpressed dismissal. "The route to the next realm isn't through any tunnel through space and time…" He smiled at Wolf. "It's through your mind."

"My _mind?" _Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "But-how is that possible? If it was in my mind the whole time, why do I need _that _thing?"

Sauru held up the golden scorpion Wolf was pointing at for everyone to see. "I assume you all have taken notice of the peculiar gem on its upper construct?"

Riley's eyes drew greedily to the massive ruby on the golden creature's sting. "Yes…I mean-" He straightened up, clearing his throat. "Yeah, I noticed it."

"It is called a Honing Stone in the Cerinian dialect," Sauru explained. "Deep within its planetary core, Cerinia harbored many extraordinary resources that ended up disappearing along with it..." The ever-growing glow of the stone illuminated Sauru's face. "…including these minerals that radiated the planet's supernatural aura within their cores. Each of them contained many diverse and unknown properties. Some of these properties are what many adepts of modern science would consider…" He paused for a moment. "...unnatural."

"Unnatural?" Wolf repeated. "How so?"

"The energy that resides in this stone derives from a number of sources, the human mind being one of them." The SharpClaw held the stone more delicately, laughing with quiet nervousness. "Even I don't know what else the devious little thing's capable of doing..."

Miyu's curious look disappeared instantly. "Hold on, you don't _know_ what else it does?"

Sauru shook his head. "No records of the stones were ever found…and hence I have no knowledge of their full potential."

Suddenly, she clenched her fist, eyes fixed on the red stone.

"Then you shouldn't be treading lightly with that thing, Sauru!" Her indigo eyes flashed from alert to frightened . "What are you thinking?! You brought in something that's beyond even _your _understanding-and you didn't tell even _one _of us?! That could pose a hazard to _every single person_ in this-!"

"Easy now, Miyu," Sauru cooed reassuringly. "The stone won't pose any threat to you, or anyone else."

As Miyu's tightened fist slackened, her eyebrows knitted closer together.

"It won't?"

"No." Sauru chuckled. "I'm glad you remain a vigilant leader as ever, my dear girl…but this isn't an unstable threat any more than a barely-tinkered machine. It's unpredictable, but it's nothing dangerous."

Much to everyone's surprise, Mason stepped forward and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Relax, Miyu…it's fine." He adjusted his frosty look for a solemn nod, which did more to stimulate Miyu's cheeks more than soothe her caution. "Sauru wouldn't bring in a security risk before running it by me first." He looked up at the Field Advisor. "Isn't that right, Sauru?"

The SharpClaw gazed silently at the stone before answering.

"Anything can transform from harmless to dangerous in an instant." He looked up. "But rest assured, as long as the stone is the hands of anyone _without _Inner Power, it's perfectly safe. The energy inside the Honing Stone will remain in a neutral state, until it comes in contact with an organism touched by Inner Power…which means it goes out of control-for whatever reason-it only poses a threat to _that _individual."

A growing look of ominous realization spread amongst the stunned TRU Members, as they stepped aside to turn their gaze to Wolf.

Wolf took a cautious step back, eyes narrowed with a newfound glare fixed on the small, glinting gem.

"What kind of threat?" He asked slowly.

"No need to worry," Sauru interrupted. "By fortune's whim, you've already lost so much of your Inner Power that it doesn't send a strong enough of a beacon to the stone's energy…so you won't have to worry about it exploding on you." His smile disappeared. "But in the end, you're exactly the type of person this unique little device is suited for."

He looked down at the scorpion.

"You see, the proper term for this device is the Cerinian Memory Router. It's initially designed, at least according to Randorn, to link non-telepathic beings to the construct of their own minds." He looked up at Wolf, choosing his words simply and delicately. "What this means, is that once this device is attached to you, and the stone detects your Inner Power (or whatever's left of it), the unstable energy within the stone will become rigid…like water that enters a low-temperature zone, becoming ice."

Fay regarded the glowing stone with quiet wonder. "Would you compare something like Inner Power to water?"

Sauru smiled, eyes twinkling. "Oh, yes, my dear… Inner Power behaves in an almost identical fashion: it curls, it ripples, it rises and falls…alongside the organism it's attached to." He turned back to Wolf. "And the energy within this stone rises and falls in unison with the power it detects. But the Cerinians who built this device…" He pointed his gnarled claw at the scorpion. "…designed this talisman so that the stone's energy fixates its pulse on the host's brainwaves, linking the two in the process…"

He curled his hand around the gleaming jewel like a dry tree root.

"….and expands a psychic tunnel in the host's brain…" He held up his outstretched claw as he detailed the process with mad eyes, casting a shadow on everyone's astonished faces. "…_lifting_ the organism's consciousness, and allowing it to suspend itself from the hold of the mortal body."

The oil lamp glowing dimly in the corner of the study waned and flickered. Shadows passed over Wolf's face, his bewildered eyes disappearing in the cryptic deterioration of light.

Sauru nodded…seeing the realization in Wolf's stare.

"You understand, boy?" His scaly fingers closed around the Memory Router's surface. "This device is your bridge to the unknown realm. Your mental consciousness, your mind...is about to be lifted from your body. In mind, nerves, and soul, you're being transported to the next dimension...leaving your body behind. This the only means you have to dive into the realm...and retrieve your memories from the Gate that contains your Inner Power."

The flame within the lamp curled into a submissive puff before dying out completely, leaving the foreboding glow of the stone as the only light in the room.

Everyone stood in the barely-lit stillness of the shadowy study, suddenly feeling a strange presence from this odd stone.

Miyu's indigo eyes shone with growing unease. Mason's stone expression became saddled with a mix of doubt and lack of full understanding in was illuminated in the dark. Fay's pondering look of confusion became jarred and mystified...even afraid.

Then, a laugh whisked some of the tension from the dark silence.

"Okay…_wait," _Riley started. "You're telling me that this-this scrap of _metal,_ with a pretty jewel on top, is going to whisk Wolf's mind away and send it into another dimension?" He rubbed his temples humorously. "Jesus Christ, I'm trying to make out the realism in that statement…"

Sauru curled his lip, scowling at the young cat.

"Do I detect some doubt in your voice?"

Riley put his hands up. "Well excuse me if I'm questioning some of the practical logic in all of this. I mean, Inner Power's _one thing_…I mean, I've seen THAT_-_ But _this?" _He outstretched his hand in a questioning fashion."This is beyond the fabric of impossible! This is the kind of backwards-ass crap that Andross dabbled into, but would never actually get to work!"

Mason didn't look the least bit amused.

"Yes…and everyone also said 'a banished scientist would never be able to raise an army and declare war on the entire galaxy.' Look how impossible that turned out to be."

Riley's amused look faded, and he muttered something under his breath.

Wolf blinked from his astounded daze, and fixed a keen look on the SharpClaw.

"Don't play games with me, Sauru…" He eyed the scorpion. "Can this thing really do what you say it can?"

"Come to think of it," Miyu suddenly said. "How _do_ you know if the energy inside that thing even exists? You can't even _see _it…"

Sauru groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Brilliant. I'm not even five minutes into explaining this procedure, and still nobody believes that it will work."

Fay looked about timidly before partially raising her hand. "I believe you."

"Alright, listen," Sauru said firmly to everyone. "Randorn only explained the bare minimum about this thing before he died," He said through grinded teeth. "So forgive for not having complete knowledge about something I didn't even even build."

Wolf paused for a moment. "Then, how do you know it works?"

"I told you…no one has attempted this in over a thousand years... I've never attempted it because I was never in need of its abilities." The SharpClaw flashed a conniving smile. "But since you _are _in need of them, you just have to hope that it _will _work…don't you?"

Voice and eyes layered with irritancy, Wolf sighed.

"You act like I have a choice in this…" He muttered. He began scratching his chin, eyes darting intuitively. "But if I _do_ manage to reach this place through my mind alone-" He looked up at Sauru. "How do I get back?"

"You won't go in alone," Sauru promised. _"I _shall accompany you, to prevent any possible mistakes or mishaps."

Fay smiled with some optimism. "Well, at least he won't be totally alone in this inter-dimensional place. That's good, right?"

"Yeah," Miyu agreed. "He won't have many chances to screw up with you there with him."

The Field Advisor slithered over to the oil-lamp, setting the Memory Router on a table.

"I can only get him as far as the gate. Whatever mental trials wait beyond there, I cannot say." He drew a match from a pouch on his tunic. "It's his battle from there…"

"Will I be able to take physical form in this dimension?" Wolf asked.

_Ptch!_

Lighting the match with the flat of his middle claw, Sauru lit the lamp, bringing the comforting spread of light back in the musty room.

"Your physical aspect of yourself remains here. On the other side, you'll only have your soul and your mind to depend on."

Fay and the others look at him anxiously. But Wolf fixed his glance on the gleaming scorpion with a sense of sureness.

"One never truly approaches a battle unarmed…not as long as he has his mind and his wits about him." From the way he said it, it was as if he was assuring himself more than anyone else. "I'm going to need them…if I have to do this process for every memory I need."

Cupping the small lamp-flame in his hands, Sauru flinched and turned around suddenly.

"_Every _memory?" He repeated. "Whatever do you mean?"

Wolf furrowed his eyebrows. "Aren't I retrieving all of my memories by doing this?"

"Oh, _no…" _Sauru blew out the candle and shook his head. "By the Claw, no! We aren't recovering _all _of your memories…otherwise, we'd be sitting here for years, and we don't have _that_ kind of time."

"WHAT?" Wolf shouted, confidence and breath coming to a complete halt. "Wha-Why didn't-_what the hell am I to do, then?_ I can't just have my entire memory incomplete, and if we don't have enough ti-"

"We'll unlock the _key memories, _Star Wolf," Sauru said calmly. "With so little of your memory left, we'll have to retrieve the most important fragments of it…events that outlined crucial stages in your life. Once you've recovered the most vital of your memories, your mind will use what it has to rearrange the rest of your memories back into place…but it'll happen over time, most likely in the weeks ahead as you gather the more vital memories yourself."

As he slowly pieced the SharpClaw's words together, Wolf's rising pulse and frantic nausea gradually simmered down.

"Then- How many of these…these _vital _memories do we need before my memory's complete?"

Sauru's eyes drew to the corner, enveloped in deep thought. "These select memories aren't random. They're selected by your Inner Power…because they are the most essential to its construction, to its shape and traits that reflect everything you are…" His eyes glowed with a strange hunger. "And somewhere, there lurks a Master Memory…one that stands above all others in significance, the moment of your life that defined you as who you are…the Last Memory, one that will reset your memory back in place."

One memory…

One that could make everything right again. A strange warm, sense of curiosity and longing rose inside of Wolf. What could that memory possibly be?

What could it have been, to have shaped his whole life? He could only yearn impatiently, and wonder…

Sauru pointed his long gnarled claw between Wolf's eyes, causing him to draw back slightly.

"Everything you are…your attitude, your personality, your unique spirit …are all dependent on this series of memories, followed by that one Master Memory. Human beings are but heaps of clay to be molded, and there is no better molding tool than experiences…the experiences _you _lost. Experiences _this _can give back to you…"

Wolf's eyes shone, reflecting the promising gleam of the Memory Router in Sauru's hand. He stretched out his hand, preparing to reach for it-

"But I warn you now, Star Wolf," Sauru said, suddenly yanking the scorpion out of Wolf's reach. "This is a painful, devastating process. No matter how devastating or agonizing it is to witness what you will see, you _cannot_ stop the process once it starts…or you will risk slipping into that coma early."

The musty air in the study was twice as heavy with the sudden ominous tension, and more timid bystanders like Fay and Riley could only gulp in fearful protest, while the more cautious likes of Miyu and Mason only readied themselves in wary anticipation.

Wolf didn't know what Sauru meant by "what he will see", but he didn't have time to dwell on it.

"We've already discussed this," He said flatly, his patience running dry. "Can I just go ahead with it now?"

Sauru frowned, claws curling around the scorpion.

"Don't be so hasty to dive into the process, boy. Believe me, you'll wish you hadn't in a moment…"

Wolf's eyes darted to him. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that there are certain measures I that I haven't illuminated you about…" His eyes shifted to the corner, narrowing uneasily. "…certain precautions that we must take, in order to ensure the safety in this process, to make sure nothing dangerous occurs as you plunge into the void."

"Look, I already told you…" Wolf stepped forward insistently. "If there's any danger in this, I'm already prepared to-"

"It's not _your _safety that's a concern, Star Wolf. Whatever dangers you face aren't physical." His yellow eyes traveled away from him. "It's _theirs."_

Everyone standing behind Sauru in the corner of the room-Miyu, Riley, Fay, and Mason-looked up abruptly, suddenly looking confused…and alert.

"What?" Riley blinked, oblivious to what was going on.

"_Our _safety?" Mason sat up instantly. "What do you mean, Sauru? You told me that this operation was safe, without risk!" His voice was quick and demanding. "You told me there _were _no necessary precautions!"

Sauru looked down at the ground. "There aren't any precautions for Wolf's safety…but there is a crucial one for the rest of you."

"Why?" Wolf said slowly, straightening up, looking just as alert as the rest of them. "I'mthe one going into the dimension….why would that pose a danger to _them?"_

But Sauru didn't rise up on his coils and spit back some defiant answer or long-winded explanation this time. There was something hard-pressed in his expression as he avoided all their gazes, something pained and reluctant…

Fay's widened eyes fixed on Sauru, trying to find an answer in his expression.

"S-Sauru-ji…?"

"Sauru," Wolf repeated. "Answer me…what about this process threatens them?"

Miyu's eyes traveled from the scorpion to Sauru, fingers wrapping around the rifle slung on her back. Mason took a step forward, fur rising and eyes alert.

"Boy-_Star Wolf…"_ Sauru rearranged his voice completely, the cynical edge that was typically in his tone now gone…and replaced with an imploring tone. "I beseech you-as the process unfolds, as long as you trust me to guide you through it…for your own sake, do not question the means I take to ensure that it succeeds."

Fay's blue eyes expanded in frightened confusion, and Wolf took a step back.

"_What _means?" He demanded, claws starting to emerge cautiously from his fingers. "Tell me, Sauru!_"_

Sauru's eyes didn't leave the corner. "Your mind shall be lifted from your body's restraint….but at a price. Entering the space between dimensions is work for the mind, but it also affects the body as recompense." He looked up at everyone's startled expression with a face that was calm and controlled, one that masked his uneasiness. "Knowing this, I had arranged for a means to counter those effects. Means I must ask you not to question or interfere with."

Wolf's stance became rigid, and his voice aggressive. "What means are these? Stop dancing around the question and answer it! What am I not permitted to question?!"

The SharpClaw extended a claw, pointing to the shadiest portion of the room, where light was scarce and dusty was prominent.

"Nothing I can say will suffice to explain…your friend shall demonstrate it better than I."

Wolf's suspicious look slackened, and his eyebrows furrowed.

"My fr-?"

Suddenly, he stopped. He faced towards the dark portion of the study, where Sauru was pointing.

He looked back at Sauru, who nodded, gesturing him to keep going.

Face wrought with confusion, Wolf turned and stepped towards to the dark, where all was silent, and the glow of the dim oil-lamps did not reach.

Wolf walked into the large space, realizing that unlike the rest of the study, there were no shelves or tables here…or books, or papers. It was empty, but extremely spacious. But it was veiled in the darkest portion of the room, without the aid of any lamp or flame.

The thin dusk-light that crept through the windows was gone. All was dark…all was quiet.

Miyu and everyone else in the lit portion of the room stepped forward, but Sauru held out his hand, barring them.

Wolf looked around in the dark area.

"Sauru, what is-?"

Then, in the corner of his eye, he saw a dark shape in the closed-in area of the room with him….a figure. The faint glare of the light wasn't enough to distinguish the figure's shape, but the waning oil-lamp was enough to reflect the figure's clouded, electric-blue eyes.

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed.

"Leon?"

The Chameleon didn't even look up. His expression was blank…and he didn't seem to acknowledge him.

Relief began to swell back into Wolf's nervously-tightened chest. _"There_ you are! I was wondering when you'd turn up…Jesus, you wouldn't believe what-" Then, he stopped. "Wait, have you been here this whole time? What're you doing back here? We were just-"

Then, he realized in mid-sentence that something was wrong. He glanced sideways at the lizard. Leon wasn't talking, or looking at him.

"Leon?" He nudged him knowingly. "Hey, what is it?"

Leon slowly looked up, facing him with some reluctance.

"Sauru's…told you about the process, I take it? About getting your memory back?"

Wolf shrugged. "Just some vague details. I mean, you heard everything…back here, in the corner…for some reason…" He glanced around them strangely. "I only know what he's told me in these last few minutes-"

"I see…" Leon's eyes drew to the boarded-up windows, still with a stone expression. "Then he _hasn't _told you…"

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "Told me what?"

"Wolf…you told me once…that you'd do anything to get your Inner Power back, and your memory."

That's when Wolf began to detect something in Leon's voice...something that pained his voice.

"What about it?" He asked credulously.

"Do you still stand by that?"

"What?"

"Are you willing to do anything, to endure anything, to get them back?"

Wolf stared at him, starting to feel put off by his sudden shift in tone. The shadows were creeping in steadily, and the demanding look in Leon's eyes was only making things all the more unsettling.

"Let's move this conversation where the light is, shall we?" He started to turn to where Sauru and the rest were. "This dark spot is making me a little uneasy-"

Leon didn't move, but his voice shot out in the dark sharply.

"Don't move!" His voice reverted to concrete. "Stay where you are."

Wolf froze, his foot halted from taking another step. He didn't turn around to face Leon, but he could sense the hostility in his voice.

Miyu and everyone else could only furrow their eyebrows in confused unison. Fay didn't know what was going on either…but she didn't like it.

_There's something off about him… _Wolf thought. _Something wrong…_

He hid the alerted curve in his stance, and decided to play along with whatever was going on.

Leon looked up. "Listen-Wolf- do you trust me? Not just as your second, but as your friend?

Wolf stared back at him with an oblivious look. His eyes darted at him suspiciously, as he tried to make sense of all this.

"Leon, what's the meaning of all this-?"

"Answer the question, Wolf," Leon said in a suddenly sharp, impatient tone.

Wolf looked at him, hard, before glowering at him though the dark.

"Listen," He said angrily. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but I'm starting to get a bit sick of all these questions." He eyed Leon distrustfully. "If you're really the Leon Powalski I know, then you wouldn't have to ask that question…not after everything we've been through."

Leon's dark figure shifted its stare back at the ground.

Wolf's irritated look faded, and he edged closer, realizing that Leon had a look of guilt.

"Leon, _what _is going on?" He demanded, more confused than angry. "Why are you here…and why are you asking me all this?"

The face Leon made as he looked up was a crumbling compilation of guilt, shame…and desperation.

"Wolf…look…" The sharpness in his voice vanished. "Everything I do, no matter _what _it looks like…just remember that I'm doing it to help you."

The bewildered expression on Wolf's face slowly disappeared, his eyes widening.

"What-?"

_Click._

Suddenly, Wolf felt something cold and weighted curl around his hand in the darkness. Fur spiking at the sudden chill of the smooth surface of whatever was grazing his wrist, his wriggled hand back on reflex…

…until it yanked hard at his wrist…held down by some immovable weight.

Wolf's heart almost stopped. He shot his free hand in the dark and to his bound wrist…feeling the all-too-familiar cold, linked formation of chain. He blindly traced his fingers to where the chipped grooves of the chain were ended, until they met the smooth, metallic surface of the rod they were attached to.

Wolf groped in the dark till his hand met other cold, metallic rods….their surfaces meeting his fingers in each direction he poked at. He swung his trembling gaze up to Leon, breath frantic and chopped.

"Wolf, listen to me-" Leon started, attempting to calm him down.

"What did you do, Leon?" Wolf demanded, his voice quaking with fear-riddled anger.

"Listen to me, Wolf-" Leon pleaded rapidly. "This was the only way to-"

"_What did you do?"_

"This is what had to be done-"

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Wolf shouted.

The Chameleon sighed. "Turn on the lights, Sauru."

Sauru tapped a switch near his table. The central electric lamp that dangled over the study blared on…illuminating the entire spot where Wolf was standing.

Everyone gaped. Wolf's petrified gaze grew large, and he let go of the iron rod he was gripping…

…now illuminated to be one of many bars of a cage, surrounding him on all sides and towering over him like tall, demeaning obstructions, their iron coated in a thick and scraped rust. The space within the cage's confines was so tight and limited, the patch of dirt where he stood barely an arm's reach in diameter. For a split second, Wolf wondered how both he and Leon fit in the cage…

…before he realized that Leon wasn't in the cage at all. He was staring at Wolf from behind the bars…that had been between them the whole time in the dark.

Somehow, the cage had soundlessly closed behind Wolf when he had obliviously walked into it in the dark.

He tried to reach for the bars with both hands, only to have it yanked back down by the strain of a set of hand-cuffs that bolted Wolf's arm to one of the bars…

…the cuffs _Leon _had put there.

"_Leon!" _Wolf's voice was thick and dry, caught in a stammer, before it warped to an enraged yell. "WHAT IS THIS?"

"Wolf, calm down," Leon said firmly, putting a hand on one of the bars. "I promise you, this is just a precaution…"

But the sudden appearance of the cage already sent a wave of horror and shock into the TRU members huddled in the corner with Sauru.

"What the hell is going on?!" Mason was the first to whirl around and confront him. "What is _this?!"_

"Is that a…_cage?" _Riley stuttered feebly, eyes locked on the cage."B-but-when did _that _get here? How long has it been there?"

"It hasn't been there until recently." The SharpClaw slithered forward, past all their shocked faces. "Young Powalski over there was kind enough to help assemble it for me."

Fay looked from Sauru to the cage, fear enveloping her expression. "But why Wolf? What reason do you have for imprisoning him?" She turned to him. _"Sauru?"_

But the SharpClaw remained silent, expression hardened.

Wolf looked up at the towering bars of his new cage, the gaps between them seemingly shrinking as his frantic gaze traveled over them.

_No…not this… Not another cage…._

_Not this…ANYTHING, but this…_

The faint streams of light poking through the bars of the cage striped the stark look of fear on Wolf's face. Being compressed in the horrible tightness of the cages was enough to send an irreversible jolt down his spine. His breathing suddenly became heavier…

Wolf didn't know why, but some suffocating and heart-wrenchingly urgent scream in his body was urging him to find some way out the cage…somewhere to squeeze through, somewhere to bash…or he'd stop breathing. The gaps in those bars would close up. Somehow, he knew they would…

Immediately, he started pacing the confines of the bars like a caged beast, gripping the bars and shaking them….pounding them until the metallic confines rattled like chattering teeth…there had to be _some_ weakness in their design…

Then, his insides seemed to close up like a sinkhole, as his desperate, panicking eyes unveiled a horrible discovery.

There was no lock or mechanism anywhere on the cage.

There were no hinges. There wasn't even a door.

He was trapped.

Breath decreasing rapidly, Wolf turned helplessly from set of bars to the other. His desperation turned to panic, and that panic turned to terror.

CLANG! _CLANG!_

Smashing his fist against the bars surrounding him, he shouted through the gaps of the cage.

"Get me out of this cage," He pleaded in a hollow voice, his hands shaking. "Leon, get me out of this cage, _please!"_

"No, Wolf," Leon said firmly. "You have to stay in there. You can't leave it at any moment during this process."

"Why did you chain me to this, Leon?" Wolf demanded, somewhat shakily. "Tell me!"

Leon looked down. "This had to be done…to prevent you from hurting anyone…"

Wolf's panting and constant looking around halted, as his gaze altered in confusion.

"_What?_ Why would I hurt-? Wait…." A slow look of realization grew on his face. "You…you _lured _me in here?"

Leon averted his pained expression away from Wolf, clenching his fist. "I did what I had to, Wolf. This is what needs to-"

"_Why?" _Wolf's voice sounded stung. "Why would you—you-?"

"I can't say anymore. You'll thank me when this is all over." Leon started to walk away sullenly. "Just remember that…"

Wolf stared at him for a long time, and after a moment of stunned silence, his confused look hardened, and his voice turned to steel.

"You open this cage _right now,_ Leon!" He barked. "That's an _order!"_

Leon stopped walking instantly. The loyal instinct that emerged with the word 'order' caused him to wince guiltily.

"I…I can't, Wolf."

"WHAT?"His lip curled, baring his fangs. "I'm giving you an _order_, Leon. I'm your Leader…and you've been issued a command. Now, FOLLOW IT!"

"You aren't in command anymore, Wolf," Leon said quietly. "This for your own good."

"What are you talking about?" Wolf demanded "Who told you to-"

Miyu, still looking as perplexed as everyone else to whatever was going on as, was the first to shake herself out of it and take immediate initiative.

"Stay where you are, Wolf" She said, stepping an assertive forward. "I'll get you out of there, just let me-"

"_You'll do no such thing."_

Then, Wolf's confused stare swerved over to Sauru, who emerged from behind the rest of the startled TRU members.

Miyu's eyebrows furrowed in protest. "But-"

"He's in that cage for a reason, Miyu," The SharpClaw said flatly.

"YOU!" Wolf roared furiously, gripping the bars until they clanged in disturbed unison. "YOU PLANNED THIS!"

Sauru calmly addressed him from across the room. "Don't make this any more difficult than it needs to be, Star Wolf. Your panicking and havoc will only slow this process even more."

"_WHY?" _Wolf demanded, pointing a quaking claw at him. "What did I do to deserve this from you? What action did I perform to warrant a betrayal like _this?"_

The Field Advisor didn't answer. He picked up the golden scorpion from its stand and slithered past Wolf.

"DON'T YOU TURN YOUR BACK ON ME, OLD MAN!" Wolf spat. "ANSWER ME! EXPLAIN THIS, NOW!"

Pausing, Sauru washed any reluctance or remorse from his expression before turning.

"This isn't betrayal, Star Wolf. This is what's necessary. I plead with you, do not question it until you know why.All I can tell you is that you must remain in that cage-"

"THE HELL WITH THIS!" Wolf howled. He looked frantically between the bars, covering the raw fear that disintegrating his nerves with blind anger. "I don't care what excuse you have-I've spent half a decade rotting in a cage and I won't do rot in another, no matter what necessity this serves!"

Sauru slithered farther, out of Wolf's restrained line of vision.

"I don't have to justify anything to you. You'll realize the importance of this once the process starts."

Fay stepped forward slightly, raising a small hand. "But, Sauru-"

"_Keep back,_ all of you," The SharpClaw commanded. "I won't tell you again."

Wolf's grip around the bars began to become slippery with sweat, all of it trickling down his shaking forehead and neck. The cage seemed to get smaller and tighter all the time…to the point where it tightening his lungs, and making his breath harsh and thin. His heart was racing until the blood pounding deafened his own panting…his fur was starting to feel hot and uncomfortable…

"OPEN THIS CAGE!" He yelled. "I won't be caged…by you, or ANYONE ELSE!" He tried to sound intimidating, but he was feeling so nauseous that he could barely stand. "DO IT, NOW! Or you won't have even a smidgeon of my cooperation in this insane occult process of yours!"

"_Do not even think about backing out of this, boy!"_ Sauru hissed. "Do not forget, that _you _were the one who boldly claimed that you were ready for any obstacle necessary, no matter how painful or demanding!"

"I didn't agree to this!" Wolf yelled. "You didn't say ANYTHING about this-you kept it under your coils like the snake you are!"

Sauru glowered at him.

"Think, boy," He said sharply. "Would you really have undergone the perquisites of this process if I had asked you first? Even with your memories and Inner Power at stake, you would've refused with every fiber of your body to even _step _inside that cage…because your 'condition'."

Wolf froze, his pounding blood and constant panting halting in startled confusion.

Everyone else looked just as baffled.

"His 'condition'?" Riley repeated. "What does that mean?"

Sauru's eyes shone keenly. "Why else do you think he's so terrified of climbing into that cage…before the process has even started yet?"

Wolf's eyes darted in confusion, hiding it by hardening his expression. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play innocent with me, Star Wolf," Sauru sneered. "I know all about you and your warm relationship with tight, confined places. You're showing signs of it…right now…"

Miyu suddenly looked up, after fixing her eyes on Wolf for a long time. A stroke of realization kindled in her startled indigo eyes, as she realized…that she had seen this kind of behavior before.

Her mind flashed back to jungles of Fortuna, during the war…where she and her Cornerian Guerillas had been captured by Venomians….

...those airless, humid, pitch-black trenches where they had been imprisoned, where she had seen her own comrades-fearless soldiers-get reduced to terrified, screaming, weeping children.

She remembered the looks on their faces all too well:

The shivering, the wide-eyed look of irreversible terror…a fixed state of fear that no amount of comfort or reassurance would relieve….

The look Wolf was wearing right now.

She straightened suddenly. "He's claustrophobic."

Wolf paused in his sweat-induced nausea to turn to her. "What?"

"That's why you're acting like this…" She looked at him harder. "Something must've happened to you to make you like this, didn't it?"

Wolf stared at her, a fixed look of confusion on his face.

Then he shook himself, not allowing himself to show fear and cowardice in front of everyone else.

"I don't know what you're talking about-" Locked in the haze of his fleeting vision and crippling nausea, he growled at Sauru. "But even if I did, that has _nothing_ to do with this!"

Leon stepped forward. "You don't know, because you don't remember.

But just because you don't remember what _made _you claustrophobic, doesn't change that face that you _are _claustrophobic."

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "What, are you saying that I have some traumatic condition, from an incident I don't even _remember?"_

Leon looked at the ground sullenly. "If you had your memories back, you'd know that it wasn't just 'some incident.' It was your whole childhood…spent roaming those airtight, lightless caves beneath Venom's surface."

Wolf's eyes started to widen. He didn't know why, but he _could _picture the jagged outlines of somewhere darker and tighter than this cage…somewhere cold, and even mustier than this study.

"It changed you, Wolf," Leon said. "You might not remember it, but your body still does."

Riley's fur spiked eerily. "He spent his childhood in the caves of _Venom? _Jesus..."

Fay's blue eyes traveled about the cage, before setting back on Wolf with confusion.

"But…there's plenty of air and light in the cage. Maybe not a lot of space, but-not extreme enough to make something like claustrophobia go off…"

Leon glanced at him knowingly. "With Wolf, it's always been a mental claustrophobia. The presence of an exit or an escape route is what soothes his phobia." He managed a small smile. "The wuss would never have even climbed into the cockpit of his first starship until I told him repeatedly that there was an escape hatch, or an eject button." His smile disappeared, his expression melancholy. "But you don't even remember that, do you?"

Wolf blinked, not catching whatever Leon was referring to so fondly.

"It doesn't matter," He snapped. "But you _knew _about this claustrophobia, didn't you?"

Leon clenched his fist defiantly. "Of course! I knew, and Sauru knew. That's why I had to lure you in there, because I knew you'd never climb into a cage without a lock or a door by choice! The lack of mental reassurance would've made your mind snap!"

Amidst the bulky haze of his sweat-inducing nausea, Wolf couldn't decide what scared him more: this newfound phobia that he didn't even remember having, or the dread of a new, horrible thought…

_What else is wrong with me?! _His insides closed up. _What __**else **__don't I remember?_

Mason walked past the others impatiently. He wasn't particularly surprised that there was something wrong with Wolf's mind. That was to be expected from a mindless Venomian like him.

"Enough! I personally don't care why he's losing his grip, because that's not the issue here!" The Snow Leopard jabbed his finger at Sauru fumingly. "The _real _issue that you went ahead to imprison him by force, Sauru,..._without telling any of us."_

Sauru raised an eyebrow. "That's an issue, is it?"

"You violated our agreement as well as the security declarations I've set to keep this place safe!" His frosty gaze wandered up and down the bars' reach. "I don't know and I don't care what the purpose of all this is, but you didn't consult me before doing it. You didn't even tell _me, _the head of security, about whatever risk prompts the presence of this cage from the first place!"

"Inner Power is _my _field of study, not yours, Mason." Sauru glared at him coldly. "Why would your input on the matter be necessary?"

SWSH!

Mason swatted aside a mountain of yellowed parchments and papers next to him, shaking in a fit of rage.

"It's _my _job to analyze any potential threats, not you! I'm the Vanguard of the TRU's Security, and that makes _my _input the only one that matters!" Mason shouted. You may be our Field Advisor," but even you are subject to the rules of this Shrine…but you defied my instruction, and took a security hazard into your own hands!"

Fay and Riley shrunk back meekly at Mason's menacing shout. But Sauru glanced indifferently at the falling papers that drifted to the floor around them.

"Keep yourself calm, Mason," Sauru said quietly. "You don't know what's going on…you have no right to question-"

Miyu stepped forward defensively. "He has every right to question this! _I'm _freaking questioning this!" She pointed at Wolf, who hung limply on the bars of his cage. "You throw one of our members in a cage, and you expect us not to react?!"

"Um, I have a better question," Riley raised a small finger. "What about this process is so dangerous that it requires a _cage_? What the hell else is going to _happen?"_

"You release him, right now, Sauru," Mason snarled. "That's an order, you hear me-"

"_SILENCE, ALL OF YOU!_"

Pestered by the uproar flying at him like a swarm of wasps, the fed-up SharpClaw reared up on his coils and grew an extra two feet in height. He swung around to face all of them, seething through his fangs and grinding his claws into the scorpion's metallic surface.

"This cage is _not_ just to protect _you_ all from the effects of this process!" He spat in a rancid tone. He turned to Wolf. "It's to protect this boy from whatever harm he extracts upon _himself!"_

The room became dead silent. Shocked expressions spread from one face to other.

The heat that pulsed in Wolf's head disappeared. The chill of newfound fear churned his blood the wrong way, as his widened eyes were locked on the fuming SharpClaw.

"What did you just say?"

Sauru sighed and faced the ground, his clenched teeth outlined through his closed mouth. The prominent look of reluctance in his face was enough of an indicator that he had said too much by accident.

The stark fear in Fay's expression made her face even whiter.

"What does that mean? What's going to happen to him?" She asked suddenly, her voice shaky. "Is he-going to hurt himself?"

Leon ran his hands down one of the cage's bars.

"Wolf, aren't you wondering why I handcuffed you…even _after _I made sure you were locked tight in the cage?"

Wolf froze. That hadn't even crossed his mind…

_I'm already in the cage. _

_Why bother with the handcuffs…?_

He yanked at the handcuff's tight chain, looking from it to Leon frantically. "Why? What are they for?"

Leon, edged back to the shadiest part of the study, looking down miserably.

"LEON?" He demanded. He swung his gaze to Sauru. "What need would you have for restraints when I'm already imprisoned? _What are these chains for?"_

Sauru let out a deep and reluctant sigh, before turning his yellow eyes to him.

"Star Wolf…there's something else I didn't tell you about this process…about how you'll be retrieving your memories…"

"Why?" Wolf straightened sharply, pressing his face between the bars. "What's that got to do with this?"

Sauru fixed his gaze upon him.

"You won't be just be retrieving each memory, one by one…you're going to be _reliving _them."

The non-moving expression on Wolf's face could only be described as plain, dead shock. His mouth hung open, and his arms dangled limply down the bars of his cage until the chain holding them clinked.

"I'm going t- _what?"_

Sauru slithered around the cage, the bars' shadows lining his face.

"Inner Power evolves as it absorbs its host's memories. Every detail of each event shapes the Inner Power and helps its growth. But the building of memories happens over years-worth of time. This process cannot be altered or counterfeited…or your Inner Power will know."

Riley blinked. "What do you mean 'it will know'? What, it has a mind of its own?"

"By reliving each memory manually," Sauru continued over him. "...each _key _memory, as we've discussed…you'll do what typically takes years to happen...Your Inner Power will develop at a faster rate…within the weeks we have."

Fay furrowed her eyebrows, her expression facially inquiring: _Isn't that a good thing?_

"But by doing so, you must obtain all your past memories…" Sauru held up the scorpion, so that Wolf saw his own sweating, shaking reflection look back at him in the gleaming metal. "Even the ones that you want to forget. You'll have to relive the gloom of your darkest moments, and withstand the torment they extracted upon you the first time you witnessed them."

Sudden prickling fear crawled up and down Wolf's back like the cold legs of a centipede.

"But…how would that endanger me?" Wolf asked in a dry voice. "It's nothing more than a memory...right?"

Sauru faced him grimly. "Witnessing a memory for the second time is an unnatural experience for the mind. It'll torture you with everything you fear about yourself…every memory that haunts your subconscious. And while that may be substantial pain for the mind, it's your body that will feel the effects…" He outstretched his claw, seeing Wolf's terrified look in the spaces between his fingers. "In the time that your mind is experiencing each memory again inside the realm beyond...the agony will affect your body out here in the realm of the physical, as recompense for the pain."

The SharpClaw fixed his reptilian stare on Wolf's bandaged arms and torso.

"The rest of you…your nerves, your limbs, your entire body…will be moving beyond on its own, beyond your own will-thrashing and tearing at everything within reach-trying everything to make the pain stop."

Wolf felt his grip around the bars weaken, feeling a plummeting feeling in his stomach.

"N-No…_No…" _His voice became hollow, and weak. All at once became harder to breathe…and suddenly, his pounding pulse and trickling sweat had nothing to do with the cage…

Sauru nodded. "Anything can transform from harmless to dangerous in an instant…including _you._ The process isn't what endangers everyone in this room, Star Wolf…_you _are. The cage will protect us from you, and the chains will protect you from yourself…"

Wolf let his head sink and his forehead press against the cage bars, his chest rising and falling.

"And you didn't tell me…" The fear in his voice was swallowed by anger. "You kept this part of the process from me, so I wouldn't back out, didn't you?!"

The SharpClaw remained motionless, looking away from Wolf.

"What kind of things will happen?" Wolf demanded instantly, "What'll this make me do-?"

Sauru directed his hardened look to the ground. "I only know that you'll be unstable, uncontrollable, dangerous…I don't know full well how you'll react to the pain, or what you'll be tempted to do-"

"What do you mean, what he'll be 'tempted to do'?!" Miyu exclaimed, her furious voice concealing the worry in her eyes. "Sauru, you can't do this! This was never part of the plan!"

Sauru turned to her. "Keep back, Miyu! Don't let whatever limited understanding you may have cloud your judgment. This is necessary for-"

"No, I _won't_ keep back!" The Lynx swiped her hand in protest. "I'm not going to sit by and let you go through with this!"

"Why?" Sauru demanded scornfully. "Because being the Leader entitles you to some authority over this?"

Miyu's fur began to spike as her face contorted into an angry glare.

"Me being the Leader hasn't got shit to do with this! You have a human being locked up here, and you're shoveling him into his own grave against his will!"

"_Against his own will?" _Sauru screeched, now in a real rage. "He _agreed _to this! On the first day he arrived, he agreed to face whatever risks came with getting his Inner Power back...now's his time to prove it!"

"You call tricking someone into a cage and then revealing their possible fatality following an agreement?!" Miyu scoffed in disdain. "That's not how we do things here, Sauru! That's the way the SharpClaw capture their prey before beating them and forcing them into slavery! I know forced submission when I see it, Sauru…" She pulled up her sleeves, revealing the scars where the Adder Tongues had made their mark. "I was in those Slave Yards, I _saw _it happen! And it's what you're doing right now…you're acting just like Drakon!"

"THIS IS TO_ PROTECT _HIM!" Sauru spat, jutting a quaking claw in Wolf's direction and fuming venomously at Miyu. "You _stupid girl... _How DARE you compare me to that…that repulsive, sadistic, cowardly _swine!"_

"Sauru, _please," _Fay implored in frantic desperation. "Can't we avoid this? He's another scrap of parchment or specimen to be cast aside like everything else in this study…he's a _human being!" _

She turned her teeming blue eyes to Wolf (who was becoming weaker and heavier in the cage's grip), gesturing to the countless bandages up his arms.

"I patched him up when he was prostrate in pain…he's suffered enough at the SharpClaw's hands alone! And now you want to put him through _more _pain?"

Sauru's flaming gaze faltered at Fay's plea.

"I'm doing this to avoid as much pain as possible…I'm doing it _for _him, do _none_ of you understand?"

"But can't we find another way, Sauru, _please?" _Fay clamped her trembling hands together, her voice hovering dangerously over a potential sob. "Please, don't make him go through this…there _must _be another way…"

"Oh, for the love of Claw_-There_ IS _no other way!_"

Sauru looked torn between guilt and maddening exasperation, looking at all of them.

"_Did you all honestly think I'd resort to the most dangerous process_-one that hasn't been attempted in a THOUSAND YEARS-if there _wasn't another way? _We're using the most dangerous method because there's NO other method!" He looked back at Wolf. "Believe it or not, it's crucial that this boy lives…his life walks hand-in-hand with the salvation of this Resistance, and therefore, the lives of every Lylatian oppressed by Talon's Army. We need his power, and his life…if we're ever to defeat Talon."

But Wolf's ears had already numbed from the words "possibly kill himself."

He remained motionless, but he looked pale and sickly enough to regurgitate his own vital organs. The longer he stared into the ominous gleam of the scorpion, the more vivid a mental image grew in his mind: the twisting, horrifying, mind-numbing thought of him potentially dying in a way he never even dreaded he'd die…

Closed up in a cage…dead by his _own_ hands.

"NO! _Forget about this!"_ Wolf shouted, backing up against the bars behind him. "Forget about that process, forget about this whole thing!"

Sauru's eye twitched. "What?"

Everyone recoiled at him slightly, seeing suddenly how sickly Wolf looked. He was deathly pale with his lips chapped, and his forehead glistened with droplets of sweat. He tried to hide his feverish look with a weak scowl, but couldn't conceal the obvious trembling in his face and dry rasp in his voice.

Wolf yelled weakly at the blurry figure of Sauru. "I won't go through with this! I won't die like this-_not like this!" _His speech became chopped into deprived panting. "Not curled up in some cage as my body strangles me to death against my will! I didn't endure the scorching son and the scourge's whip to die like this! I WON'T DO IT—I won't d-"

His voice became faint. His head started to sway slightly, and his vision becoming hazier and blurrier every second…

"Now is not the time to show weakness or fear!" Sauru growled. "Your Inner Power won't care for your personal fears and traumas when it shuts down and pulls you into a fatal coma!"

Wolf's grip around the bars began to weaken. It became heavier and harder to breathe, and the nauseous, limp feeling in his head was already spreading to his hands and feet…

"I-I don't-care…" He tried to shake himself of this nausea and cling onto his consciousness. "To have a death beyond my control…there's nothing worse than that…"

"_Think what you're saying, fool!" _Sauru spat. "If you refuse and you _don't_ die here, you'll just die in a few weeks anyway! I've made all the precautions to ensure you live-but this process will go nowhere if you don't cooperate!"

"Please-" He croaked weakly. "You don't know what it's like in here-"

His breath rose harshly, and his were becoming pink and damp.

Fay's took an alarmed step forward. "Wolf?"

Sauru's eyebrows furrowed at the boy's sudden symptoms.

"We need to start the process _now. _You're already-"

"_Please…" _Wolf murmured weakly, warping his defiant tone to a desperate one. "Please-th—the - I don't want t-to-"

His eyelids hung slightly, forehead pulsing and sweat dripping down him as he collapsed in a fit of ragged breath, hands hung in the handcuff's chains.

"WOLF!"

Fay bolted to the cage, reaching frantically between the bars and shaking Wolf's limp body.

"_Wolf! _Oh, God no…_no…" _She fumbled out a handkerchief and started dabbing his forehead shakily. "Don't do this-wake up! _Wake up!"_

But Wolf's collapsing breathing ensued, and he slipped out of her reach, keeling over. His breath became rasp and strained…his face and cheeks sunken.

"What's happening?" Miyu whirled her head demandingly to Sauru, her hand creeping to her rifle. "What's that thing doing to him?"

Sauru looked from the scorpion to Wolf, his yellow eyes alert.

"Nothing… The process hasn't even started yet…" The SharpClaw stared at him. "It's a panic attack. He's having a nervous breakdown."

"What?" Riley yelped.

"_Look!" _Fay edged closer to Wolf's motionless face, and to where his thin strands of breath were coming from. "He's hyperventilating!"

Sauru glanced at him with some guilt. "It must be that claustrophobia of his…_and _the fear of the process. It must've finally gotten to him."

A faint groan emerged through Wolf's tightened breathing.

"'Finally got to him'? It's too much for the poor thing!" Fay held his hand shakily between the bar "Wolf, it's going to be okay…everything's going to be okay, just calm down!" Her attempt to sound calming was compromised by the panic in her voice. She turned to Sauru. "We need to get him out! He needs medical attention and stress relief-"

"NO! Daylight is already gone, and we've wasted enough time!" The Reptile's eyes darted hurriedly towards the windows. "Quick_-_we need to start the process immediately…"

Miyu stared at him in outraged disbelief. "Sauru, _look at him!_ He's in no condition to do anything!"

"It has to be now! There won't be another opportunity like this!"

Fay looked up fearfully. "But Sauru-"

"MOVE!"

He swept past her, sinking his coils lower and huddling next to the cage. In a rushed attempt to seize initiative, he started barking orders to everyone in the room.

"_Riley!_" He yelled, fumbled hurriedly with the scorpion. "Stand at the door, and make sure that not a single person enters. Tackle them, bind them, do whatever you Spec Ops do to prevent entry…but make sure no one goes in or out! _Nothing _must interfere with this process, understand?"

The Ginger Cat glanced at Wolf's limp body nervously.

"B-But, Sauru-what-?"

"NOW, YOU FOOL!" Sauru spat impatiently. _"MOVE!"_

Riley, sprinted frantically for the door and muttered aloud as he drew his throwing knives. "Goddammit…_what _is going on…?"

Sauru wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, before addressing Leon.

"You, Powalski! Go to that table and get that book of mine….the old one, with the stone pages-yes, that one. Hold it open-Miyu!" He turned to the Lynx. "You're the strongest person here…I need you to hold this boy down."

Miyu's expression became rigid. "What?"

"I have to put this on him…" Sauru looked down at the gleaming scorpion. "…to get the process started. But he's going to struggle no matter what I tell him, so I need you to hold him down."

She looked over to where Fay was nursing Wolf, who was lying in a shivering, prostrate heap. With a long look at how sickly and helpless he looked, Miyu's face solidified into concrete, eyes glinting.

"No, Sauru." She fixed the refusal in her indigo eyes on him. "I won't have any part of this…I won't help you make him suffer more."

Sauru groaned in exasperation before he turned to her.

"Listen, you pride yourself on being a selfless Leader who sticks her neck out for the helpless, right?" He asked furiously, before jutting a finger at Wolf. "Look! _He's _in a state of helplessness! _He's _suffering, but not by my hand, but his _own. _If you tire of seeing him in pain, then help end it!" He fixed a glowering stare at her. "Until then, don't pretend to want to fill in Siegfried's shoes unless you're willing to take up the same responsibilities he did!"

Miyu found herself without an answer, and shot him the most venomous of looks, her scarred fist clenched so tight that Mason and Leon could hear the skin on her palm tighten.

Finally, after a long stare at the ground, fists clenched and eyes conflicted, she unstrapped her rifle and shoved it in a surprised Mason's hands.

"You better be right about this, Sauru," She muttered, as she walked past him. "Because if he dies, it'll be on _your _hands."

The SharpClaw drummed his claws on the scorpion's metal surface, hiding the anxiety in his face.

"I'm more than aware. He's a loss we can't afford. Now, hold him up!"

Miyu rolled up her sleeves, exposing her toned arms.

"Wolf…try not to hate me for this later."

On that note, she latched her arms through the cars and around his neck and stomach. Years of training combined with Miyu's strength made the professional hold she had around Wolf as tight and restraining as an anchor chain.

But Wolf was still locked in the haze of his panic attack. So, being unable to see or sense anything that was going on, being grabbed and nearly choked to death by something thick and strangling (later to be identified as Miyu's arms) was all the more alarming.

He wrenched and struggled in the tight grip of whatever what was holding him, but his back was forced upright against the bars behind him. He heard a muddle of voices around him…some alarmed, and some commanding. In the blur of his disoriented sight, the only distinguishable sound was his own, deafening panting. The dim light streaming through his cage bars had become glowing columns in his faint sight, until he saw something slip between them, edging closer and closer to him…

….something large, and blurry…but had a bright, golden gleam, and held in what looked like a pair of hands…

Amidst his confusion, Wolf backed up against the cage, heart pounding. He knew _exactly _what that was…

"_No…" _He murmured weakly, struggling harder. _"No…_NO…_NO…"_

The voices around him grew louder, and the commanding one seemed to echo the loudest as the golden object grew nearer.

"NO!" Wolf screamed.

_Clink._

The moment Sauru placed it on Wolf's neck, the Scorpion's golden legs curled themselves around it. The inanimate creature clutched the back of his neck by some mechanism in its legs, fastening itself like a metallic collar…

All Wolf could feel was its cold, weighty surface perched on the back of his neck. It made his fur rise nervously, and he looked around sightlessly at the blurriness around him.

SHINK!

The Scorpion's tail shot back in a mechanical fashion, causing everyone outside the cage to jump back in surprise. It flattened itself against the back of Wolf's head…fixing its stinger on the area where the back of his skull was …as if the red stone was tapping the cerebral cortex of his brain like a human finger.

Wolf sat quaking involuntarily under the Scorpion's cold weight, and the onlooking TRU members held their breath for a long stretch of time. Sauru also caught his breath in numb anticipation, his mold of level-headed serenity broken at last. There was a terrified, compressed feeling in everyone's lungs, expanding with the silent, stabilized atmosphere of apprehension…

Nothing happened.

There was no noise, or reaction from the golden object, or its dormant stone. An tense silence followed, overrun with held breath and anticlimactic stillness.

Wolf looked up, confused but too afraid to accept relief just yet.

The TRU Members released themselves from their preparatory cringes, looking like people crawling out of a bomb-shelter…only to find no bombs had gone off.

Sauru's eyebrows flattened in confusion, looking baffled by the absence of a reaction, or effect, or _anything. _He swept his claws through the pages of the ancient book in frantic consultation, swerving his frantic look to Wolf for some reassuring evidence that the process had started.

But Wolf sat there, looking just as oblivious.

Riley darted his green eyes about from where he stood guarding the door.

"Er…is that, _supposed _to happen?"

The SharpClaw growled through his teeth

"Obviously not, you twit!" He barked, slamming the book shut and causing Leon, its holder, to wince slightly. "Something went amiss!"

Sauru slithered back and forth, his face a picture of both anxiety and demanding as he muttered to himself. His yellow eyes darted about, interrogating the walls and floor: What had gone wrong…?

He was about to slither over to his table to rip through some more books…

…when he froze at the noise.

It crept out of the solidified tranquility of the calmed atmosphere like liquid seeping through paper: and it crawled over everyone's skin. It grew like a thunderous swarm of bees, combined with what sounded like someone…or something…groaning through a distorted synthesizer.

The noise didn't even seem to be coming from anywhere in particular, and yet it continued to infest its ringing presence inside each of everyone's skulls. A prickling sensation of fear scurried under each TRU member's skin like a millipede.

The dying candles behind Mason flickered and blew out. The rotted wood that barred up the windows began to creak. The tattered papers scattering the study floor began to drift slowly, as if propelled by some invisible wind that no one in the room could feel.

Mason darted his eyes around the pitch-black room, cocking the rifle Miyu had thrust into his hands. Riley hid his small whimper under a frightened gulp, repeatedly thinking: _I didn't sign up for this…_

Miyu's stance became rigid with fear, her tall ears quivering tensely at the horrible humming. Fay felt a shiver that had capsulated her shaking body, her blue eyes following the papers drifting past her feet.

In the midst of the blown-out candle smoke surrounding them, they could all feel it. A sudden presence had entered the room…

….one invisible all non-possessors of Inner Power, but could still be felt.

Wolf wasn't spared from the noise's growing hum. In fact, he could hear it the clearest. He suddenly winced at an almost singeing sensation of coldness that split the fur on his neck, like someone had pressed dry ice against his neck like a cigarette put out against an ash-tray.

Then, shadows gathered around his face. Something cast a dim, unnatural light behind him.

Everyone outside the cage held their petrified gasps. _The stone on the scorpion's sting had started to glow._

Its hue was nothing like the lifeless gleam it had before, but instead a hideous radiance. Its jagged surface gleamed with thin light that had seemed like a smiling set of teeth.

Fay and Riley stepped back, trembling. Even Mason and Miyu were at point of shaking.

Leon stared back at the gem, his face illuminated by its red aura.

"This isn't how you said it would happen." He turned demandingly to Sauru. "What's going on? Why is it glowing?"

The others also looked at the SharpClaw for some explanation, but his face was just as much sunken and confused as the rest of them. This was not how the process should've gone at all. He knew that by now, Wolf's mind should have already parted from his body, and transcended to the next dimension.

But with the way the stone was glowing…it almost looked like it was _feeding _off of him.

_That's impossible… _Sauru thought. _The stone is dormant, it doesn't have a mind of its own…_

_Only his Inner Power does…_

That's when Sauru froze.

His yellow eyes darted urgently. Something was _wrong. _Something was very, very wrong…

But he couldn't stop the process now. They had come too far…

Sweat dribbled down Wolf's neck, as he looked around in confused fear. It was too blurry to see, and he didn't know where this growing hum or biting sense of coldness was coming from…only that for some reason, it seemed to have an omnipresent glare.

All he could do was pant in chopped breaths and yank frantically at his chains, shifting his eyes around his cage like a confused and frightened animal….as the golden, curled-up lotus on the Scorpion's back began to vibrate.

"S-Sauru?" Wolf cried out in a terrified voice, shouting in the blind nothing around him. "What's-?"

_Clink._

Before anyone could move, there was a shriek of metal twisting as the lotus shot open like a gaping mouth.

_**FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

Mountainous flames erupted from the uncurled lotus, spiraling and lashed out in an almost serpentine fashion.

They sprung out like flames propelled from the atmosphere of an unstable sun._._ They shot a deafening roar and a crackling that shook the depths of every corner and stalactite of the study's stone construct. The entire room was illuminated with a blinding, hellish orange, and suddenly the once-musty air flared with the humidity and eye-watering churning of intense heat.

There wasn't any time for shock or recoil. Everyone flung their hands over their eyes at the blinding glare of the fire. Squinting through the gaps in their fingers, they gazed in horror at the monstrous inferno writhing within the cage.

None of them could visually or verbally comprehend what they were seeing. This wasn't a natural fire. It didn't burn or chortle like any other stationary flame…it was _alive._

It tore savagely at the air around it, flinging blazing streams and showering embers everywhere. It flailed in such a mindless, disorienting speed that disoriented everyone's terror-stricken gazes. But worst of all, it made a noise: one that nobody ever heard from something like _fire…_

It sounded like a shriek, rippling under the fire's growing crackle.

CRASH!

The blisteringly-hot wind swept countless glass jars off the study shelves to shatter into gleaming shards. Pages littering the study floor flew up in a blizzard of scattering parchment and yellowed paper.

Riley let the handful of throwing knives slip out of his trembling hands. He backed up against a shelf, his small chest rising and falling.

"Wha-_-What's-_WHAT IS THAT?!" Riley screamed.

Sauru's eyes were locked on the roaring fire, his voice dry and confined.

"I- don't-" He stammered.

Fay was standing closest to the cage…but only because her body refused to move. Papers and embers hurled around her, and her white fur and red bow blew fiercely in the bone-rattling wind. Her bright blue eyes wouldn't leave the towering flames above her, expanding in terror-stricken dilation.

Every tuft of fur on her was shaking. Her meek voice was stuttering on the edge of both a gasp and a whimper. But her voice was devoured by the screeching wail of the swirling fire. The only sound that could be heard through all the roaring fire…

…was Wolf's piercing, blood-curling voice.

The shock melted from everyone's senses long enough for them to make out his faint silhouette, which shimmered in the bubbling fashion of the desert's rippling horizon in the scorching heat.

He was hunched over, and his voice tore out an ear-splitting scream.

"_**GUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHH!**_AAAARRHHH-_AAAHHH-_**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGHHHHHH!"**

From the moment that the lotus had opened, an onslaught of pain had washed over his body like pulsating acid. All of his fear-induced nausea disappeared beneath the agony that gripped his body. This bone-melting, nerve-splitting, skin-tearing pain was unlike anything he'd ever felt in his life.

It made the white-hot searing of Andross's electricity seem like a gentle touch. It made the tear-inducing peeling of flesh dealt by the Adder tongues seem like _nothing_.

No…this was different. It managed to surpass every kind of pain that had ever crippled him in his life, and it didn't leave him a shred of his senses to even detect where it was coming from.

Through his sightless, blurry perception, the only thing he through imploding agony was some extreme heat on his back. Something was baking the fur on his neck like the desert sun.

But the coursing sting that shot through every fiber of his body didn't even let him process _that. _Whatever it was, it was not wound of flesh and blood…

It was something internal.

It felt like someone was gripping his spinal cord before ripping it clean out of his back in a single yank. And the more he moved or even flinched in the slightest, the pain would get worse_._ Whatever itched began to tear. Whatever stung began to sear. He wanted to move, he wanted to cry…he wanted to scream until his throat tore open. But after the first few seconds of the pain's emergence, all the pain allowed him to do was keep his body curled in a miserable ball of sickening, inanimate struggle.

His breathing was becoming tight and heavy. His voice was whittling his desperate screams down to sob-like groans.

"WOLF!"

Leon dropped the book instantly, heart pounding at the sound of Wolf's screams becoming faint. He rushed over to the cage-

_FWOOOM!_

Suddenly, he staggered back just in time to dodge one of the wafts of fire swinging out of the cage.

Leon blindly rubbed his eyes from the eye-watering heat. He didn't know how Wolf was immune to the fire's intensity, but anyone else who'd dare approach the cage would have their skin peel off instantly from the temperature.

Wolf's faint cries sent a heart-wrenching sting through the bars, and all Leon could do was shout to him.

"WOLF?! _Wolf!" _Leon screamed.

"Oh my God..." Fay's voice cracked into a screaming sob. "What's _happening_ to him?! Why is he _screaming?"_

Sauru looked from the fire to Wolf, the flames illuminating the powerless expression on his face.

"I…I don't know," He murmured, his breathing heavy.

"WHAT DO YOU _MEAN _YOU DON'T KNOW?!"

Leon seized the SharpClaw's collar, his normally-calm face contorted with furious shadows cast by the firelight.

"_You said you knew how this process would go! _WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!"

"I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING!" Sauru tore himself from Leon's grip. "This isn't what's supposed to happen! He should've been gone by now, inside the next dimension-"

"It's that stone! It _must be!" _Miyu yelled over the fire. "It must be doing something to Wolf-" She shot an enraged look at Sauru. "I _told _you not to tamper with it, but you didn't listen to me!"

Sauru's distressed look faded slightly, and his eyes narrowed.

"Wait-_no. _Neither the stone nor the device is capable of doing something like this…much less subject its host to pain."

Miyu stared at the fire, looking confused and afraid. "Then what the hell's _causing this?! _What did you DO?"

"I don't know…_I don't know…"_ Sauru shook his head, muttering frantically.

He looked around at the flames helplessly, breathing thin wisps and muttering like a nervous wreck. His behavior stunned everyone into horrified silence. If _Sauru _of all people had was in a frantic state, then something was horribly wrong…

As the swirling fire extended its reach and flailed even faster, Wolf's screams grew louder.

Fay turned imploringly to the SharpClaw. "Sauru, whatever this is, you have to stop it! He's in pain-just _listen_ to him!"

Mason peered at the flames, watching them swirl out of the lotus. "But why? That fire isn't even touching him!"

Sauru stopped, turned, and looked harder at the fire.

"Then….what's causing all this pain?"

"Guys…" Riley said in a low, weak voice. With a gulp, he shakily pointed up. "L-Look!"

They all turned their gazes up to the tips of the massive fire. The tentacle-like flames drew together and rippled like a blazing river. They started overlapping each other before closing up into a massive ball of fire. The fireball swirled and expanded until the glowing center of the fire radiated a blinding white-

Wolf's purple eyes shot open in dilation, He screamed until the bars of the cage rattled with his agonized voice.

Everyone shielded their eyes frantically, their faces painted an ominous white…as the fire began to transform.

The orange haze that cast a blaze of raging light all over the study's confines now shone with a deep, unnatural shade of luminous purple.. The streaming plumes of raging flame no longer flailed like an anemone, but in circulating harmony… its amethyst shine casting the same grin-like aura like the one in the stone.

The towering jets of flame were even more massive than before, each arm as large and as thick as the crushing arms of a tree. On top of that, fiery mass spewed something at the end of its coiling arm…something with long and stretched, like fingers…

The jets of flame had grown _hands; _Giant, clawed, fiery hands…hued with swirling flame and crackling embers, clawing at everything in sight.

The gazes of everyone in the room expanded in simultaneous fear.

Riley shrank into a state of pale, terror-stricken fatigue. "J-Jesus…_Christ…"_

Mason's look of skepticism and confidence was gone. He stared up into the multiple flaming arms emerging from Wolf's back, lips dry and sweat speckling his face.

"Sauru…" The rifle shook in his hands. "What the hell _is that?!"_

The SharpClaw shook his head in silence, mouth sprawled open in disbelief.

The fire began to haze and ripple like electricity. The flames roared and swung about like massive, tentacular arms….the hands clawing and thrashing at the bars of the cage.

Fay gazed closer, who amidst her mesmerized fear, began to notice it.

"The way it's moving…" Her blue eyes followed the flaming arms. "It's almost like it has a mind of its own…"

Sauru froze. A cold ripple of frigid realization slipped into Sauru's skin. He turned to face her slowly, eyes wide with fear.

"What did you say?"

She pointed at the writhing flames. "Look at the way they're moving…"

The SharpClaw squinted hard into the bright blaze of the fire. That was the instant he noticed that the numerous flaming arms shared the same base.

They weren't burning in a collective mass, like a bonfire…they were all all stemming far deeper than just within the lotus…

They were sprouting out of Wolf's neck...like rapidly-growing plants bursting from the ground.

Sauru's eyes expanded, his reptilian eyes stretching into vertical slits.

"I-It…_can't _be…" His voice was barely above a petrified murmur. "It's his Inner Power."

Mason blinked and whirled around. "What?"

"That's his Inner Power! It's spiraling out of his control! _Look!" _He jabbed a claw towards the golden lotus. "It's coming from _him!"_

Newfound fear bloomed in Miyu's indigo stare. _"That? _That's his-?"

"But what's _happening _to it?" Mason demanded, pointing at it with his shaking rifle. "Why is it…like THAT?" He looked up at the demonic hands thrashing at the cage.

Sauru's yellow eyes interrogated roaring fire for answers.

"Something must've happened…. the tunnel between dimensions should've opened up for his mind…but his Inner Power is closing it shut."

Miyu looked at Wolf, realization creeping into her stomach. "It's tearing him apart from the inside…just like you said it would."

Sauru, eyes still locked on the swirling flames, shook his head. "No…the memories are what are supposed to subject him to extreme pain, not his Inner Power. And even _that _pain isn't anything like this…I've never seen anything like this." He turned to Leon suddenly. "You, Powalski! Does this boy's Inner Power typically look like that?"

"Wha-N-No, not at all!" Leon's fearful look melted into sudden confusion. "The color's normal, but I've never seen it move or make a shape like that. It doesn't even look like it's under Wolf's control-"

He stopped mid-sentence, and everyone followed his drift with shocked looks.

Sauru's look of fear grew as he slowly turned to Wolf, who screams and groans persisted as they spoke.

"That's because it isn't under Wolf's control. Inner Power is something that can only be wielded by its host…unless something else takes control of it." He narrowed his eyes. "There's something _inside _his Inner Power, something that's making it tear out of him like a tumor."

FWOOM!

The flames began to rage and grow taller in height, causing hoarse screams to tear out of Wolf's weakened throat.

"Wolf, hold on!" Fay screamed desperately at him. "Sauru's thinking of a way to help you, just hold on a little longer-"

But Wolf was deaf to her desperate attempts to reassure him. His face and eyes were getting more and more sunken all the time…

Miyu looked closer. "The bigger they get…the weaker he becomes."

Sauru nodded. "They're tearing straight out of his body-no, something is tearing its way _through_ them."

Then, after a long pause and stare at the flames…suddenly, Sauru knew why the stone had that aura that looked so much like a grin. He knew in an instant where he had seen that look before…

…that smile.

His reptilian eyes expanded, their terrified gaze engulfed by the reflection of the fire. His worst fear had been realized.

_He _was coming.

The others regarded the empty, distant look of terror on their Advisor's face with confusion.

"Sauru?"

"No…" Sauru's lips barely moved. "No…_no…By the Claw, _NO!"

He sprinted past the group of confused TRU members and swept up the archaic-looking book that Leon had dropped.

"Sauru! What is it?"

But the SharpClaw wasn't listening. He tore through the pages frantically through a fit of panting and muttering, sweat pouring down the scales on his forehead.

"I need to put a stop the process. NOW."

"What?" Riley uttered. "But you said-?"

"_Forget about what I said!"_ Sauru shouted. "This process is going to kill Wolf before he even has a chance to open the gate between dimensions. I can't believe I didn't foresee this…I didn't think this would happen."

"_What _would happen?" Miyu demanded. "Sauru, you're starting to scare me…"

Sauru looked up at them all, eyes wide with terror. "Don't you all see? Wolf isn't just being barred from the second dimension…something is trying to _get out."_

Riley paled. "What do you mean, 'something'? What's trying to get out?"

Sauru stopped tearing through the book and looked up slowly. He looked more frantic and terrified than anyone had ever seen him.

"A threat beyond this dimension, beyond any of your comprehension…something not you or I, nor anyone in this room can stop." He shivered and clutched the book with shaking hands, seeing something new and terrifying in that fire. "The less you know about it, the better. All you need to know is this: that if it breaks free…if that _thing_ escapes the confines of both Wolf and his Inner Power, it could potentially kill us all, starting with _him."_

There was a hollow silence that drove itself into everyone's bones like a rusty needle. Fay's shaking hand crept to her mouth, eyes huge and shimmering.

Mason's fur shook. He was silent for a good minute before he turned slowly, and flashed his frozen stare at Sauru with a glint of fear and warning.

"Whatever you have to do, Sauru…_do it quick._ Do whatever it takes, because I swear to God…" He towered over him. "If you fail to stop whatever you've unleashed just now, if it even comes _close_ to killing anyone in this room- I'll do whatever it takes to make sure it doesn't enter this dimension." He held his rifle with the barrel adjacent to Wolf. "…even if it means cutting down the bridge it takes to get here."

Riley looked from Wolf to Mason, swallowing dryly at what was being implied. "M-Mason!"

"_NO!" _

Leon grabbed the barrel and wrenched it away from Mason.

"It won't come to that….IT WON'T!" His enraged voice shook uncontrollably, as if he was telling himself more than anyone. He turned to Sauru. "DAMN IT,_ DO SOMETHING!"_

"I'm trying, I'm TRYING!" Sauru roared, as he sped through the pages. "I can't just stop the process on a whim...his Inner Power's too unstable! If I'm not delicate, I'll do more damage than I'll prevent…Claw's teeth, there _has _to be a solution in here…"

Wolf's screams began to drag longer, and dig more guilt and pain under everyone's skin.

But out of all the spectators, there couldn't have been a worse person to witness all of this than Fay. For someone like her, whose empathy was too strong for her own good, and prevented her from turning away any living thing that cried out in pain-Lylatian, Venomian or even SharpClaw- Wolf's agonizing pleas tortured her the most.

The others began to notice it, too-the way the poor girl wrung her hands and kept looking away, cringing every time Wolf groaned beneath the flame's relentless fuming-it was obvious that she was being tortured just as much as he was.

Sauru, amidst his rapid page-turning, looked up briefly and noticed the look on her face.

"Don't do it, Fay. I know what you're thinking, and I know it's tempting for you especially-but DON'T."

Fay didn't respond. Her beading eyes were fixed on the cage, mouth pursed tightly from crying.

"I don't care if you have the purest of intentions," Sauru said sharply. _"Stay away from that cage._ That fire of his may not be strong enough to melt the iron that's trapping it, but it can still grab anything in reach…" He fixed his yellow eyes on her. "…or anyone stupid enough to approach it."

Miyu laid a sympathetic hand on Fay's shaking shoulder before flashing a venomous look at Sauru.

"Leave her alone, will you? Can't you see that him being like this is making her uneasy?"

"I can assure you, she'll be in a worse state if she tries to help," Sauru said coldly. He turned back to the Spaniel. "Fay, just ignore him. Bar his screaming from your ears, fight any compulsive urges. Do whatever you need to block him out, but _don't give in."_

Fay bit her lip anxiously, slipping her small, shivering hand into Miyu's scarred, spotted one.

But that was when Wolf raised his head with great difficulty, eyes pink and strained from all the pain. As if waking from a coma, faint slivers of consciousness began to briefly return to him. His fearful blur and crippling claustrophobia was no longer clouding his senses. He awoke to find his fur caked in sweat and his throat hoarse…but he was still too weak to move.

He glanced around weakly and squinted at the foggy silhouettes outside the cage.

"Please…Fay…Riley…." His voice was reduced to a weak croak.

_Anyone…._

Fay wore a strained look as she painfully tried to avoid both Wolf's face and his voice…both of which were excruciating, as she watched him struggle and look about like a terrified beast with its leg lodged in a trap.

Unable to ignore it, she took a ginger step forward.

"No, Fay." Sauru didn't even look up.

"Sauru, please-" Fay begged.

"I said _no. _

"But-"

"Stay where you are!" Sauru said commandingly. "You'll only do harm to yourself!"

The sound of Sauru's voice hit Wolf's disoriented ears, and he called out in a loud, desperate voice.

"P-_Please _help me…" Wolf begged on what seemed like the last strands of his voice. "I don't want my memories anymore-I don't want ANY of them…_Just please make it stop_-I promise-I'll-"

KRRRNCHHH.

"_GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

There was a deafening, crunching sound that contagiously turned over everyone's stomach, as Wolf felt the flesh on his body tighten. The flames began to writhe and spin at blinding speed, their light streaking like stars stretched through the void of hyperspace. Wolf's ribs and cheekbones began to outline sickeningly beneath his fur, and the pink in his eyes was slowly deteriorating to red. His screams tore from his throat like flesh cleaved from bone, and echoed nightmarishly up the high reaches of the red-stone study.

Saur's heart almost stopped, the book almost slipping from his hand.

He was too late. Wolf's body was already imploding.

The beast within was forcing its way out.

Everyone watched in horror through the blurring flight of flying papers and glass, as a gaunt scarlet began to seep through the cloth eye-patch on Wolf's face. Blood began to gush out of his open mouth, and streamed from both eyes like water emerging through holes in a dam.

Wolf, his head hung over the floor, slowly began to recoil and turn stark white at the sight of blood splattering the ground as it poured from his face. Unnerved by horror and disgust, he let out a garbled, bubbling scream that sprayed blood from his mouth and nose.

"_**WOLF!"**_

Fay didn't waste a single second. Her repulsed scream made the hair on everyone's neck to prickle, as she tore past them and sprinted towards the cage, panting through petrified sobs.

"FAY, NO!" Sauru roared frantically, rising up on his coils. "COME BACK HERE, FAY! _COME BACK!"_

The closer she ran towards the cage, the clearer the gushing blood in Wolf's face became. Her startled fear turned to pulsating horror, and she ran faster.

"MIYU!" Sauru shouted. "BRING HER BACK NOW! IT'LL KILL HER!"

Miyu's feet were already moving on the word "kill". Her heart pounded in her throat as she bolted after the Spaniel.

But Fay was already less than five feet from the cage when it happened.

Racing past the roaring wind and swirling papers that tore at her fur, Fay managed to a take a speeding step within one yard of the cage's reach, hand outstretched as she reached towards Wolf's cringing silhouette-

Miyu managed to latch her arms around Fay and yank her back….but just a second too late.

_FWOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRSSSHHHHHHHHHH!_

There was a roar of the blaze, a piercing scream, and the sound of heavy bodies hitting the floor.

One of the swirling, fiery hands tore its way through the bars and lashed towards the both of them. The purple haze of the blazing palm would've engulfed both Fay and Miyu had it swatted them a second sooner….but the Lynx's tactical hold and dive to the floor only allowed the flames to rake the top of them before they hit the ground.

But just like everyone else, she too heard Fay's scream as they both evaded the flaming hand.

Being close to the flame alone caused Miyu's eyes to rupture in a fit of watery stinging, and she swiped her eyes the second her belly hit the ground. She blinked hurriedly to find Fay sprawled on the ground next to her, sobbing uncontrollably…and clutching her arm.

"Wh—Fay? FAY?!" She scrambled over to her. "What happened?! Are- Oh, my God…."

A horrible jolt climbed up Miyu's stomach and rendered her voice numb, as she saw the raw, red, searing burn between Fay's fingers. Large tears gushed from the Spaniel's agonized eyes as she whimpered through a cracked voice.

"Oh _no_-oh God, no_….Fay-"_

A pale, devastated Miyu tried to help her up, but the disturbance only caused more burnt flesh to contort and red to gush through the borders of the wound. Fay screamed and buried her face in the ground, clutching her wound.

Then instantly, Miyu's tall pierced ears perked up at the sound of fire crackling above her.

The fiery hands grouped together into a flurry of ember-induced hands that groped the air with their clawed fingers. Rearing back like snakes spitting Venom, the hands shot forward in simultaneous speed, prepared to flatten a terrified Miyu and sobbing Fay with their flaming wake.

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!"

In a fierce dive, Mason bolted forward, cocked Miyu's laser rifle and unleashed a series of yellow energized shots at the swirling flames.

_BRATTTTATTATATTATATTTATATTAT!_

But they just melted seamlessly into the fire's gaping hands….and continued to rain down on them.

Mason's grip on the rifle remained firm, but he shook just as much as the two people cowering behind them. As the hands began to bury their terrified faces out of view, the raging light fused their petrified gazes with a glow that lit up their whole faces-

Then, a shadow swept in front of them, colliding with the fire before them.

**FWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASHHHHHHH!**

CRASH.

The impact of the blast knocked all three TRU members back, sending them flying against one of the bookshelves. They weakly rubbed the aches that the wood had etched into their ribs, but not one of them had received a burn.

They looked up from their unscathed bodies…and at the reptilian silhouette towering above them.

Sauru had taken the blast for them.

Or rather…he was _blocking _the blast.

Shoulders hunched arms out and coils dug deep into the ground, the SharpClaw was literally _pushing back _the wave of fire with his bare hands. The intense plumes of purple flame hurled themselves against his hands like lightning, but he wouldn't budge.

Each of the TRU Members stared in simultaneous and gaping disbelief, completely overwhelmed and oblivious to just what they were seeing. Sauru-_their _Sauru, who was too older and more decrepit than the cave they were standing in-was blocking a demonic inferno with his _bare hands._

But it was only when all the TRU members looked closer that they realized that not a single flame was touching his hands.

A flame this intense and fierce should've burnt his hands on impact alone, and yet it seemed to repulse around his fingers before it even touched them, as if barred by some invisible force-field.

No one knew how on earth he was doing it…but one thing they _could _see was that it seemed to be bone-crushingly exhausting for his body. His face was becoming deathly-white and sunken with every passing minute, like the life was being sapped from his weak, aged bones. From the way his stance quaked, he looked like he was trying to hold his ground while pushing back a meteor shower. And judging by the sweat pouring down his neck and arms, and the veins pulsing through his head and muscles, whatever he was doing was just as straining…if not more.

His breathing became chopped, his ribs and cheekbones edging through his skin. He rigidly looked up, too locked in concentration and strain to do more than fix his defiant yellow stare into the flames.

The glow that the the fire cast-the one so much like a smile-radiated as the fire pushed against him.

_No… _Sauru thought ferociously. _You won't touch them, demon…_

_I won't let won't touch a single one of them…OR devour this boy!_

_YOU'LL HAVE TO KILL ME FIRST!_

Miyu blinked. "S-_Sauru?!" _

"GRRNNNGGHHH-! _Keep-back-_ALL of you-" The SharpClaw shouted through thick gasps, the fire growing to push back against his hands. "It's-It's too strong….even… for me…"

"Sauru what are you doing?!" Mason shouted.

The ground under Sauru's coils cracked under the weight of the atmospheric tension he was juggling. He grunted, his rasped panting growing into a determined growl. He drove his quaking hands deeper into the fire, causing the swirling flames to shriek and coil further and further away from his hands.

The papers flying around them burst into flames. Jars exploded into a fit of shards, and cracks began to erupt in the stone walls.

Veins popped in the muscles in his arms, his scaly skin making a stretching sound. Slowly, Sauru's growl of effort drew out into a roar of pain.

He couldn't hold it off much longer-

"It's hurting him," Mason muttered, heaving his rifle up. "SAURU, GET AWAY FROM IT!"

Twisting his neck around through the strain tearing at his muscles, Sauru turned around achingly. "NO! _Keep back, you fool-_KEEP BACK!"

Suddenly, he grunted, and his stance slipped. The distraction had cost him his hold on the fire, and it expanded instantly.

The invisible field had that blocked the fire from his hands seemed to shatter instantly, as the flames, now unbarred and with their target exposed, coiled down and completely devoured Sauru's hands.

"_GAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

By the time Sauru had screamed, the fire was already eating up the flesh on his hands. Through the sizzling, purple hue, the scales enveloping his fingers bubbled and withered sickeningly. His skin curled up and smoldered like a layer of flaky paper, pus and raw flesh disappearing under the flames.

The TRU members stared in horror, the sight his scaly flesh smoldering into charred black sending numb chills through all of them.

"OH, _MY GOD!"_ Miyu screamed.

"SAURU, STOP!" Mason yelled. "YOUR HANDS-!"

"_No! _DAMMIT, I TOLD YOU TO STAY BACK!" Sauru commanded.

"YOU OLD FOOL, JUST GET AWAY FROM IT!" Mason screamed at him. "That thing's going to _burn you to death!" _He walked forward, preparing to pull Sauru away.

Sauru, his hands bound in the fire's grip, barred his serpentine tail in front of Mason, shaking in fierce tremor.

"_**STOP!**_ If I don't hold this back-_if I even move a muscle-_these flames will _kill the boy-_ we need him _alive!"_ His voice sank beneath an agonized groan and wheezing._ "_NONE OF YOU HELP ME… I'LL _KILL _THE FIRST PERSON WHO TRIES TO PULL ME AWAY, _UNDERSTAND? _I'LL KILL YOU!" But his threats weakened behind the mar of pink coating his tearing eyes.

When Mason realized what Sauru was saying, a pang of helplessness and guilt stung his throat. He would've torn Sauru to bits with scolding and malice in any other situation…but standing there, in front of the monstrous inferno, armed with only a useless rifle and stunned look, he was just as helpless as everyone else.

"Sauru…"

The Snow Leopard fixed his pained look on both Sauru's hand…and Fay sobbing as she clutched the burnt flesh on her arm…and then at Wolf's writhing silhouette.

_All of this…all this destruction and pain…_

Cold rage bubbled in his stomach.

…_for HIM?!_

Sauru's groaned at the faint outline of his charred, skeletal hands in the fire, but he pushed them deeper into the molten core of the inferno, roaring defiantly.

As the fiery hands shrieked and began to dissolve… Wolf slumped up slightly. The blood had stopped flowing from his eyes and nose…but its abundant loss had left him weak and dazed.

Through the searing pain, Sauru managed a look of relief. _It's working…he's free!_

"STAR WOLF! I can't hold this off much longer-"

Wolf looked up feebly. "Wh—What…?"

"You have to use this chance-_to get into the next dimension-_while you're free from the pain-" Sauru forced, his voice waning thin. "YOU MUST DO IT!"

"What?!" Leon uttered in disbelief. _"Are you insane?! _You _just _got him free of that thing-and now you want to put him BACK?"

"LISTEN TO ME!" Sauru groaned over him._ "Your Inner Power's already too strong to be stopped-_I'll direct it towards me long enough for you to enter the void without experiencing the same pain again-"

"Sauru?!" Miyu exclaimed. "What're you saying-?"

"PAY ATTENTION!" Sauru screamed to him."THERE WILL BE A NOISE FOR YOU TO FOLLOW-_THAT'S THE ENTRANCE TO THE INTERDIMENSIONAL GATE-_gargh-THAT WILL ALLOW YOU ENTRY INTO THE NEXT WORLD! _Listen for it! _Do you hear anything?! _Anything?! _STAR WOLF!"

"Wh-a _sound…?" _Wolf's eyes swerved around in confusion. "I don't hear a-" Then, he stopped.

"Wait…."

His eyebrows started to furrow. The noise crept into his tall ears, obliterating sound of the crackling fire and the roaring wind from his hearing…

"I-I hear…"

"Yes?!" Sauru asked desperately. The fire was expanding…and was eating up his arms… "What is it-WHAT DO YOU HEAR?"

"It sound like…_humming…_"

Suddenly, the study was starting to disappear, everyone's horrified faces becoming faint. Voices were reduced to a faint, ringing noise…as Wolf's eyelids started to become heavy. A watery, chilling feeling slipped into his sapped bloodstream, as the noise grew louder….

Sauru watched as Wolf's shoulders began to slump. His face had become blank and expressionless. The red stone's wicked glare disappeared, replaced with a gleaming white hue.

_It's happening… _Sauru thought. _His mind's parting from his body…It's transcending to the gap between dimensions!_

Sauru looked from the fire to Wolf, his senses determinedly rejecting the pain of his charred hands.

"Miyu…" He called out slowly, without turning. "He can't go in alone…he's going to need a nudge to get there. You—_argh-_you're in charge here while I'm gone-"

Miyu looked up instantly, eyes wide. "Wait, WHAT? What do you mean, 'while you're gone'? Where're you _going?_ SAURU?!"

The SharpClaw didn't answer, his voice reducing to a raw scream as he tightened his outspread hands into fists.

FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!

The fire seemed to implode on itself, its raging winds shattering the air and causing a rupture of papers and shards of glass to engulf the study. Miyu and the others buried their faces into the protective sanctity of the ground, shielding their eyes from a fierce light that was strong enough to burn its presence through their closed eye-lids.

There was a thunderous ring in the air, like the faint growl trailing the impact of an ending storm.

Everyone raised their heads gingerly, ears pounding at the eerie silence from the sudden lack of deafening noise. Each of them gradually let out gasps that their throats had bottled through the apprehension of the moment.

Ember-lit flakes of paper drifted in the air like leaves, gracing the sparkling glass shards and burnt paper that had somehow made the study seem even more of a wrecked than before. The mountains of dusty books, by some stroke of defying luck, had been buried under the safety of numerous collapsed shelves. Their yellowed, precious pages were unscathed by the fire's wrath.

Steam coiled from the scorched bars of the cage, and the TRU members all slowly regained their feet. They approached the battered cage slowly.

Sauru and Wolf hadn't moved. They were dead still, frozen in the stances they had taken before the fire imploded. Wolf was still shackled and on his knees, hunched over and looking ahead. Sauru still had his arms out and hands outstretched like he was still pushing the now non-existent fire. Everyone cringed sickeningly at the sight of his hands, which were reduced to long, charred-black, skeletal fingers…coated with burnt and contorted bits of flesh.

But neither moved, and not a single bystander in the room attempted to move them. They were like statues, with blank expressions and wide, non-blinking eyes.

Wolf and Sauru were gone: their minds were now in the dimension beyond this one…and only their bodies remained.

_Somewhere…no trace of time, nor location…_

It was like falling through water…only faster, and no viscous slow-down of the water's weight.

It might've been like falling from the sky, but there was no deafening roar of the wind. On normal circumstances, it would've sent a ripple through Wolf's fur…

But he couldn't _feel _his fur…he couldn't feel anything. He couldn't see, for that matter. It wasn't cold, and there wasn't a breeze…but there wasn't an inch of warmth, either.

All he could feel was the direction he was falling. Falling up, falling down…warm, cold, neither existed…

His eyes were already closed, he was already lying back, and the falling didn't seem to end…

He wanted to sleep-

"WOLF!"

His eyes shot open instantly, and air returned to his lungs. Suddenly, he felt really cold, like he had been doused in some freezing water.

He still couldn't see anything…but that voice…?

"Sauru?"

"Don't give into that feeling, the one that's telling you to sleep," the voice commanded. "You do that, and you'll slip through this dimension…and fall through the next, over and over."

Wolf blinked and looked around in the emptiness.

"Where are you…?"

"I'm in the barrier outside the gap…I couldn't get through. This is the world of _your _Inner Power, Wolf. Only you could get through. I merely followed you...until I could follow no more."

Wolf furrowed his eyebrows…or at least, he _thought _he was, he couldn't see…

"But…you don't have Inner Power. How're you -?"

"Never mind how or why _I'm _here, you stupid boy!" The voice snapped. "We don't have time to waste! Your Devourer won't stay weak for long…"

"My…" Wolf straightened with a jolt. "My _Devourer?!"_

The voice grew louder. "Yes…that was _him _causing that fire back there. Those were _his _hands. He was attempting to break free of your Inner Power's hold of him why'll you were weak and vulnerable. You're lucky I was there to block him."

Suddenly, a contemptuous urge scorched Wolf, boiling his blood and making the falling sensation slower.

"Where is he?" He demanded instantly. "Tell me where he is-"

The voice's impatient tone quickened.

"Peace, Wolf-enough of that! Don't forget why you're here." The voice paused, like it was looking around. "One of your memories are around here, someplace. The only way to detect their presence is through a noise. Once the noise is loud and clear enough, this world will disappear…and process of you reliving that memory will begin.

"But, Sauru-"

"There's no time, Wolf. Just stop…and listen. Can you hear anything?"

Almost immediately after the voice said it, Wolf heard that noise…the same noise that lured him in here. It grew louder, its reach extending like it was passing right by him.

"Wh-yes…yes, it's humming…it sounds like…"

The voice waited. "The memory's passing by Wolf…you need to grab ahold of it, _quickly. _What's that noise sound like? What does it remind you of?"

"It's…it sounds just like…the sound of a ship's engine…"

The humming grew louder. Everything became cold again. The voice yelled fruitlessly as it faded away-and transform into someone else's voice-

"Wolf? Wolf-!"

_Corneria City Orbit, 7 BLW (Twelve Years Ago)…_

"Wolf!" A voice scolded reproachfully. "Get away from the window! It isn't safe!

But Wolf kept his nose pressed against the window, not bothered by the intense churning and shuddering of the space shuttle's engine that shook the passenger hold. Both his purple eyes scanned the colossal, glittering cityscape, watching the massive wave of tiny airspeeders and hovercrafts zooming about below.

"Didn't you hear me, Wolf?" Peppy repeated. "There aren't any parachute pods on board. Do you want to fall through the window, and end your life at age twelve?"

Wolf stopped pressing his nose against the window and looked back. He had spent the last three years living with Peppy since he and the others rescued him from Venom…and all that time, he was just as worrisome as an old mother.

"Weren't you the one bragging about how advanced these new shuttles are?" Wolf retorted. "Besides, what kind of a ship has windows so fragile you could fall through?"

Peppy folded his newspaper and sat up in his seat.

"Accidents can happen, bud. Technology can advance to the skies, but still find a way to malfunction." His maroon eyes glanced uneasily at the screws lining the ship's window. "My friend Beltino taught me that. We passed his building earlier, remember?"

"Mmm," Wolf agreed, his attention locked on the sprawling cityscape below.

"Anyway, just sit back down…and buckle your seat-belt." Peppy snuggled comfortably into his seat, yawning so his two lapis teeth showed. "We're a good ten minutes away from the Academy, and scanning your eyeballs out the window won't make it show up any faster."

The Hare may have been tired from the trip, but Wolf would need a wormhole to contain his overflowing happiness. Today was finally the day.

His eyes shone with the reflection of the sun beaming off the glossy windows of passing skyscrapers. The buildings here were huge…much bigger than any of the homes he'd seen around Peppy's home up in Fichina (not to mention the only snow was on the mountains in the distance, which was a relief).

Peppy's care of Wolf should've made up for whatever lack of knowledge he had of the modern world after a lifetime of seclusion on Venom…but that didn't stop Wolf from gaping at everything he saw, and peppering his guardian with questions.

"How many people are in Corneria City?"

"How many? Oh, more than I can count, boy…" Peppy sighed, rubbing eyes tiredly at all the gleaming windows of passing buildings. "You'll feel right at home here, though. Corneria's the Canine Homeworld, just like Katina is the Feline Homeworld…plus, no one would know you're a wolf. Most people here haven't seen a wolf in more than two decades. They'd probably think you were a large Husky, or somethin' similar."

"Wh-Peppy, LOOK!"

Wolf's ears perked up and down excitedly at the sight of passing starships, his heart skipping excitedly. His heart sped up every time a Cornerian Warbird or Defense Ship soared past their shuttle.

Peppy smiled at the young boy.

_Twelve years old, but staring out the window with eyes wider than a child of three. _

_I miss that naïve, oblivious look…Lucy stopped having that look when she turned eight. She's too grown up now, that girl…_

His smile faded, his saddening slightly.

_He looks so much like his father…_

Peppy crinkled his newspaper with uneasy hands. He wondered when James was finally going to tell Wolf. It wasn't fair to the boy…not knowing the truth. Was he to grow up and become a pilot, never knowing?

But Peppy knew for a fact that James had become cold and callous towards Wolf…ever since he found out his last name was "O'Donnell." He had begun to notice it quickly, and so did Pigma…and it became further evident when James had flat-out refused to take in Wolf himself, let alone bring him home and have him associate with Fox.

Peppy knew why. And Wolf had a right to know why, too…

"Look! Is that it, Peppy? Are we here?"

Shaken out of deep thought, the Hare blinked and looked out the window.

Down below, looking just as majestic and hope-inspiring as the day he first looked down on it as a young recruit himself, the Academy sat perched on the shores of Corneria City, with the Arwing Prototypes flew over it almost on cue. The colossal building with jutting spires, gleaming in the sun, stood with a massive, palace-like garden sprawled in the front, decorated with exquisite hedges and a copper-colored fountain with a bronze Arwing statue.

The entrance was guarded by towering golden gates, with Flight Academy Emblem emblazoned on the racks.

Peppy looked at Wolf's astonished and overwhelmed expression. The young boy's eyes shimmered with wonder.

"That's it, isn't it, Peppy? That's where it all begins?"

The boy's wondrous, excited look sullied Peppy's heartstrings with guilt. He wouldn't tell him now, and fill him with discouragement…not on his first day.

He'd tell him eventually…when the time was right. When Wolf was older, and ready.

Peppy smiled and nodded. "That's right, Wolf. That's your future down there."

_End of Chapter_

…review, maybe?


	26. Chapter 26

_Chapter 26: What Could Have Been_

_Cornerian Flight Academy Grounds, 7 BLW (12 Years Ago)_

The Academy didn't look at all like the brittle military facility Wolf had pictured in his head.

It looked more like a resort.

It had a tranquil, welcoming air about it. The canvas of its grassy campus grounds was outlined by tall hedges and interloping stone paths. Oak trees had their shadows sprawled over the blindingly-bright grass that was hued by the sunlight, the kind of trees that would make a passersby want to settle under its wooden base and nap in the afternoon sun.

The Academy melted into the atmosphere quite snugly. Its construct was held proudly on a company of towering marble pillars and blue banners, its windows stretching up from the border of the ivory steps. Silver Cornerian skyships were docked next to the entrance on either side of the stone path leading up to the brass gates. The Academy's golden emblem fluttered on the tall flagpole planted on the building's highest rooftop.

Wolf drank in the spectacle of his new school with huge eyes, caught in a dazed trance as he walked behind Peppy towards the school gate.

"_This _is a Flight School?"

Peppy nodded. "Isn't it a treat? Let me tell ya, it didn't come close to looking this nice back when I used to go here. You youngsters of this generation got the nicer-lookin' campus."

There were students everywhere, all of different races with different fur, scale and feather patterns. Some were in clustered groups talking and gossiping. Others walked leisurely on the paved ground. Some were dozing lazily on the warm grass, while others were racing after each other, throwing sonic Frisbees. All of them wore the same, Academy-Issued uniform jacket that Peppy had given Wolf.

Peppy was apparently well-liked and well-known, because every student that walked by stopped to cheerily greet him.

But Wolf wasn't nearly as social. He was clinging to Peppy, narrowing his eyes at all these smiling faces. This place seemed a little bit too happy for a school.

"Everybody knows you here, huh?" He asked quietly.

"Well, I've had years to get to know them," Peppy admitted. "I may just be one of the Academy Supervisor around here, but I like to think of everybody as an extension of family. I've watched so many of these kids grow…" He looked back at Wolf. "You'll get to know them soon enough. And who knows? We might see a familiar face."

"Familiar face?" Wolf asked. "Like who?"

"PEPPY!"

The two of them looked ahead to see Pigma Dengar running eagerly towards them, huffing as he straightened his jacket and grabbed Peppy's hand into a firm shake. He was just as gregarious, unshaven, rotund and full of mirth as Wolf remembered him from three years ago.

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" The grizzled hog laughed. "You know you've had me runnin' all over campus and ringing up the comm. link channels for ya all morning!"

"Frankly, I can't imagine you running, Pigma, not with your weight, but I'm glad to see you," Peppy chuckled. He looked around. "But where's James? He couldn't make it?"

"Nah, he's tackling another Diplomacy Errand on Venom. You know how heated the protests are getting over there, with the Venomian Worker Force and all…"

The Hare grimaced with a slight wince. "All too well. I've still got the scar from the rocks they were throwing at the President's Peace talks."

Wolf's eyelids flattened in a bored fashion. His mind such seemed to zone out automatically to loathingly-familiar words like "diplomacy" and "peace talks". It seemed whenever any adults talked nowadays, it was about that conflict on Venom he kept hearing about. He didn't know much about it, but it sounded boring.

Pigma looked over to the boy, noticing him behind Peppy for the first time.

"And who's this?" He scratched his chin. "I thought you said the shuttle with the new students wasn't arriving for another hour?"

"You mean you don't recognize him?" Peppy put a hand on Wolf's shoulder. "This is Wolf. You remember, right?"

"Wolf…" Pigma creased eyebrows began separate, and his eyes widened slowly. "Wait-not _our _Wolf? This here's young Wolf O'Donnell?"

Peppy nodded with a smile. "That's the one. It's his first day."

Before Wolf could even move, Pigma had ruffled the fur on his head and patted him on the back with force that by all rights should've rendered him with a broken spine and no fur on his scalp to speak of.

"Well, I'll be _damned!_ Wolf, _our _Wolf, after three years!" The lines on the Hog's face grew to coincide with his smile. "Is this the same scrawny little cave-dweller we found on Venom? Just look at you! I never thought I'd see you walkin' around, looking all clean and spiffy...and ready for school I might add!" He brushed Wolf's shiny new uniform. "So how're you doing? Excited for your first day? Are ya ready to beat all these other suckers to the ground and become a crack-shot pilot in your first year?"

A sheepish Wolf patted his fur back down, and nodded with a small smile.

"Man, he's a quiet boy, ain't he?" Pigma mocked good-naturedly. "You'd think I was announcing his next dentist appointment with a reaction like that!"

Peppy laughed. "He's just shy."

"Is that right? Well, sport, not to worry!" He patted Wolf's shoulder. "With all the awesome stuff we've squeezed into this year's curriculum, I'd say you're in for our best year yet! New equipment, better simulations, cutting edge-ships…and don't get me started on the extra-curricular stuff…"

The three of them walked down the paved path up to the Academy steps that was draped in the summer shadows of looming trees, as Pigma lectured Wolf on all the treats of his new school, along with a few tips on how to get ahead in studies, which classes to take, which food to eat at the cafeteria, and how to talk to female students (which Pigma claimed was twice as hard as maneuvering advanced spacecraft.)

But Wolf just trudged along and nodded politely, and had most of his attention on the immense campus environment around him.

Pigma walked a couple of steps ahead of Wolf, and lowered his voice to Peppy.

"Man, he _is _a quiet kid. Is he like this with you?"

Peppy nodded. "He's been that way ever since I took him in. I've never met a quieter boy…makes me wonder if he spoke more than ten words in the entire three years he lived with me and Lucy."

"Is that…you know, normal?" Pigma asked, sounding a bit worried.

Peppy looked back at Wolf. "I think a child like him does more thinking and listening than talking. Don't worry, he'll get talkative once he mingles with some other kids and makes some friends at his own pace. Remember when you, me, and James met?" He smiled knowingly. "We didn't exactly get along, and James barely spoke."

The memory almost replayed itself in the way Pigma groaned. "Ugh, don't remind me. But I guess you're right...he'll start behaving like other kids once he has time to develop. I still wish he'd talk a bit more…"

Almost on cue, Wolf turned around with a curious expression and said "Are there a lot of kids my age around here?"

The two adults looked up instantly in surprise, both wondering how Wolf had gotten so far ahead of them when he had been walking behind them this entire time.

"Are there-? Oh, sure there are, sport!" Pigma said, seizing this opportunity. "Plenty of 'em! There's so many you, you could build another school for 'em! They're gonna be arriving on the shuttle in a bit, so you can mingle with 'em."

Wolf looked at the ground for a moment.

Pigma frowned. "Something wrong, sport?"

"There won't be any girls in my classes, will there?"

Pigma furrowed his eyebrows. "Girls? Why, uh…is that a bad thing?" He flashed an odd look at Peppy.

But Peppy just smiled. "You mean will there be girls like Lucy?"

Wolf wrinkled his nose. "Please tell me there won't be."

Peppy chuckled. "You can rest at ease, bud. There ain't a girl in this entire school as intelligent and intimidating as my Lucy." He turned to Pigma in an explanatory fashion. "Wolf and Lucy never really got along."

"Really?" Pigma laughed. "Why's that?"

"Oh, you know…Lucy's at that age where she knows everything. She's grown into a very sophisticated young girl, all into long words and astrophysics…" He scratched his head sheepishly. "To be honest, I had to stop helping her with her homework when she turned eight. And when I brought in Wolf, fresh from those caves, without a grasp on manners or etiquette…and she had to live with him and be his secondary tutor-"

Pigma laughed. "Hoho, I see. It was like oil and water, huh?"

"She called me 'uncouth'," Wolf said, crossing his arms with a scowl. "I don't even know what that means!"

"Neither do I, Wolf," Peppy laughed. "But don't feel bad. My Lucy, well, she's never had a thing for boys. In fact she's never had a thing for people, either…the only friends she appreciates are those books of hers. She's a lot like you, Wolf…very quiet, but very thoughtful." He looked down at his holo-watch, suddenly looking alert. "Ooh, enough about that, we'd better hurry. That shuttle with the new students is gonna be here soon."

But they only moved a few steps when Pigma suddenly motioned for Peppy to walk farther behind Wolf, and lowered his voice.

"Hold up a bit, Peppy. I've been meaning to ask you, since you've arrived…"

"Oh?" Peppy asked cheerfully. "And what's that?"

Pigma looked at Wolf for a moment, making sure he was out of earshot, before continuing.

"Have you…you know…._told_ him, yet?"

Peppy froze, and tried not to look up instantly.

"About what?"

"Don't play innocent, Peppy, you know very well 'what'," Pigma said, in an anxious voice. "It's been three years since we found him. Have you told him in all that time?"

Peppy stopped walking, his eyes on the ground for a moment. That same cold feeling he got on the shuttle crept back into his stomach.

Wolf turned around, noticing just how distant and out of earshot the two adults were. "Hey, why're you guys walking so slowly?"

Both of them were caught by surprise, before Peppy evasively flashed a smile in his direction. "Sorry, bud…these old legs aren't what they used to be."

Pigma gave an assuring nod. "You just head right along, sport. We'll catch up with ya."

The boy shrugged and kept walking. Peppy turned to Pigma as soon as Wolf looked away.

"I don't know what you're going on about, Pigma, so you'd best drop it."

Pigma groaned and looked in frustration. "You _didn't_ tell him, did you?"

"James was supposed to tell him, not me."

"_You're _his guardian, Peppy. You decided to take him in, raise him right, tutor him…_you're _the one he's closest to." He watched Wolf walk in a carefree manner. "That's not the face about a boy who knows the truth about his parents."

"_Keep your voice down," _Peppy hissed warningly. "He's too young to know about something like that, understand? And it's also his first day! Just look at him!" His voice became pleading. "That's the happiest I've seen him in three years…you want me to tell him the truth and take all that away from him? Before he gets the chance to go to school, make friends and have a normal life?" The Hare's maroon eyes were worn with worry, a pang of guilt and fear crackling through his stomach like a ship iron. "The truth will hurt him, Pigma."

"Not knowing the truth will only damage him more!" Pigma argued. "What do you think will happen to him when he finds out for himself? Do you understand how harsh that'll be for him?"

It was then that Wolf looked around to find his two adult companions far behind him, talking and arguing in hushed voices. Eyebrows furrowed, he walked towards them.

Peppy clenched his fist defiantly, still locked in the argument.

"It's none of your concern. I've looked after the boy, as if he was my own kin, just like Lucy! That cold life in those Venomian caves has sucked enough of his childhood away…and I'm not going to ruin what's left of it by telling him the truth." He folded his arms. "I'll shield him from the truth as long as I can if it means keeping his happiness intact."

Pigma shook his head. "He's not your son, Peppy. You and I both know who he is, and where he comes from. And if you don't tell him-"

He suddenly stopped, the anxious look in his eyes alerting Peppy to look around quickly. The two of them turned to find Wolf, his small head cocked to the side curiously in front of them.

"What're you guys talking about?" Wolf asked.

"Nothing, Wolf. Just grown-up stuff." Peppy glared hard in Pigma's direction, with a look that clearly said: _This conversation is OVER._

Wolf raised an odd eyebrow.

Pigma washed his expression clean of suspicion and irritance. "C'mon, sport. Let's keep walking."

As Wolf smiled eagerly and made his way to the Academy Gates, Pigma turned to lower his voice towards Peppy.

"You can't protect him from the truth forever," he muttered. "And by the way, Peppy, since you flew over the City today, you didn't happen to pass the Cornerian Defense Building, did you? Particularly, oh, their Financial Office?"

Peppy rolled his eyes. "No, Pigma, I _didn't _get a chance to talk to them about your raise. We were in a hurry." He folded his arms crossly. "Seriously, is that all you think about?"

"Hey, that last mission to Eldard was the fifth in a row when they didn't pay us, Pep," (a little annoyed.) _"You _should be thinking about it, too…it's _your _money as well. Is it a crime for me to think we deserve more than those greedy feds give us?"

"We aren't going through this again, Pigma," Peppy said firmly. "And you need to stop coming to _me _with these problems. You wouldn't even be bringing this up if James were on-planet."

Pigma stood there in what seemed to be a defeated silence, before turning and giving Wolf one last pat on the back.

"A little word of advice before you start school, sport. Don't go into the hero's business unless you have to." He grumbled under his breath. "God knows you'll never be paid enough."

Pigma walked off, muttering under his breath.

Wolf blinked obliviously. "What was that all about?"

Peppy sighed, rubbing his eyes wearily. "Nothing, Wolf. Don't worry about it."

Wolf was still wondering what it was they were talking about before, when he heard a familiar humming sound behind him. He turned to see the steam coiling off an Express Shuttle, just like the one he and Peppy had arrived in, landing just in front of the Academy Entrance.

At the sight of it, the Hare straightened both his jacket and the little name-tag on it. Taking a deep, preparatory breath, he turned to Wolf and dropped down to one knee, so they were at the same height.

"Alright, um…that's the student shuttle, Wolf. I have to lead the tour for the new students now, so just fall in with the crowd, alright?"

Wolf paused for a moment, and nodded.

"As an Academy Prompter I can't be constantly checking on you or leading you specifically, not without it looking unfair to the other kids. Just follow along with the tour, alright? Feel free to look around and get a grasp on things, but don't leave the crowd of students."

Peppy scanned Wolf's expressionless face anxiously, hoping that some nervous look or inquisitive expression would surface for him to aid. But Wolf just nodded silently.

"Now, there's no need to be scared or discouraged," Peppy urged. "If you don't know anything or have a question, just ask me, alright? And don't worry," He assured kindly. "Everyone else here is just as new as you are. Just try to relax, take in the sights…and try to make some friends, okay?"

More silence, more nodding.

Peppy waited one last time, hopeful for some kind of emotional response. He thought that maybe, after three years, Wolf would finally express some personal attachment or confine some small secret to him, maybe even say goodbye…but Wolf remained silent.

"Alright, then." Trying to hide his disappointment, Peppy gave Wolf a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I'll talk to you later."

He stood and started to walk away.

Suddenly, Wolf swerved his uncomfortable look away from the ground and looked up.

"Peppy, wait."

The Hare whirled around instantly, his heart jumping to his throat. "Yes?"

"If I…make a mistake, or do something wrong…" Wolf gulped, as if this was something he had bottled up in silence this entire time. "…will I get sent back?"

Peppy's eyebrows furrowed. It was odd seeing Wolf looking so worried…about _anything._ "Sent back? Where?"

Wolf wrung his wrists uncomfortably, looking at the ground.

"…Venom?"

A pang of sympathy wriggled its way into the Hare. _Poor kid…_

_He's still not over that place…_

"No, Wolf, of course not," Peppy said. "You won't ever have to go to that place again, I promise."

"But what if I mess up?" Wolf's voice quivered, looking around nervously at the nice environment. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do, or how I'm supposed to act. What if I do something wrong? What if someone finds something wrong with me?"

Peppy looked down at the distressed child, wondering how he should treat this rare occurrence of emotional openness. Finally, he placed a solemn hand on Wolf's shoulder.

"There's nothing wrong with you," Peppy said firmly. "And if anyone tries to tell you otherwise, you let me know, you hear me? Listen…" He patted the nervous boy's shoulder soothingly. "We don't send people to Venom if they make a mistake at school. Nothing you could ever do here warrant something like that."

Both relief and air returned to Wolf. "Really?"

"Positive," Peppy confirmed, before he looked back at the school with an admitting look. "Well, truth be told, there _are_ a couple of delinquents here that I'd personally love to send off to Venom, but that's not the point." He "You don't have anything to worry about. It's your first day…and you're still just a kid, so it's okay to slip up once or twice. I made plenty of mistakes in school, and God knows James made plenty…" He smiled knowingly before continuing. "And if you do make a mistake, you'll be given a second chance to make the right decision. That's what goin' to school is all about, son…learning to make the right decision. No one expects you to get everything right on your first try."

Wolf managed to hide a small smile in the corner of his typically-stone expression. He hadn't taken a liking to most of the adults he met, mostly because they were all just smiling, overly-friendly caricatures to him. But Peppy was different. He had the honesty and loyalty of a faithful schoolboy, and seemed to be one of the few grown-ups that understood what it really meant to be a kid.

He didn't want Peppy to know, and he wouldn't dare admit it unless he wanted to be smothered…but out of all the people he had ever met, Wolf respected him the most.

However cool James McCloud was painted to be…Peppy was a million times cooler.

"Thanks. I mean-" Wolf cleared his voice, trying to sound as indifferent as possible. "I understand, Peppy."

The Hare smiled, but then, looked to the side as something occurred to him. He suddenly remember what Pigma had said to him.

_**You and I both know what he is…where he comes from…**_

_**You can't protect him from the truth forever…**_

"Peppy?" Wolf asked. "What is it?"

The Hare gripped Wolf's arm with a newfound sense of anxiety.

"Wolf, I want you to do me a favor: just stay in line, don't do anything out of the ordinary, and…" He looked around, before lowering his voice. "Well, just try to keep that Venomian heritage to yourself, okay?"

Wolf's smile faded slightly, and he cocked his head. "Why?"

"Just trust me, alright?" Peppy glanced around worriedly. "I-I can't tell you all about it now, but here on Corneria, people just don't take well to Venomians. There's a lot of bad blood between the two after Venom lost the last war a hundred years ago. The Cornerians made them suffer dearly for waging that war…and used punishment to put them back into place. Most Venomians are poor and destitute, working all the filthy and unwanted jobs….most people, especially the Cornerian society, treat them like the rabble of society."

"Why?" Wolf asked. "If the war happened such a long time ago, why is there still bad blood? Shouldn't things have calmed down since then?"

Peppy looked to the side uncomfortably. "Things _should've_ calmed down by now. But, seven years ago…a few angry Venomians did something serious. Something very serious." He looked at some of the city buildings in the distance, as if still seeing the smoke of them burning. "And it wasn't something the Cornerians forgot."

Wolf furrowed his eyebrows. "What did they do?"

Peppy turned to him hurriedly. "Look, I can't tell you everything right now. All I know is that some of these kids have probably inherited that bad blood from their parents. I mean, you'll be alright because you don't _look _Venomian, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

"But why should I have to hide it?" Wolf asked. "What did the Venomians do to make everybody hate them?"

"Just promise me you won't," Peppy pleaded worryingly. "Just for right now?"

For a moment, Wolf hesitated. But with one look at the bright and welcoming atmosphere of the Academy, and the thought of never having to go back to Venom, he decided that hiding where he came from seemed like a small price to pay.

"Sure thing," Wolf agreed.

Peppy sighed in relief, and ruffled Wolf's ears. "That's my boy. Just do as I said-in fact," He suddenly plunged his hand into his coat, and fished out a small comm. device. "Just tap that anytime you need my help. You know, if you go to the bathroom or something." He straightened Wolf's jacket. "Now, come on…the tour's starting. Try to have fun out there."

FSSSHHHH!

Peppy stood alertly as the doors and the ramp of the Student shuttle slid open.

From the ship's hatch poured out a crowd of blinking, wide-eyed children, ranging from avians, to felines, to canines…all wearing uniform jackets. They collectively scooted across the paved pathway like a flock of wide-eyed sheep, popping their heads from within the crowd to look around and whisper excitedly.

Wolf snuck to the rear and took his place at the unoccupied rear of the crowd, seamlessly blending in with the horde of new students.

Peppy put his hands together and addressed the crowd kindly.

"Welcome new students! Step lively now, don't be shy-" He smiled at all their curious faces. "Well, look at you all…a new batch of students. On behalf of the entire school faculty, chain of Supervisors, and Space Combat Directors, I'd like to welcome each and every one of you to the Cornerian Flight Academy." He looked down a little bashfully. "Now, uh...some of you may not know who I am, but that's okay…I'm-"

"Wait a minute," One of the children piped up. "You're _Peppy Hare! _Of the _Star Fox Team!"_

"_The _Peppy Hare?" Another stammered excitedly. "Star Fox's Ace Pilot?"

Peppy looked around the outburst of thrilled chatter in astounded but pleasant surprise.

"Why, yes I am…I'm pleased that you recognized me, very pleased indeed…I was actually hoping that you'd-"

"Wait…it's just you?" They all looked around expectantly. "Where's the rest of the Team?"

Peppy's smile melted into a disgruntled frown.

_Don't you mean, "where's James"?_

_Oh, well…I guess that's to be expected…people prefer him, it's understandable…_

"I'm afraid both Pigma and James are off on business today." The Hare shrugged. "But if you don't find my company suitable for the tour, well, there are plenty of ROB units around campus that would be more than available to guide the tour, and give you a history behind the architecture and the masonry, maybe a look around the gardens-"

A look of dismay instantly washed over the crowd of students.

"Wait, no! Please…we want you for the tour!"

Peppy hid a sly smile. "Really? Well, I do feel mighty flattered that you prefer me so much. Well, no use doddlin'. Follow me this way…and no doddlin', please. There's lots to see."

Wolf took a deep breath to enforce his confidence, straightened the collar on his jacket one final time, and followed his classmates out of the afternoon warmth, and into the Academy's cooled interior.

Everything would be fine, he kept telling himself. If he would just stay in line, keep to himself, and try to attract as little trouble as possible…

… nothing could go wrong.

_Academy Main Hall, Minutes Later…_

"Oh…my…_g-"_

Wolf's mouth hung open in dry awe, eyes overwhelmed and huge.

The Academy may have been impressive on the outside, but inside, it was an architectural colossus. It opened up into a gigantic hallway that looked belittled the small crowd of students, its towering white marble archways and columns giving it the elegant look of a palace, or some kind of basilica. The sheer size of the hall was so immense that the scuttling of the children's' small feet rattled in a vibrant echo across the shiny, black marble floor. The roof was suspended above them at a jaw-dropping height, carved with a ceiling decorated with golden ships gliding over a blue painted, star-studded galaxy. The history of Lylat's many intergalactic wars were carved in elaborate depictions on the white marble walls, outlining conflicting armadas and heroic figures engaged in legendary battles.

Every student in the small crowd gaped and stared at everything around them, eyes getting bigger and bigger. Wolf almost sprained his neck just trying to get a good look at the ceiling.

Peppy walked nonchalantly in front of the crowd.

"This Academy was built over a hundred and fifty years ago by Professor Patrick Bowman of the Lylatian Astronomer Society. Piloting ships was a lot dicier back then than it is now, you know. It was both primitive and dangerous, which made piloting ships a branch of the military that few ever treaded. Professor Bowman, however, established this school to help pilots become effective in safe maneuvering and ship-to-ship space combat. His methods and simulations were so effective, that the Cornerian Intergalactic Star Force rose up in the galaxy's military forces, and made ours the best planetary defense force in the galaxy."

All of the students "ahhhed" and oohed in excited approval.

"But Professor Bowman didn't want the knowledge and innovation he brought to this school to be exclusive to Corneria alone," Peppy continued. "His intention was for every student of any race or planet to be given the resources and opportunity to excel the ranks as a pilot, as long as they had the drive and determination to work for it-"

"Ooh, ooh!"

Peppy stopped mid-sentence, and turned towards the young Dalmatian waving his hand excitedly.

"Yes?"

"Who are all those guys?"

He pointed at the row of tall, white statues behind them-all of towering canines, avians, felines and lizards. Each of them stood in heroic poses….smiling confidently or holding a blaster rifle on their shoulder, or a helmet under their arm.

Peppy smiled knowingly.

"All of these men are the Academy's proudest and most recognized graduates. They grew up to become some of the most legendary pilots history has ever known. You might recognize a few that your parents might've told you about." He pointed at the statue of a fierce-looking Osprey. "That's Lucas Jaeger the 'One-Man Armada'-" He moved his finger to the Liger statue next to him. "Bogart Vine, otherwise known as the 'Striped Supernova'-" And finally, he stood in front of the youthful Cross Fox holding his helmet under his arm, sternly gazing into the distance. "And perhaps the most celebrated pilot in history, and our finest attendant, Richter Van Mansen-'The Scarlet Gale.' He was the youngest graduate in history to become an Ace Pilot, and was awarded the Lylatian Medallion of Valor."

Everyone crowded around the Scarlet Gale's statue with excited murmuring and oohing. Wolf looked up at him and realized just how young the pilot looked. He couldn't have been any older than sixteen.

"He looks kind of young," One student commented.

"Yes…he was a pilot during one of Lylat's harshest eras of civil warfare. The great died young back in those days, from what my grandfather told me," Peppy dipped his head respectively towards the statues. "But not a single one of these great men died without contributing to the peaceful ties we have with other planets today. You guys won't ever have to fight in a war thanks to that."

"When are _we _going to get our own spaceships?" A young Mastiff asked eagerly. "Do we get to pick whether or not to fly the Interceptors or the Bombers?"

"If we shoot enough bad guys, will _we _get a statue here, too?" The Dalmatian from before asked.

"Whoa, whoa, settle down, now," Peppy laughed. "You bunch won't be flying for a while. You're going to have to go through a lot of training and studying before you even get a shot at the simulators. You gotta learn navigation, technical prowess, historical examination, physical training and terrain expertise. There's more to becoming a pilot than just flying, and you'll be studying all of that in these next few years."

That chunk of news sent a ripple of disappointed groaning throughout the crowd. Wolf, however, kept his ears perking above the crowd, ambitious eyes on the statues.

"Does that mean we'll have we'll be taking a lot of exams?" He asked slowly.

Peppy looked surprised that Wolf wasn't as disappointed as the rest.

"Exams? Oh, no-" He waved his hands dismissively. "No, I don't think we've had a written test in this school for…well, I'd say seventy-five years."

Everyone looked up automatically.

"We don't have to take a test?" A tubby Tomcat repeated in disbelief. "Sweet!"

"I said there were no _written_ exams," Peppy corrected. "Believe me, you'd wish it was something a simple as a written exam. No, it's not even close to being _that _easy.

"Why?" Wolf asked, suddenly alert. "How will we be tested?"

Peppy turned to face the statues, arms behind his back.

"Just because you aren't taking a written test, doesn't mean you aren't being evaluated," He warned. "Here at the Academy, you'll be monitored and evaluated by Instructors on a near-constant basis. You're constantly being tested…even after you exit a classroom or a simulation. Every decision you make, every skill you hone, every technique you use, and every strategy you use to get ahead in your studies will be studied, and taken down. It's these decisions that will help us decide if you're ready to attend the Orbital Academy and take on advanced training. If the other Academy directors and I aren't convinced that you're ready by the end of these four years, you'll be transferred to the Planetary Defense Force."

Everyone's eager looks faded. "You mean…we won't get to become pilots?"

Peppy turned to them, the warm lines in his face unusually serious. "Becoming a pilot is the most demanding and difficult ambition in the Cornerian Military. It's an advanced branch, a combination of combat skills from all classes. Only a handful of students ascend to pilot training every four years…it's a very exclusive privilege. But it's also a dangerous one. A lot of graduates actually pursue Planetary Defense because it's the safer alternative. We have to be sure you're ready to brave the dangers of deep space."

Wolf took another look at the statues, a sudden thought occurring to him.

"How many students get to become pilots at the end of the four years of school?" He asked.

Peppy stroked his chin. "It's a very rare privilege…sometimes, only a set of ten students get to become pilots each year, out of a class number of hundreds, or even thousands."

As the students shifted their feet and looked around at each other, as if measuring the competition, Wolf felt a nervous prickle in his fur.

A pit of cold shock washed into Wolf's stomach. _Only ten? Out of a thousand?_

He looked at the statues with newfound nervousness. His dream of becoming a pilot seemed to have become a lot more distant. The horrible thought of spending every waking moment working to pass the evaluation, only to fail and never become a pilot…filled him with a pulsing sense of dread.

_So that's what this Academy is…it's a proving ground…_

"Of course, if you fail to qualify within a _year's _time, instead of four," Peppy warned. "We could always use more hands in Maintenance and Repair."

Everyone paled instantly, and the Hare chuckled good-naturedly.

"Don't fret, now… I'm just joshin' with ya. I'm sure you're all capable of becomin' pilots if you really tried. After all, I made it into the pilot's circle at your age, and well…" He scratched his long ears sheepishly. "I wasn't the brightest rabbit back then."

A sense of mirth and relief broke through the crowd of students in a fit of smiles, and Peppy resumed his place in front of them.

"Now, we could all just sit around here, lookin' at these statues, learning about the Academy's history, talkin' abut exams and whatnot..." He looked back, folding his arms unsurely. "…or we could do something boring, like go to Hangar Bay and have a look at the Arwings."

"_The _Arwings?! They're _here?"_

"No way!"

"_Cool!"_

"Are they all docked here? Is _James McCloud's _Arwing here too? Which one is it?"

"Calm down everyone, you'll get to see them," Peppy chortled. "But first, let's stop at the cafeteria and get you all some lemonade. It's ungodly hot outside…"

Everyone followed the Hare down the echoing hallway, the laughs and excited chatter ringing through the marble corridor.

But Wolf didn't follow them.

He glanced longingly at the row of statues, all of them seeming to tower over him even more than before.

_The more I hear about this Academy, the harder becoming a pilot sounds…_

_Maybe the reason that the only pilots I've ever heard of are the legendary ones is because they're the only ones to pass the test…_

He looked up at the confident and heroic stances of each statue. They couldn't have been born legends straight out of the womb…they'd all have to have started off like Wolf. They all must've been in his shoes at some point…feeling discouraged and unlikely in the shadow of more renowned pilots.

Wolf felt a sense of longing ripple swivel up his chest. Becoming a pilot was probably a pleasant dream for all these other kids, but to him…it was the one thing he wanted most. It was all he had left in the world.

_These other guys probably had a childhood, a real family before coming here…_

_If they don't pass the test, they don't have much to lose…they have something to go back to…_

…_but I don't. _

_All I've ever had are those cold, endless nights on Venom…_

_The only future I have left is in space…_

Wolf looked up at the statues. He didn't have to become some great, patriotic legend like them…even if he scraped by as just a measly cadet of some fleet, or an escort pilot for small missions, it would be enough.

Anything that led to the openness and freedom of space was good enough for him.

_If I work hard enough, I'll get my own ship…I'll be able to fly wherever I want…_

…_and I'll never have to go back to Venom again._

_Who knows? Maybe I'll be part of those Elite Teams, like Star Fox…_

Wolf smiled despite himself. _Ha…I wish…._

Wolf suddenly looked up, swerving his head around alertly. Peppy and the crowd of students had disappeared. They must've gone ahead without them.

_Wha-Where did everyone go?!_

_How long was I-?!_

He looked around, but didn't see them anywhere. It didn't help that he didn't know this Academy at all.

_I can't believe this…am I already lost? We've only been touring the school for five minutes…_

Looking around frantically, he noticed an open slide-door behind the row of statues. A bright light streamed from the inside, casting rays against the marble floor. It was the kind of light that bounced off something with a reflective surface…but there were so many hazing the floor, that there must've been dozens of shining objects behind it.

Thinking that maybe it led to some hallway that Peppy and the others had taken, Wolf sprinted through it.

"Whoa…"

Upon walking in, his eyes automatically squinted at the abundance of gleaming light. Rather than the hallway, he had stepped into a room-one that was rowed with shelves stacked to the brim with medals, trophies, badges, and hundreds of other glittering accommodations. The sunlight streaming in through an open window collided head on with the gold and silver reflective surfaces of the various prizes, and bounced its glare into luminous streaks across the marble floor.

Wolf forgot all about Peppy and the tour group, staring in amazed wonder at the dozens of elegant medals gleaming behind the glass, with his face pressed against the glass and engulfed with awe. All of them had a holographic photo, or black and white picture of each of the famed pilots who had earned each medal.

The last medal was by far the most impressive, and was centered by a string of news clippings. It was a blue and white pendant with a medallion of solid gold, in the shape of two winged lions hoisting a golden starship over a dying star.

He looked excitedly for the pilot whose award it was, and felt a jolt of recognition at the old newspaper clipping next to it.

It was James McCloud…and not that cold, callous pilot he had met on Venom, either. In the photo, he was younger, scruffier, and looked livelier than he did now. The tired lines and expression-hiding sunglasses were nowhere to be seen, and he was actually _smiling. _His fur and jacket were smudged and battered with burns and charred scorch-marks, like he had just climbed out of a blazing cockpit. In one hand, he sheepishly held the same badge that sat next to the news clipping, while he shook hands with a beaming Cornerian Prime Minister with his other hand.

Above them, printed words planted the headlines: **ROOKIE PILOT AWARDED HIGHEST HONORS FOR SINGLE-HANDEDLY PURGING ENEMY INVASION. **Above that, was the news slogan: **PROOF THAT HEROIC DEEDS NEVER GO UNREWARDED.**

Wolf was both shocked and surprised. For the longest time, thought the praise and acclaim behind James's legend was nothing more than people hamming up his reputation. But here the proof was, staring right back at him from behind glass.

But after another look at the photo, Wolf noticed a tall silhouette standing behind James, blurred by the quality of the picture. At first, he thought it was another fox…but the figure was way taller, and seemed to be avoiding the direction of whoever was holding the camera.

_Who is that?_

As Wolf leaned closer towards the display case, trying to get a better look at the figure, he heard a small voice mumbling behind him.

"Um, excuse me…you aren't supposed to touch the glass."

Wolf's spine sprang up in a surprised jolt, causing his fur to spike up and his hands to sprawl away from the glass frantically. He whirled around anxiously, praying to God that he wasn't in trouble…until he looked down to see a small boy behind him.

He was a Grey Lab, about eleven, and about a head shorter than Wolf. At first, he seemed like a student. But he was a lot grubbier than the rest of the kids, and he wore what looked like a crinkled jumpsuit instead of a uniform. He was holding a bucket and a dirty wash-rag.

"It leaves fingerprints," he said timidly, looking at the glass nervously.

"Oh." Wolf stepped away from the display case. "I'm sorry…I didn't-"

"That's okay…they're pretty impressive, aren't they?" The Boy smiled warmly. "I could spend hours staring at them…sometimes I come in here, even when they're already clean."

"Already-?" Wolf looked down and noticed his rag. "Oh. What happened? You get detention?"

"What? Oh…um, no. I'm not really a student." The Boy gestured to the broom closet with his bucket. "My dad works here-he shines the floors, waxes the ship hulls, but he can't do everything himself…so I help him out."

Wolf looked down at the boy's grubby jumpsuit, and noticed a name-tag stitched to it: _Janitorial Assistant – __**WILLIAM GREY JR.**_

A pang of guilt punctured into Wolf's chest. "Oh. I'm sorry-I didn't know. I didn't mean to-"

"That's alright," The Boy said, shining trophy indifferently. "It's actually pretty cool. I get to look at the neat architecture while I'm waxing the floors, a good view of the Arwings when I'm cleaning the windows…but this is my favorite room in the whole school. I know everyone's all up in arms for the Arwing garage, but I like this place better. 'Cause when I'm done shining the cases, and a stand in the right place…" He looked at smudged reflection shining back at him, smiling hopefully at the medal pinned to his reflection. "It looks like I'm the one wearing the badge."

Wolf looked at the grubby boy strangely, feeling a sense of empathy.

The Boy sighed for a moment, and then laughed. "Kinda stupid, I know."

"No, no…I understand. They're very cool." He looked at the badges, and then at the Lab. "But you know…I think it would be cool enough just to have your photo here. Could you imagine what it'd be like for future students to admire your picture-or even better, your _statue _when you're long-gone?" He put his hands in his pockets. "I'd want that more than any badge."

The Lab whistled with a grin. "You sure are ambitious. Planning on knockin' the galaxy off its feet, ain't ya?" He paused for a moment. "Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen you before…and I know everyone in the school-mostly because of the stains they leave behind…" His voice dipped to a grumble. "Are you with the new students?"

Wolf hesitated.

_Peppy said __**did**__ say to make some friends._

_Might as well start…._

"Yeah. My name's Wolf." He glanced unsurely at the boy's name-tag. "And you're, uh-?"

"Oh, my name's William…but, you could call me Bill if you want," The Lab offered.

"Bill," Wolf settled on. "So if you want to become a pilot so much, why don't you just apply to the Academy?"

"Me?" Bill repeated, in shock. "Oh, no…I can't apply. I'm not-well, not suited for being a pilot." He shuffled his feet sullenly.

"Why not?" Wolf asked. "I thought everyone could become a pilot. Isn't that the school motto?"

"Well, yeah, but-" His eyes shifted to the corner. "That doesn't mean everyone _should. _Especially me. I'm just-well, I'm not cut out for piloting. It's not like I don't want to, it's just that I'm not-"

He stopped suddenly. His grip tightened on his bucket, and his eyes shifted to the side anxiously, like he had said too much.

"What?" Wolf asked, looking confused.

"Never mind," Bill said quickly. "Forget it."

"What do you mean, you're not 'suited'?" Wolf persisted. You've got a brain, working limbs, two eyes, two hands…that's all you need to fly a ship, right?"

For whatever reason, Bill started looking really uncomfortable. He started looking around the room frantically, as if desperately searching for something to change the subject to.

"Let's not talk about this, alright?" He blurted out frantically. "I don't want to get in trouble-"

"Why would you get in trouble?" Wolf asked slowly. "Bill-why aren't you allowed to apply? Why can't you become a pilot?"

The Lab's voice and breathing became chopped and nervous, like he was burying some embarrassing truth under his reddened face. He licked his lips nervously and darted his eyes around the room frantically, lowering his voice.

"Look, I'm _really _not supposed to talk about this-I'm just here to clean, I-"

At that moment, an older, cooler, and calmer voice swiveled its way into the echoing confines of the room.

"That's right, Bill. You're here to clean…not to talk. But somehow, I walk in here and find you talking instead. Why _is_ that exactly?"

Both Wolf and the Lab turned to see an older boy stroll in through the doorway. He was much taller and much older than either of them…probably in his late teens. He was a grey fox, and quite a handsome and sleek-looking one, too. He had to have been some kind of senior student, with his older look and what appeared to be a ranking band on his jacket sleeve. He was closely flanked by a few other students, who were the same age and wore the same ranking band.

Wolf regarded these new arrivals rather indifferently, but he saw Bill turn a sickly patch of white, eyes fleeting in terror. The instant he saw them, he backed up so quickly against the wall that he knocked the bucket over.

"Glenn!" Bill began to look around frantically. "I was just-I wasn't-how are you doing?" He hastily settled on. "G-Good semester start? It's feeling like a good year!"

Glenn and the other Boys started to walk towards them…not looking amused.

Bill moved back slightly, hissing to Wolf through the side of his mouth.

"L-Listen, whatever happens, _don't say anything. _They'll leave you alone if they don't find a problem with you."

"Find a problem with me?" Wolf repeated. "Why would they have one with you? Are you in trouble?"

A bead of sweat trickled down Bill's shaking face. "More than you'd believe…just play along with whatever I say. If you get the chance to go, than go. You're not the one who's-" Bill paused and looked at Wolf, eyes darting nervously. "…'in trouble.' Just leave when you have the chance."

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "But you've just been cleaning…why are _you_ in trouble?"

Bill turned to face the group of students. "I can't explain-just get out of this room when I tell you to. Don't worry about me."

"Worry about-?" Wolf started. "Bill, what're you-?"

Bill coughed loudly, drowning Wolf's voice out as Grey Fox stepped in front of them both, eyeing Wolf first.

"H-Hi, Glenn," He said nervously, shrinking with every word. "Wade, Nelson, Pat-what do y'all need? There somethin' you need me to clean?"

Glenn's eyes found Wolf in a heartbeat.

"Who's this, Bill?" He demanded, narrowing his eyes. "Some friend of yours?"

"Him? Oh no, I just met him…" Bill laughed nervously. "He's with that group of new students, but he got lost. He was just asking for directions. He was just about to head back…" He glanced at Wolf from the corner of his eye indifferently. "…weren't you, Wolf?"

Wolf had no idea what was going on, or what these older students wanted with Bill. But he saw that the Lab was flashing him with a desperate, pleading look, one that clearly spelled: _Go, NOW._

"Step outside, then, 'Wolf'," The Grey Fox ordered instantly. "This is Academy Buisness. I'm one of the School Student Monitors. Bill here needs to answer for a few things…"

Wolf looked at Bill, who facially indicated for him to do as he was told. Confused, he stepped away through the crowd of older students surrounding Bill. The School Discipline Policy must've been something harsh with how nervous Bill was acting.

He had only just met Bill, but Wolf was pretty sure that he was too meek to be a burden or a hassle on anybody…so why, of all people, was _he _in trouble?

Upon heading out the door, Wolf nimbly dove behind a trophy shelf, and pressed his back against it. He heard Glenn's mellow voice from behind the wood.

"Is he gone?"

He heard another voice, probably one of the others.

"Yeah, he's gone."

Wolf peered from behind the covert shielding of his trophy case, watching the group of boys gather around Bill.

"Well, then, Bill…now that we have our privacy, let's talk."

The Lab looked up at all of them in sweaty exasperation.

"W-What did I do now? Did I miss any rooms? Maybe a window or two?" He hoisted his bucket up shakily, scooting towards the door. "If I did, I can go right back and clean it right aw-"

CLANG!

The sudden noise almost made Wolf jump from where he was, as Glenn swatted the bucket out of Bill's fingers, and it landed with a splashy clatter on the floor. He jabbed the Lab in the ribs, his mellow voice shattering into an enraged boil.

"Your Dad's been givin' us a lot of his bullshit, Bill. He keeps giving us heat about smoking up near the Hangar Bay."

A Cheetah towering next to Bill snarled in unison. "He keeps on threatening to report us to Peppy. _He's _threatening to report _us."_

Wolf looked at all of them, eyebrows closing together in startled confusion.

Bill looked around at them. "S-So, you guys got caught? What am _I _supposed to do about that?"

"I told you before, the last time this happened, Bill. I don't answer to poor little farm hicks like him…he's not my boss. Didn't I say what would happen if he opened his stupid trap again?"

As he watched Bill gulp and back up against the wall, Wolf was more baffled than ever. There had to be some kind of mistake; weren't these big kids the authority, the School Monitors? Why were _they _complaining about getting in trouble?

Glenn let out an infuriated sigh, muttering under his breath. "You know, I'd have him buy all of us cigarettes, but that would probably rob the poor shit of every penny he's got. He can't even send you here to school with the rest of us."

Wolf looked around in realization, finally seeing the predatory stance of all the boys gathered around the small Lab. Bill wasn't the trouble…these boys were.

"What're you even doing up in here?" Glenn demanded in a growling voice, giving Bill a rough shove. "This place is already clean!"

Bill stammered fearfully. "I was just-I w-well, there were trophies that needed, straightening-

"Liar. You were gonna steal one, weren't you?" Glenn's eyes shifted to the gleaming trophies. "Thought you could fill your filthy little pockets, and no one would notice?"

"I wasn't stealing anything!" Bill insisted, his voice cracking desperately. "P-Please, I—I was just-"

"Stop bullshitting! We've all seen you and your dad at the Venomian Labor Support Station…we know how you mingle with the Venomian workers. Your dad's a Sympathizer…he probably steals and murders just like them!"

_Venomians? Sympathizer? _This conversation was puzzling Wolf all the time. _What do Venomians have to do with this?_

He remembered Peppy's words from earlier. _**"But, seven years ago…a couple of fed up, angry Venomians did something**_ _**very serious…"**_

_That's right…_ He thought. _There's bad blood between the two groups…_

_But why are they taking that out on Bill? Because his dad's a "sympathizer"?_

_What does that even mean?_

Regardless of how little he knew, Wolf could at least tell that Peppy had been right. Despite what was going on, he was happy no one had found out about him coming from Venom. He couldn't imagine how these students would've reacted to _that_ tidbit of information…

"Why'd your dad tell you to steal the trophies, Bill?" A Doberman student shoved him spitefully, all of them glowering down at him. "Is he planning to pawn it off to some Simian sex merchant? Was your Dad planning on taking a whore home tonight?"

All of them spat and accused Bill, who was at the point of tears.

"_No! _My dad's not making me steal anything!" He cried through a gurgle of sobs and hiccups. "I just-I was _looking _at them, that's all!"

"Looking?" Glenn mused. "Oh, is that right? So what people say are true…you _do _want to be a pilot real bad. That would explain why we keep finding you cleaning this place…"

Bill didn't say anything. He kept his eyes on the ground, his lips trembling with the danger of a sob coming out.

"You've got a lot of balls, striving to be a pilot, Bill. You spend your life with that toothless engine-crawler of a dad, learning to work and clean with the rest of the Venomians in the Lower-Class district…practically growing up with them…"

An unsettling ripple of movement spawned in the crowd of boys at the mention of that last part. Angry, disgusted, scornful looks washed over their faces one by one.

"You're practically _one _of the Venomians, Bill," Glenn spat contemptuously. "Why're you even wasting time gawking at all these badges and trophies like you have a chance at flying? You think you have a shot at being a pilot, let alone being one of _them?" _He pointed at the pilot's photos on display. "A little, Venomian-loving faggot like you?"

Anger swelled inside Wolf as he watched the look of miserable shame flounder Bill's face as he fought back the urge to cry. Someone his size wouldn't be able to stand up to these pigs…and Wolf had the sinking feeling like the poor kid would be too timid to do it even if he _was _full size.

"You've got nothing but spineless ambition," Glenn said spitefully. "Just like those Venomian scumbags and trashwhores out there living in run-down shacks and fixing drain-pipes in Corneria City. They all tried to get all smart and wage war on us a hundred years ago, and they got their asses handed to them by the Cornerian Fleet…their ships and their reputation in pieces. You never even see them enter a cockpit or fly a starship after they lost the war…the same reason _you're _never going see the inside of a cockpit. Being a pilot requires a smidgeon of actual intelliegence, something neither you nor those intelligent Venomians have. The difference is that _those_ shit-stains have accepted that fact, and they're crawling on the underbelly of society where they belong. But you still drool over all these trophies and badges like you still even have a chance!" Glenn gave a compromising shrug. "But I suppose it's better you clean here in the trophy room. I bet you'd spend more time cleaning the girl's bathroom if you had the chance."

Amidst his miserable wallowing, the Lab looked up and blinked in confusion. "W-What?"

"How about it, Bill?" Glen smiled, his boyish features creased with the filthy look on his face. "You like taking your time scrubbing those stall floors…just so you can get a peek at all those girls as they pull down their skirts?"

Another student laughed. "It's probably because that's the closest he'll get to a girl…the little fag."

Bill looked horrified. "W-What? N-No-I wouldn't-"

More scornful accusations came flying at him.

"You like perving on all of them, don't you, you sick little freak."

"You like having a look at the only pussy you'll see in your entire miserable life?"

"N-no—I don't-I'd never-" Bill's cheeks and ears were flushed a humiliating red, shaking all over.

"Don't lie…we all know you do." Glenn's voice grew louder, a cruel laugh imbuing it. "It's a new semester…lots of new girl students coming in. Are you hopeful one of them will talk to you, Bill? Has a girl _ever _talked to you? Hell, has one girl even looked at you in your entire life, Bill?"

Bill looked like he was going to collapse in a fit of sobs, his entire face hued with a blotchy, humiliated blush. All of the students laughed and called out spitefully, adding new accusations and mockery to the perverse list, each of the hammering into the cornered Lab.

Wolf watched with a confused, startled, and heart-broken throb in his stomach. In the time he had spent out in the world after being rescued from Venom, he had never seen anything like this. Emotions like the ones he felt now had never found their way into his stomach before…not while he had been in the comfort of Peppy's home.

Bill was one of the first people he had met at this school, and Wolf hadn't really known him for very long. They had no strong bond, and weren't even friends.

…so why did he feel so bad for him?

Maybe it was because the way they picked at this kid reminded Wolf of the times on Venom, where he'd see the snarling, mutated beasts circle a crippled animal, tearing chunks out of its flesh and clawing at it before they finally gave it the mercy of being eaten.

But Wolf had always thought a sight like this would be exclusive to the savage wastes of Venom. He never dreamed he'd see something like it in the civilized reaches of society…

And yet here it was…a group of vicious, carnivorous boys picking at Bill, who was just as cornered and helpless as a wounded animal.

_Peppy was always talking about how life was different on Corneria…about how much more civilized and orderly it was than Venom…_

_He said that the years I spent with him and Lucy were to teach me about how different the world was outside of Venom…_

_So why are the people here more savage than all the ravenous creatures that stalk Venom's surface?_

_At least THOSE beasts knew when to stop ripping at their prey, and start eating them…_

_These beasts… _A ripple of fear spiraled down Wolf's back, causing him to cling to the shelf. _These beasts only tear and gnaw…they're never satisfied enough to start eating…_

Wolf began to tremble, as he silently trudged backwards into the shadow of the massive shelf. He wasn't taking a liking this Academy anymore…

_How kids like these even become students? And not only that, why did the Academy made them MONITORS-_

Wolf paused for a moment.

_No….The rest of the Academy probably doesn't even know about this…these guys have probably been keeping this secret. Why else would they have waited until I was out of the room?_

_Not one person knows about this…not even Peppy…and it's not like Bill is going to tell anyone…_

_I wouldn't be surprised if this was a common occurrence around here…_

Feet planted in the ground and heart heavy, he watched as Bill buried his face into the overbearing sleeves of his oversized jumpsuit that hung over his hands, bawling and crying uncontrollably.

"Although, I can't really blame them for avoiding you, Bill," Glenn continued, drinking in the defeated look on the boy's face. "Most girls prefer guys that can read a simple sentence…or maybe even write their own name. But you can't even do that much, can you? You can't even read!"

At long last, Bill's resistance caved in. That was the last, low, festering wound anyone could inflict on him…because it was the only one he couldn't repel. Shining, bulbous tears swelled in his eyes, and his voice became punctured into weak, ashamed sobs.

"That's right, you can't read at all," Glenn sneered. "Your lousy father's so stupid, he can't even teach his own son to read. He can't even send him to a school to learn to read without pawning off his own clothes." He gloated as he looked at the display case. "And you spend _hours _in here Bill…polishing these jumbled words over and over again to a perfect shine…"

The Lab looked down as fat tears rolled down his cheeks and onto the marble floor, while he shamefully stared at his own miserable reflection in the glossy surface of the floor he just cleaned.

"Tell me, Bill…you must spend hours in this room." His mocking tone soured into a cold, relentless snarl, aiming a kick at Bill's stomach. "What's it like shining all these badges and trophies you can't even read?"

SMASH!

Bill coughed hoarsely and staggered back into the trophy case, his back hitting it so hard that the glass display case shattered. The disturbance of motion caused the shelf to shake rigorously and knock the whole row of trophies and badges on to the floor.

Wolf straightened up in alarm when his tall ears heard the sound of glass cracking.

Bill felt a cold wince travel over his gaunt face, his brown eyes watching each trophy land on the floor with a rattling chime…collecting scratches, smudges and marks that he knew he'd have to painstakingly clean later.

Glenn shrugged innocently. "Well, now would you look at that? Someone's made a mess of this place. Looks like you've got your work cut out for you."

Bill stared at pile of trophies for a long time. The gushing of tears and crying had made his face look even more sunken and miserable then before, washing his eyes red from strain. He didn't even look that upset…but maybe that was because his emotions had been too exhausted for him to care.

Wolf could only watch in exasperated sympathy. _Come on, Bill…fight back…_

_Stand up to them…do SOMETHING!_

But the smaller boy just stuffed his rag in his back pocket, wiped his snout in a loud snuffle, and started to walk over to the trophies. He bent over to feebly pick them up.

He didn't get more than a few steps before Glenn-apparently aggravated from his failure to stimulate an emotional response from Bill-gave him another furious kick that caused him to stumble over the pile, and land on the pile of broken glass.

**SHINK**_._

Bill's cracked, sob-stricken voice emitted a meek little scream. He clutched the part of his knee that the shards had gashed. Wolf felt his fur prickle feverishly at the sight of how much blood seeped from the small gash.

But even despite the depth of the wound, Bill managed to swallow his pain, sit up on his knees, and tried to shakily stack the trophies…smudging their gold surfaces with the blood on his fingers.

Glenn walked slowly behind Bill, who saw the Grey Fox's reflection glowering at him in the surface of the smudged trophy. Bill gulped, shut his eyes, and continued to stack the trophies. The older boy paced around him multiple times, silently watching him stack and struggle with the trophies.

Wolf watched from the side of his shaded, secluded trophy case….his naive, purple eyes welling with disbelief.

_Why….?_

_Why are they doing this? They KNOW Bill's too timid to fight back….so what do they gain by hitting him so much? To watch him bleed and cry some more?_

Finally, Glenn sighed with exasperation, rolled his eyes, and without warning, swung his foot with savage and unpredictable speed that made everyone in the room jump.

SLAM!

Bill's weakened groan was buried under the thunderous sound of Glenn's sleek Regulated Monitor's boot smashing into his ribs. Wolf winced, almost feeling the impact of that kick despite being over five feet away.

Bill coughed hoarsely and hobbled over the trophies, but didn't get more than a few steps farther before he was submerged beneath a series of more kicks.

Each kick caused Bill to fall flat on his stomach, a strained groan and some forced out saliva flying from his mouth each time. The other boys laughed at the pitiful sight, all of them crowding around the wallowing Lab…and taking turns kicking him in a circle.

The longer he watched the pace of the kicking rapidly increase, and heard Bill's screams become fainter beneath the sound of stomping feet and roaring laughter, Wolf grew more and more horrified.

He slowly rose a hand to his mouth, feeling his shortened shreds of petrified breath against his fingers. His bright, purple eyes were shimmering with an anguish-ridden sheen at what he was seeing.

His sheltered mindset that had been preserved by someone as kind of Peppy couldn't process the motive behind all of this. He didn't understand where all this malice, this hatred, this hunger for sadistic

_How can none of them see the look on his face, and feel the need to stop? What's WRONG with them?! _He thought, restraining a choked, helpless sob. _What reason do they have for doing this?!_

But a hollow, confused part of his mind wondered if people this cruel even needed a reason.

He swallowed his shock and anguish and breathed life into his feet. He had to do something….he couldn't just stand here and watch.

Wolf gingerly took a step forward, but as his eyes became fixed on the brutal scene ahead, something pulled his feet back.

If there was one thing he learned on Venom, it was that revealing his presence in the midst of hungry predators was the most insane thing he could do. Despite how much he wanted to help Bill…despite how much nauseous guilt and helplessness gorged his insides…he was terrified of what they all might do to him. The sight of the Lab's raw, cringe-worthy wounds was enough to scare Wolf back into the comfort of his trophy case…but the sight of all these vicious, sadistic boys was what liquefied the courage out of his legs.

They would rip him to pieces if they found out he was still in the room…witnessing their little secret. Wolf felt his blood churn sickly as he realized that he had no choice but to watch in gut-wrenching, shivering silence.

As Wolf retreated back into his corner, a thought occurred to him.

_But Bill knew this would happen to him…that's why he was so scared when they all walked in…_

_Why didn't he tell me….?_

Bill had sent him out to prevent him from stepping in, or getting involved. He was trying to protect him…from this.

_WHY?! _An angry sob curled into his throat._ He doesn't even know me, and he's trying to protect me?_

_Why did he send me outside instead of asking for help? I could've helped him! I could've… _He looked doubtfully at the taller crowd of boys. _I could've done SOMETHING…_

Wolf's eyes stung. He was choking back such a bitter, throat-swelling feeling of horrified guilt, that he might've screamed in frustration if he wasn't afraid of being found.

SLAM! SLAM!

Bill could barely be seen behind the shifting forest of feet-disappearing under them in a fit of coughs, screams, groans and wheezes—and appearing more bloodied and bruised each time they cleared away.

The older students laughed hysterically. The ringing, taunting sound causing Bill to sob in frustrated humiliation. His brown, cow-like eyes…strained and red from the bruising pain…wavered open helplessly before he closed them. Without the strength or the will to defend himself, Bill sunk submissively into the pile of trophies, showered by flurries of kicks.

SLAM! SLAM!

From behind the cover of the trophy shelf, Wolf continued to watch. Slowly, the anguish-ridden douse of frigid helplessness that engulfed him. Every pulsing, swerving, hot-blooded instinct that screamed for his legs to bolt forward…that pined for his claws to extend at full length…the cold, leaded restraint weighed his feet down like stone.

Through a pained, deprived, sorrow-stricken stare, Wolf continued to watch.

_Don't do anything…just stay where you are. There's not a thing you can do…_

_Do exactly what Peppy said, and you'll make it out unscathed…_

He bit his trembling lip, eyes stinging horribly.

_Keep your head down, and stay in line…_

_Or else it'll be YOU on the floor, bleeding in five different places…_

_I shouldn't feel guilty…it's not my problem. Peppy said to keep a low profile, and that's what I'm doing…_

_Just stand back…and watch._

He tried to feed his enraged mind some measly form of logic to comfort it…but it was fruitless. No matter what pitiful, self-saving excuse he made, it didn't wash the guilt or pain away. His purple eyes were still open to see Bill's bleeding, tearing, imploring face between everyone's feet…his ears were still free to hear everyone's laughing and Bill's screaming.

Wolf dug his claws into the shelf, their steel points grinding the wood into curling scraps.

_Just watch…watch every movement, every gesture, and do nothing…_

_It's your first day at the Academy, isn't it?_ He told himself miserably. _Think of this as a learning experience…_

Oh, he was learning alright…he was getting a good glimpse of what these Cornerians were really like. Once that was in his head, all of his attempts to soothe his mind disintegrated…and the boiling, hate-filled thoughts seeped in.

_And they 'pride' themselves on being the ideal Cornerians…_

…_is this what it means to be one of them? To spit and belittle everyone weaker than you?_

_And they mock the Venomians under them...they accuse THEM of being scum and low-lives, and then turn around and do this?!_

_Hypocrites… _He tightened his fist. _I don't blame the Venomians for doing whatever it was that got them punished…these Cornerians probably deserved it._

SLAM!

"_GAUGH!"_

One of the boy's feet came slamming down on Bill's spine like a leather-bound guillotine. Bill screamed and writhed under him, dragging his tear-sodden face against the broken glass that littered the floor.

_Thunk!_

Wolf yanked his claws out of the clawed-up trophy shelf and turned around. He couldn't watch anymore. He turned and leaned against the shelf, shutting his eyes and trying to shut out the sound of the boy's kicking and Bill's whimpering from his ears.

He helplessly stuffed his hands into his pockets-

-and that's when he felt the smooth, flat presence of something small and plastic in his pocket.

Wolf looked down suddenly. His eyes lit up as soon as he saw it.

One of the boys beating Bill lifted his foot in the same fashion one would when examining a squashed insect on the ground. With the way Bill was beaten, broken, and sobbing on the ground, he was in worse condition.

"Look at that…he can't even stand!"

"Ha! He's pilot material alright-" Another boy sniggered. "Just imagine someone like him in the cockpit!"

Bill felt everyone's feet clear off of him, and for a small, sweet, relieving moment, he felt nothing but the cool air graze his bruised fur. Then he felt a hand yank him up by the scruff, and Glenn's voice echoing loudly.

"Look at you," He hissed in a condescending tone. "How could you hope to protect other people as a pilot when you can't even protect yourself?! James McCloud and the Lylatian Fleet wouldn't want someone like you…you're a disgrace!"

The Grey Fox flung Bill down to the ground like a limp doll, causing the trophies to scatter around. Everyone heard a weak groan from the face-down Lab on the floor, and they erupted into a fit of laughter.

Glenn sighed dismissively, picking up one of the brass trophies.

"_This _is why can't have weak, unintelligent people running around applying to this school, having the same opportunities as the better half of society." He gestured at Bill with his trophy. "I mean, look at Bill, here. Could you imagine if _he _was allowed to become a pilot?"

Someone laughed. "He'd probably crash and burn just a few seconds after he got off the ground!"

Glenn twirled the trophy on the end of his finger, strolling around Bill. "If he does, maybe he'll do the world a good riddance. Maybe after that, the Academy will actually hire someone capable of actually keeping this place fucking clean!"

In a blurring motion, he broke his leisurely stroll to whirl around and plant his foot on the back of Bill's neck.Bill's throat had been crinkled and worn from crying, allowing him only to cringe as he felt the older boy's sole drive into his neck like a cattle prod.

"How 'bout it, Bill? How long do you think you have before you and your retard of a father get thrown out of the Academy for incompetence?"

He raised the trophy , his tall silhouette stabbing out the light from the window and darkening Bill's vision. Bill curled up into a ball, shivering and whimpering on the ground…tears streaming from his shut eyes.

"How're you planning on living out on the street? Planning on stealing and killing like all the other Venomian roaches?" Glenn's face contorted into a disgusted scowl. "Or maybe your dad will you sell you as some brothel boy, and your dad will live off of whatever money you make being groped and spreading your cheeks for whatever sick Venomian that pays for you?"

Bill tightened his eyelids shut, and braced his bruised, swollen body in horrible anticipation for another searing blow-

"Is someone in here?"

All of the boys turned simultaneously suddenly with a frantic, alarmed whirl. Even Bill managed to creak his eyelids open and weakly raise his head to see who it was.

Peppy stood in the door-hastily pocketing something small and plastic into his jacket pocket before striding forwards, eyes darting in confusion.

Wolf, still hidden, let out an exhale of relief…before taking his finger off of the comm. device that he had fished out of his pocket.

_Finally…_

_The cavalry's arrived…_

"Peppy!" Glenn stammered, looking around. "I-I-" The trophy slipped from his trembling fingers and clattered to the ground.

The loud, ringing atmosphere of confident laughter and gloating smiles was reduced to a hollow, terrified silence. There was an outbreak of frantic and heavy breathing amongst the group of boys. In a clamor of rushed stumbling, they all tried burying Bill out of sight by stepping forward, blocking him out of view with their feet-

"Glenn? Wade? Jensen?" Peppy's confused gaze traveled to each of them. "What're you doing in here? You're supposed to be out there, escorting students! We got a lot of new kids coming in, and w-Wait…what's-? OH MY GOD!"

He almost knocked a trophy shelf over in the horrified stagger that melted into his legs, his stare reaching the bruised, broken shape of Bill on the ground.

The boys looked at each other. None of them knew how they were going to explain this.

Peppy looked more pale and sunken than Wolf had ever seen him. He seemed to ignore the presence of everyone else in the room, his maroon stare locked on Bill.

"Move!" Peppy shouted, shattering the dry croak in his voice. "ALL OF YOU MOVE! _MOVE!"_

There was a quiet onslaught of gulps and stifled breathing. They all scuffled backwards…as if pretending Bill wasn't there. With a loud clatter, Peppy pushed through all of them, before he reached Bill…and collapsed down to him…

"B-Bill? _BILL?!" _

Through choked sobs and patched wisps of horrified breath, Peppy gingerly lifted the Lab's head…his fingers numbly retracting from brushing over each grotesque bruise.

"Bill….BILL! Oh, God…Bill-Bill, are you okay-?" Peppy's face only clouded itself with more painful cringing as he turned the boy's face over. "Oh, Jesus-why-what did-"

Through a strain and a cough, Bill flickered his punctured, pink eyes open and looked up at him.

"Mr. Hare…" He managed to croak.

"_Bill?" _Peppy's face erupted into a gush of relief. He cradled the boy's head, softening his voice."H-Hey, you're alright…w-what is it buddy?"

Bill winced as he reclined into an apologetic withdrawal. "M-M'sorry…"

"Sorry? You—what're you sorry for?"

Bill guiltily raised his small, bloody finger and gestured at the broken glass around them. "I made a mess… I'm sorry. I'll clean it up…"

Peppy looked like he was caught between laughing and crying through bitter tears.

"No…no, don't worry about the mess, bud…you don't have to worry-" His eyebrows flattened in concern, his voice hardening. "How did this happen, Bill?"

Bill's exhausted, painful look disappeared…a newfound terror igniting his worn-out face.

"Mr. Hare, please…" He stammered in terror, cringing away from him. "D-don't…I didn't…this isn't-please-"

"What do you mean?" Peppy searched the boy's expression. "How'd this happen to you? Who-"

Suddenly, the Hare froze. His entire body shook as his maroon eyes expanded past Bill's terrified expression…and followed the trail of blood in time to whirl around, and look up at who the boy was recoiling at.

Glenn tried to seamlessly withdraw into the crowd, but his compatriots stood rigidly, as if to bar him from escaping the fate the rest of them would be subjected to.

The kind, worried, and modest look that typically dominated Peppy's face melted. The gentle lines on his face suddenly tightened, enraged shadows gauging his expression from shock to realization. His voice lost its reserved politeness and ruptured into an enraged, brittle shout.

"YOU."

He stood up so quickly that the sudden movement made that the entire group of boys shrink on reflex.

"Which of you did this?" Peppy demanded in a concrete, cold-blooded tone that Wolf had never heard him use. "Which one?"

No one spoke. Not even Glenn.

Peppy's maroon eyes teemed with vehement, unbridled rage as he scanned the row of terrified faces. He turned to the Lab on the ground.

"Which one of them started this, Bill?"

Bill glanced fearfully at the crowd of boys, remaining silent.

"Which one of them, son?" Peppy demanded. "None of them will hurt you if you tell me…I'm here, now. Just tell me."

"I-It's okay, Peppy-I'm alright-" He averted his swollen eyes desperately. "I don't need to-"

"Bill, which one of them did this?"

"I-I-don't-please-"

"_Which one?"_

Bill, his expression embroiled in tearful fear and discomfort,

With an exasperated sigh, Peppy stood and turned towards the crowd of boys.

"Whatever you've done has probably made him too terrified to admit the truth, so he's obviously not going to tell me…" His eyes flashed dangerously. "But _you _are."

The group of boys kept their stifled, shaking mouths shut. They exchanged nervous and cornered looks as they drew back into a huddled mass.

Peppy walked up to them, his keen eyes delving into the crowd for any sign of guilt or admittance.

"Which one of you had a part in this?" He demanded in an interrogating voice. "One of you answer me. _Now!"_

All of them hit their backs simultaneously against the wall, where their retreating feet had subconsciously led them. They were all pale and shaking, looking just as cornered as Bill had looked only moments ago

"You're gonna tell me who started this vile abuse," Peppy warned, his fur bristling as he jabbed a quaking gloved finger at all of them. "If I have to sit here all day, and force it out of each and every one of you until I find the culprit, so help me, I-"

Suddenly, he stopped mid-sentence, finger still raised. His keen eyes spotted the small flecks of blood on each of their boots.

Peppy slowly lowered his hand. All of his fuming and coursing rage condensed and went to his eyes, which glinted in a low, contained gleam.

"So…this wasn't the work of a single culprit. You _all _had a part to play in this." His voice was dangerously quiet and seething, and no longer ballistic…which only frightened everyone even more. "And yet, no proud volunteers …odd. You didn't seem to have a problem with it before I arrived." A contemptuous scowl drew in the lines on his face. "So…my most trusted students…the one bunch I thought would make the ideal Student Monitors. Is this the kind of role-models you're supposed to be for younger students? Is this the kind of students I made into figures of authority? You abused the power I gave you…you _lied _to my face. But I won't waste time regretting that decision…or repeating it."

Glenn swallowed his frantic terror and smoothened his voice, recollecting the calm and casual confidence that he employed when dealing with any authority figures.

"Now, hold up…Peppy. You've got everything wrong. We came as soon as we heard the glass cracking-we don't know what's going on here anymore than you did. Maybe Bill here had a little-"

"Accident?" Peppy cut in, his voice igniting back into ballistic mode. "An accident that resulted with him on the ground, bruised and beaten, like he's climbed out of a running Arwing Engine? Just how stupid do you think I am, boy?"

Glenn stopped, the confidence drained from him like it had slipped right off a cliff.

"Now I don't want to hear any more of the bullshit you've been feeding me and the rest of the school as Student Monitors…you've already shown what you're capable of. Take advantage of a smaller boy, will you? Make a bloody pulp out of a boy in _my _school, WILL YOU?"

All of the students cowered at the Hare's voice, their faces brimming with sweat and collective fear. None of them had ever expected anything like this from someone as mild-mannered of as Peppy. Truth be told, Wolf had never seen this side of Peppy either, but that didn't stop him from enjoying the spectacle.

"Let me make something abundantly clear. I don't tolerate physical abuse from _anyone..._especially rancid delinquents like you.If I hear of violent or sadistic behavior, I put a stop to it. I see it with my own eyes, and _who's _performing it… I put a stop to _them. _They no longer become a factor in my school.

Apparently, Glenn's failure to dissuade Peppy like he did with every other adult had spurned some frustrated anger in him, because he managed a defiant retort.

"This isn't your school," He said, shedding his artificially-polite tone with a brittle one.

"_I'm_ the Academy Supervisor around here, and that makes ME the chief authority," Peppy said flatly. He lowered his gaze, eyebrows knitted in guilt and shame. "And out of my own selfish, naïve stupidity, I thought that I'd save myself the trouble of being everywhere at once by appointing responsible students as extensions of my authority. Disciplined, rational, and fair Student Monitors. That's what I thought you all were…but it seems I made a radically misplaced judgement call on your characters."

Contorted lines divided his face, making his expression appear all the more livid.

"You're all unfit to be monitors, you're unfit to be students, and I can't even imagine how poor you'd all be in the line of duty as pilots. You're all a taint on the image of this good school."

The students recoiled lower in cringing fear with each disdainful word…but Glenn didn't even try to hide his condescending scoff.

"Good school. That's rich."

"What was that?" Peppy asked sharply.

Glenn retained his full height,. He apparently was acting on the mentality that he had nothing to lose.

"You talk about tainting the precious image of this school," Glenn spat. "And then you throw open its gates to filthy Venomian sympathizers like him and his father-" He pointed at Bill. "You think I don't know the kind of people he consorts with outside the Academy? The people he _lives _with?"

Peppy placed a barring, defensive foot in front of the wallowing Lab. "That's enough. That has nothing to do with this."

"Why?" Glenn continued to seethe spitefully. "You're actually going to defend him, when he's in the same class as those Venomians? The same people who waged war on us...the same people who leech off our jobs, our soil-after that attack seven years ago-after what they did-" He edged closer to Peppy, matching his height in a confronting manner. "What's next? You're going to let a VENOMIAN into the school?"

Wolf drew farther back into the shadows uncomfortably.

"Who we let into our school is not up for you to decide. It's to be decided on table of a board conference room, not on the shattered glass of a trophy hall." Peppy glowered down at the Grey Fox. "Not here...not by you."

"_I _care what happens to him," Peppy snapped. "That's more than enough for you pathetic wastes to fear me than any School Board. Believe me…you'll wish that I'd have handed you all over to some rational council of authority. Because they aren't in charge of Disciniplary Action…_I _am. I'll take it upon myself to exact whatever pain or agony you've done unto Bill upon yourselves as well…ten times as cruel, if I choose it. I don't care how or why you were abusing Bill…but I assure you. You will suffer long and hard for this."

Unlike his nervous-looking friends, Glenn sneered and rolled his eyes dismissively.

Peppy's eyes drew to him instantly. "You think that's funny, do you?"

Glenn smiled pretentiously in the Hare's face. "I think it's hilarious. Do you think anyone here _buys _the shit you say? That you're actually going to do anything?" He scoffed. "Please?"

Some of the other boys slackened their fear-stricken stances, looking at each other curiously.

Peppy raised his eyebrows. "Is that a challenge?"

Glenn laughed loudly. "Listen to you! You talk like you're so intimidating…and you don't know how pathetic you look. You think anyone takes _you _seriously? 'Good ol' Peppy Hare, the butt of the Star Fox Team'?"

His crude imitation of Peppy's accent caused a ripple of amused smiles and snickers amongst the group of boys. It filled Glenn with newfound confidence…but Peppy didn't look either agitated or angry. He remained still.

"You don't think I'm capable of handling you as an authority?" He asked quietly.

"That's right. You know and I know that you're too spineless and pitiful to punish anyone," Glenn mocked scornfully. "And it has nothing to do with your fat body, or complete lack of muscle. Even if you _could _punish me, you _wouldn't. _You're a coward. A stupid, half-assed, sentimental, sniveling _coward." _He drew closer to Peppy's calm face, spitting every insult with dripping contempt._ "_I could literally do anything in the world right now, and you wouldn't even have the balls to tell me to stop….much less punish me."

Everyone gaped with stunned looks, all looking at Peppy for some kind of reaction.

Glenn glanced at Bill, who cringed fearfully away from everyone.

"You love defending this beggar's brat? What's to stop me from dropping him like a bag of dirt? What'll you do to make that sure I don't?" He started to walk past Peppy, mocking him. "A weak, soft-hearted old sod like you would probably only sentence me to detention, have me write lines on a board, or s-"

SLAP!

It happened so quickly that no one saw it, not even Wolf. Without altering his expression or moving the rest of his pudgy body, Peppy dealt a fierce, blurring blow against Glenn's cheek before he could come an inch towards Bill. The slap inflicted so much forces so much force, that the Grey Fox actually stumbled back and fell.

Everyone gaped in shock, including Bill. They slowly turned their gigantic, shocked gazes to Peppy, who was casually tightening the glove on his hand like nothing had happened. Some of them were still pondering whether or not that ferocious, lightning-fast strike had come from _him._

For the longest time, Glenn's head was lowered…hiding his expression as he seethed through his teeth. Suddenly, he swerved his head up, clasping the singeing, reddened, imprinted lines of Peppy's fingers on his cheek.

"YOU-_you-"_

He was quaking and seething with every particle of fur spiking. The lines on his face streaked and contorted his forehead, his face red and swelling, and his canine teeth bared through a tightened, savage clench.

But Peppy remained still.

"Recover from those lines first." His maroon eyes were radiated with quietly dangerous gleam. "Then we'll talk about the ones you'll be writing down, boy."

Glenn stared venomously at Peppy from between his fingers.

"You—you old FUCK…" He staggered forward, curling his free hand into a murderous fist. "Just you wait-You think that rank and that pilot's jacket makes you any bigger than me? You don't scare me-" He staggered up to Peppy. "I'll rip you a new asshole, I swear-"

"Is that so?" Peppy demanded in a louder, harder, more menacing voice. "Come on, then …do something. Just try it. I don't have my blaster on me." He stepped forward, daring the boy with his open stance. "One violent swing, boy…towards me or Bill, and that's all the jurisdiction I'll need as an Academy Official to put you down."

As Peppy stepped closer to and towered over him with an intimidating shadow, Glenn's putrid stare disappeared. He felt a jarring chill needle its way up his back…his knees weakening at the cold, callous, foreboding voice that Hare swung down on him like a vocal hammer. There was no softness or warmth that traditionally dominated his maroon gaze….it was genuine macabre intensity, one promising pain and misery.

Glenn lost all will to be defiant and pretentious, swallowing shakily and dipping his head in submission.

Once Peppy stared the rebellious look out of the boy's face, he washed his expression clean and turned to Bill comfortingly.

"You can rest easy, Bill. No one'll hurt you. Can you stand?"

The Lab groaned, rubbing his gash. "I-I think so…I cut my knee back there-"

"They cut you?" Peppy asked sharply. His eyes darted to them murderously. "Which one?"

Bill looked around fearfully. "No, I j-just tripped, that's all-"

After an unconvinced pause, he gently helped him up. "Alright, well-try to stand up…lean up against the wall if you have to….yes, like that. There's a good boy…" The Hare whipped out a small hankerchief and wiped Bill's face, drying his eyes and trying to sound assuring. "You'll be okay, bud. None of them will get past me…I promise."

Peppy turned back to the boys, his kind tone reverting back to its quiet, radiating, molten tremor.

"Now, listen up-_all _of you. I don't know how long this has been going on, or if Bill here is the first to be tormented by the likes of you…but I'm making this clear. Your classmates probably terrifying and destructive. But I won't play along, because I know exactly what you are." He walked back and forth in front of them. "Whatever authority you built with your fists, in whatever violent suburb or concrete back-alley you crawled out of…it _pales _to the authority I have around here. You're petty, deprived, selfish little stains on this Academy's reputation…trying to boost their egos with the blood and abuse of a boy too small to fight back. And believe me, I have enough authority and proof to try you all as common offenders and have you expelled to a juvenile facility." He paused, before turning with a disgusted look. "But that would be unfair to your poor, hard-working parents. They're sacrificing a good meal, a month's pay, and whatever bones they have left in their backs to send you ungrateful urchins to this school…and this is how you repay them?"

For a moment, his words had coaxed some guilty looks and shuffling of feet from the boys. Glenn, continuing to singe his hate-filled stare at him, just rolled his eyes.

"Your mothers and fathers would be too ashamed to even look at you." Peppy's eyes darted to the Grey Fox, voice layered with skeptic, mock-approval. "Except for you, Glenn….you probably would've made your father immensely proud."

No one else in the room understood what that meant, but it apparently was enough to cause Glenn to stare up at Peppy, fuming murderously.

Peppy continued. "So I'll do their poor souls a mercy and refrain from letting the law enforcement handle you. But you're about to find out that the laws outside this school aren't half as cruel and unforgiving as I am." As he walked, he passed a dangerous glare at them out of the corner of his calm eyes. "You'll find that out soon enough."

All of the boys cowered at the Hare's menacing voice. Glenn tried to preserve his calm and cool exterior, but even he was covered in sweat, and looked just as afraid.

"Now…I'm going to tell you how these next five months are going to go…and also, how these next five minutes are going to go if you refuse. You're going to spend every waking minute-from the moment you crawl out of your dorm to the moment you crawl back-taking up Bill's work until he both physically and mentally recovers from his condition. And if even one of you rejects, refuses, or even complains about your new duties…I'll make quick work of your five-month punishment in five minutes alone. I will inform the Academy Board and the Cornerian Law Department, and ensure your permanent suspension myself. Is that clear?"

All of them grimaced and winced in dismayed disbelief, but nodded hurriedly.

"And as for you, Glenn-" Peppy looked down at him, abandoning his quietly-dangerous, commanding tone for a loud one brimming with pulsating fury. "If you so much as go near, or touch, or even look at even one of these students-I'll make your life a living, neverending nightmare every second that you're under my authority. I promise you…" He drew closer to the boy, so that his furiously-contorted face was a few tense inches away from the Fox's sweating face. "You think you know how to torture things smaller than you, boy? You think you know who to belittle innocent children, make them wish they were never born? I spent my entire youth fighting a war, interrogating prisoners and dealing with sadistic punks like you…don't think for a second that even the notion of mercy will enter my mind. You'll be so numb from exhaustion, so blind from sleeplessness, so crippled from labor, and so terrified of me that you'll _wish _that I had expelled you."

Glenn's smug look faded, and his eyes began to expand fearfully at the Hare's shaking, furious face and his cold-blooded stare. He cowered silently and retreated to the back of the crowd…and this time, nobody tried to stop him.

Peppy straightened himself up, addressing all of them.

"You see, as a member of Star Fox, I've made a living and a skill out of completing personal missions. And my current mission for this year is making sure all of you are just as sore, desperate, humiliated and miserable as this poor boy here." He glowers at them with a rancid stare that could've burned a hole through their sweating foreheads. "And that's a mission I'll accomplish with the upmost competence. Now all of you…head to my office to report. I'll be following shortly. MOVE!"

All of the boys picked up speed and scuttled hurriedly through the door. Peppy followed their every step with a merciless stare, and walked past the shelf where Wolf was hiding. The Hare took notice of him a blank expression

"Oh, perfect timing! I didn't see you in here, student…you must've just walked in. What's your name?"

Wolf blinked. "Me?"

"Yes, you…I haven't seen you around the school." He squinted keenly. "Aren't you with the new batch of students today?"

Wolf looked at him with a blank expression, before realizing that the crowd of students was still within earshot. He quickly saw what Peppy was doing.

He pointed at himself anonymously. "My name's Wolf…Wolf O'Donnell."

"Well, then, Wolf," Peppy regarded him sternly. "If you were part of my tour, I shouldn't have to remind you that wandering off without permission is strictly forbidden for new students. I believe I mentioned that…but you seem to have taken it upon yourself to tour the school's private rooms for yourself."

That's when Wolf saw that Peppy was being blatantly honest, despite their deceptive overtones. He felt the scolding gaze in the Hare's eyes, and looked down apologetically.

"…sorry."

"Hmph, well…no need to look so sodden. Just do this favor for me, and we'll call it even. Would you please take Bill to the infirmary?"

Wolf looked around the room, trying to enforce the oblivious reaction in his face. "What happened here? Where'd all that blood come from?"

"Just an accident," Peppy said plainly. "Tell the nurse that I sent you. And if he's lively enough to move about, would you also take him to the cafeteria?" He shot a sympathetic glance to the forlorn Lab. "I bet he could use something sweet for all his troubles."

Wolf tried not rush to Bill's aid, and nodded indifferently. "Yeah, sure…"

As Peppy turned to walk off, he hid a small smile from the rest of the group. He was both pleasantly and proudly surprised at Wolf's course of action.

_He handled this extremely…I hadn't even warned him about what to do if he saw any kind of bullying or trouble…_

_I'd have thought Wolf would've taken the young, hot-blooded approach and would've tried stopping the fight himself, instead of calling me for help over the comm…._

_But he didn't…he called me instead…_

_It seems James was wrong about him…he's making all the right choices, and it's only his first day…_

"All of you, keep moving!"

The boys exited the room under Peppy's close watch, all of them avoiding his strict gaze as they trudged out.

It was in that blur of a moment that Glenn, who was skulking behind the group at a slow pace, briefly caught a glimpse of Wolf as he turned to help Bill up. He saw that he had pocketed something hastily-

-something small and plastic, with a cluster of buttons.

The Fox narrowed his eyes suspiciously, looking from Peppy to Wolf.

Peppy led the boys out with automatic slide-door closing behind them, with a quiet thunking sound. The sound of their echoey footsteps and Peppy's ringing scolding faded from audibility. Sunlight streamed In through the open window, and the still, musty atmosphere of the aged trophy room returned. It would've almost seemed like nothing had even happened…if it weren't for the mess of blood-stained glass and scattered trophies on the floor.

The second they were alone, Wolf dashed over to Bill and crouched next to him. His sympathetic, frantic look shattered the fake indifference he had put on for the other students.

"Thank God they're gone…can you sit up? Oh, God…" He looked down with a queasy cringe at all the Lab's repulsive cuts and bruises. "Here…let me just-"

_R-r-rip!_

Grabbing a chunk of his jacket sleeve with his teeth, Wolf tugged at it until it ripped. He wrapped it around Bill's gashed knee, the same way he used to make makeshift bandages for cuts or scrapes he'd get in the Venomian caves.

"There you go…"

All the while, Bill was silent and motionless…staring at him in confusion.

"What're you doing here?" He furrowed his eyebrows. "Why're you-?"

Wolf looked at him painfully. "I would've stepped in sooner-I just, I didn't-they would've seen me, and-" His voice croaked with immense apologetic guilt. "I'm so, _so _sorry-I would've never left you alone with them if-if I had only _known, _I would've-"

He shamefully tried to justify himself, but ended up sighing.

"Listen…" He softened his voice, trying to use the voice Peppy always used to make _him_ feel better. "Don't ponder on a thing they said about you…or your dad. None of it's true. There's nothing wrong with you…and if anyone tries to tell you otherwise, let me know." He put a comforting hand on Bill's shoulder. "You aren't what they say you are…okay?"

Bill continued to stare at him…until his eyes drew to the lump sticking out of Wolf's pocket where the comm. device was.

"God-look what they did to you…" Wolf muttered as he tightened the bandage. "But don't worry." He looked up with a determined gleam in his eyes. "They won't touch you again. Peppy'll see to that." Amidst his sad look, he managed a small smile. "Trust me, I've never seen Peppy that mad…he may be all nice on the outside, but he doesn't take crap from anyone. When he says he's going to do something, he definitely _will."_

Bill still was frozen with a stunned look on his face, as if someone had slapped him.

"W-Wait-You…_you _called him?"

Wolf's grin faded. "Well…yeah. You were in trouble, so I-"

"W-what do you think you're DOING?!"

Bill pushed himself away from Wolf, looking more terrified and sweaty than he had been throughout this entire encounter.

Wolf's blinked. "What? What're you-?"

It was frightening just to look at. Bill's face became sunken and pasty, which was doubled in its unsettling appearance with the help of the bruises and swollen skin. He cowered away from him and staggered back, looking so pale that Wolf thought he might collapse into a seizure.

"Do you have any idea what you've just _done?!" _Bill screamed. "Why did you call for help? What're you, _insane_? Do you think before you do _anything?" _He panted and looked around insanely, cringing at everything like the sky was going to fall on him.

Wolf could only watch in open-mouthed bafflement.

Bill shook his head, burying his face in his hands. "I told you-I _told _you not to get involved-"

"But you were-"

"It doesn't _matter_ what happens to me!" Bill screamed, helpless tears pouring down his bruised cheeks. "I'm not important! I'm not-good God, I wish I had never talked to you-if you only _knew _what you've caused-"

Finally, Wolf's confusion turned to irritation as he stood up immediately.

"Wh-what the hell's the _matter_ with you?!" He demanded. "I just helped you, and this is the thanks I get? I could've left you there for them to beat you some more-"

"You idiot…._you stupid, poor idiot…_" Bill pined miserably. "What they've done is nothing…absolutely NOTHING compared to what they'll do to you…"

Wolf threw up his hands in exasperated bewilderment. "What are you talking about? They're being punished right now! What could they possibly do…?" He reached towards Bill. "You can't stop freaking out-"

"NO!" Bill jumped back like Wolf was holding a white-hot iron. "J-just…please, stay away from me-"

He snatched up his bucket in a shaky fit, hobbling out the door with a frantic limp.

"I have to go-_right now. _I can't be seen with you—I'm in enough trouble as it is. If you know what's good for you, just leave. Lock yourself in your dorm room, don't come out-don't let yourself be seen-

"What do you mean?" Wolf asked for the millionth time. "What's gotten into you?"

Bill retreated with his bucket out the doorway, shaking his head and staring helplessly at Wolf with defeated regret.

"You should've just done as I told you-you should've just let them beat me….you should've stayed out of it…"

Leaving Wolf to remain in an open-mouth, enraged, anxious state of confusion, Bill left as seamlessly as he had first appeared.

Wolf stood there, alone, amongst the blood-flecked glass and battered, once-proud trophies that glittered from the sunlight coming in through the window.

_What kind of a school is this?_

His eye looked back at the discarded newspaper on the floor, depicting the same clipping that had drawn his interest in the first place. The black-and-white photo of James McCloud, whose triumphant smile was now blotched with splattered blood, beneath with the cryptic headlines:

**HEROIC ACTIONS NEVER GO UNREWARDED.**

_End of Chapter_


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